Amaryllis - NOT amateur radio

This one was put out last winter and forgotten. My wife walked past and noticed it was growing, so we put it on the kitchen table. 

Universal Radio closure

Steve G1KQH has informed me that this USA amateur radio dealer is closing. They will operate online to clear orders. See their website for more information. 

I can see several dealers closing shop in the years ahead not only in the USA. This is because of their reducing margins as fewer new radios are bought and as the average age of radio amateurs increases. 

As I have said many times already in 20 years time many radio amateurs will be very old and our hobby could just fizzle out. Magazines will get fewer, fewer dealers, less revenue, those mags that survive will get smaller....

Already Waters and Stanton seems to have stopped advertising in RadCom and we now see one USA dealer closing.

Sunspots - Sunday November 22nd 2020

Solar flux is 85 and the SSN 23.  A=12 and K=4.

Return to 2m FT8 QRP

At 1827z, I returned to 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna after a fairly fruitless day on 10m. 

So far this evening, I have been spotted by 3 stations and I have spotted 1 station according to PSKreporter. I also spotted a PA0 but this was not reported for some reason.

UPDATE 2225z: 21 stations spotted on 2m FT8 RX today as the map shows. 

Slapton Line - NOT amateur radio

This is a photo of Slapton Line in Devon. During WW2 it was used by the Americans in "Operation Tiger", which was a rehearsal for D-day in Normandy.  In the far distance is Start Point with its lighthouse. There is no sand, just pebbles.

This is where I come from in South Devon.  In recent years the main road across "the Line" has been washed away twice during storms.  On both occasions the road was rebuilt.

In the next 100 years I think this will be replaced by a road on the other side of the Ley (freshwater lake).  It has been there all of my lifetime, but I cannot see it surviving more bad storms. Building a new road will be expensive. We tend to think of things as permanent, whereas we only see things for a generation. From a repair viewpoint, there comes a point when rebuilding the road along "the Line" is simply no longer viable. It would be better to bite the bullet and replace this important road with a new one that will last for hundreds of years.

If the sandbank is broken, it will change the Ley from freshwater to saltwater, totally changing the ecosystem.

For a laugh - NOT amateur radio

This was on WhatsApp earlier, although I have no idea where it originated.   It brought a smile to my face. 

BTW, I have had some excellent vegan meals and could quite easily be a vegetarian, although I enjoy meat. Being a vegan would probably be a step too far.

See bcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/vegetarian-recipes

Shack photo

This photo was taken a few minutes ago. 

It shows the equipment that I use. 

For FT8 I use the FT817ND and the SignaLink. The FT991A is only used at QRP levels. 

Cottage - NOT amateur radio

 

We saw this cottage on our walk yesterday. Thatcher's often have trademarks. In this case it is the dog on the roof made of straw. 

10m FT8 QRP - Saturday

At 1027z, I QSYed to 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop and 2.5W. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1050z: Nothing yet on 10m FT8 RX, but spotted on TX by G3NSM (123km) in Oxford, UK.

UPDATE 1508z:  Still nothing spotted on RX and just the single spot on TX. In a years' time I expect things to be much better. At the moment, 10m seems very quiet. On FT8 I was expecting to spot a few stations. I am RX only just now.

2m FT8 QRP - Saturday

It is now 0924z. Since 0857z I have been on 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, nothing spotted on RX and 4 stations have spotted me on TX with the furthermost being G4RRA (333km) in Devon.

UPDATE 1000z:  6 stations spotted and 8 stations spotted me on TX. 1 QSO so far.