Post Office cock-up - NOT amateur radio

Years after a faulty computer system (Horizon) resulted in hundreds of sub-postmasters being prosecuted for fraud (some were imprisoned, went bankrupt or lost homes), some have had their convictions quashed.

I hope those in charge at the time are sent to prison. Why should so many innocent people suffer for the total ineptness of those in charge?  Some sub-postmasters have died and some have lost marriages. 

This was a cock-up on a monumental scale. You are not telling me someone at the top didn't smell a rat when so many were being convicted of fraud? At the very least this is gross incompetence. At worse, it was a cover-up. 

Heads MUST roll!!

10FT8R progress

It is nearly finished, but I was unable to pull the 14.040MHz crystals low enough, so I shall have to modify the oscillator slightly when we get back, as we are going out this morning. 

I can get within 700Hz with just capacitance in series, but I shall have to add a little inductance too. I was hoping to stick this RX on when out, but I shall have to wait. At least it oscillates!

Reactive or proactive? - NOT amateur radio

The UK government amazes me by how totally STUPID it is at times!! It is only now that hotel quarantine is mandatory for travellers from India. 

We have known about the problems in India for days and in the meantime lots of travellers have returned, potentially spreading deadly new variants to other adults and children who can spread it still further.  

Why did we not impose an immediate ban on Indian flights or at the very least mandatory hotel quarantine, at least for now, as a precaution? This (in)action beggars belief. Some times I am flabbergasted by how stupid we can be!

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56848006 .

Dalham - NOT amateur radio

Dalham is a delightful village in this part of the UK. There is a long walk through the horse chestnut trees from the village up to the church. 

Canadian 472kHz transverter

Allen VY1KX has kindly sent me a photo of the 472kHz transverter he has built. I built my original on copper clad board to ensure a good ground plane. I recommend this as it makes grounding easy. Allen's transverter is in the photo. 

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472khz_tvtr

Parsonage Farm - NOT amateur radio

In few weeks this field next to Parsonage Farm in our village will be filled with cow parsley flowers. 

Sunspots - Friday April 23rd 2021

 Solar flux is 84 and the SSN 42. A=5 and K=3.

Climate change - NOT amateur radio

"It is much easier to set targets than take action to meet them. "

Personally, I suspect the world will "wake up" when it realises that green energy can actually be lower in cost than fossil fuels and can create jobs. 

This is especially true if investment is switched to renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. The main breakthrough needed is low cost storage of renewable energies like wind and solar. This would be an absolute game changer. 

I  hope we wake up soon enough.

Look at TVs and cameras. 20 years ago who would have envisaged TFT screens and digital cameras?  In 20 years from now we will probably look back and think, "did people really drive cars powered by petrol and diesel?".

One thing the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us all is just how well we can communicate without travelling. I suspect more of us with use things like Zoom for meetings rather than travelling for hours by plane, train or car.  I also suspect that people will work from home more, maybe Mondays and Fridays and go into offices less often. We will still have offices and shops, but fewer. More of us will shop online.

Changes are coming.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56837927 .

Potholes in roads - NOT amateur radio

It may be different in other countries, but our roads here in the UK are dreadful for potholes. 

If these are dangerous, many get filled in fairly quickly so the local authority does not get sued for the damages caused. 

We have had a cold and wet winter. I also suspect that the workmanship last year could have been better and many filled-in potholes would have survived. A classic case of save a few pennies in the short term, but spend much more in the longer term.

Rally cancelled

The NARSA Blackpool rally has been cancelled.