Succumbed

For a long time I have been coveting an IC-705 from ICOM. In the end I traded my FT991A in and bought one with the PSU, desk stand and 5 year warranty.

It was far more expensive than I wanted to pay from a UK dealer, but I rarely buy gear and I probably haven't that many years to enjoy it. It should give me years of fun. I cannot see the prices falling any time soon. The IC-7300 hasn't dropped in years.

In the end, the review by Peter Hart in the latest RadCom persuaded me. So, I have succumbed.  At the moment I am still reading the manual and will probably try it later.

More later....

Lunch in the garden - NOT amateur radio

 

For the first time this year we had lunch in the garden. It was a beautiful day although things are due to get far colder over Easter. 

Moulton walk - NOT amateur radio

 This morning we did a nice walk around the village of Moulton as the photo shows. 

British humour - NOT amateur radio

This character may be familiar to many in the UK. He features in a well known comedy programme on TV. 

Sunspots - Tuesday March 30th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 13.  A=4 and K=1.

Club Log

As many will know, I am not a great DX chaser these days. If I work DX great, although I rarely go looking for it. To some, it is an important aspect of our hobby. Working rare DX on multiple bands can be a source of great excitement. 

If I remember correctly, I achieved DXCC on 10m SSB QRP way back in the 1980s. My greatest thrill was working New Zealand with 10W SSB on 10m early one morning with a simple sloping wire dipole. The other thrill was working a VP8 in Antarctica.

If you are a keen DXer you may like Club Log. It seems an ideal resource for keen DXers.

FT8 dominance

In the last few years, FT8 has become the dominant mode on many bands. 

Unlike speech modes, FT8 is definitely not a chatting mode. Basic QSO data only is exchanged. To use FT8 needs special software like WSJT-X that can be got for free on the internet. 

Whilst this mode is great for simple stations and those who find talking hard (like me), it is not a mode that you just stumble across. Many years ago I "found" amateur radio by chance hearing AM stations on 160m and 15m. 

In the end FT8 and similar could kill our hobby. What I am advocating is FT8 should be seen as complementing speech modes, not instead of speech modes.  I hope, as HF conditions improve, more people will use SSB, FM and AM again.

Coming on - NOT amateur radio

Like many English villages, we no longer have a bank. Thankfully, there are several options for getting cash from our bank including our local Post Office, which is actually easier than traditional "holes in the wall". 

After many years, our old bank is being converted to commercial units. One of these is to be a hairdressers. People who know me know that I cannot take advantage of this!

English humour - NOT amateur radio

This was on Facebook earlier. It will appeal to British humour, although I am not sure what others will make of it. 

FT8 QRP today

Shortly I hope to go on 17m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop.

At present (0820z) I am on 160m FT8 RX. As we have daytime conditions, there is no DX, in fact no spots at all!

UPDATE 0836z:  17m gear turned on. 10 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost 5Z4VJ (6858km) in Kenya.  Nobody yet spotting me on TX.

UPDATE 1228z: 246 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost YB7OO (11788km).  On TX my QRP has been spotted by 2 stations with the furthermost R2ASY (2426km) near Moscow. 1 QSO today.

UPDATE 1420z: 326 stations spotted on 17m FT8 RX and 4 stations spotting my QRP on TX.

UPDATE 1720z:  465 stations spotted on 17m FT8 RX and 6 stations have spotted my QRP TX.