My 10FT8R RX (homemade) for 10m FT8 RX was turned on at 0739z with the indoor loop. Later today I hope to create a schematic for this 4 transistor RX, which works well.
UPDATE 1540z: No spots.
UPDATE 1700z: Just 1 spot so far - G4NBS (22km). I notice David G0LRD has spotted 67 stations today on 10m FT8.
The RSGB has published the results of the April 2021 contest. Despite limited time, limited power and just a 2m omni antenna, I have climbed in the results. I only come on for the fun and never expect to do anything!
See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=432MHz%20UKAC&year=2021 .
OFCOM has announced the final results of recent auctions of 700MHz and 3.6GHz spectrum. See the OFCOM website for details.
A few days ago I queried where this was.
For some reason the email went into spam (not any more!) and I was informed the kit is in the UK and on its way to me by UPS. It must have shipped by air.
This is a 4W SSB transceiver for 10m FT8. With the Es season just upon us, it could be very effective.
We still see swifts, although these are later to arrive. To me they make a late spring or early summer evening. Usually you hear their screaming, look up and see them overhead hunting. Swifts are about, although I have seen and heard none yet.
Cuckoos used to be commonly heard, although I heard none last year. They tend to lay their eggs in the nests of willow warblers. Just occasionally they can be heard. More rarely, they can be seen on wires overhead.
See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swallow/ .
In the northern hemisphere we are entering the Es season. With Es, stations up to about 1500km can often be worked on 10m, 6m and 4m (and occasionally 2m). The most common times are May, June, July and August, although Es openings can occur at any time.
Often quite low power is needed and signals can be very strong. Es tends to happen just as well in sunspot minimum years as sunspot maximum.
Occasionally openings can occur over far greater ranges, although I suspect many of these are a different E layer mechanism.
Es is great fun.
Since my 2013 stroke, I have suffered with what can best be described as "brain fog".
Although I am mostly fine, I get exhausted quickly and my whole waking life is like walking through treacle: it is as if it is a dream, with me not fully there.
It is hard to describe, but makes me seem lazy and fuzzy minded. Everyday tasks, physical and mental, are far harder. I can still do them, but things are not as clear or easy.
My main issue is giddiness: all the time it feels like I am about to fall, although I rarely do.
Overall, I am luckier than many. Most people are totally unaware of my hidden disabilities.
This afternoon I had every intention of loading the USB drivers for the IC-705 on my shack Window 10 PC. However, every time I tried recently it said the site for ICOM Japan was "not available" and I got pointed to the Wayback Machine.
This must be a temporary glitch as I managed to upgrade the firmware OK from this site recently. I can wait.
Perhaps I should learn a new schematics capture package instead!
If you live in the UK, you will be aware of the scandal that has engulfed the Post Office.
The Post Office installed a new (at the time) computer system that was faulty. Many sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of fraud and some lost homes or were even imprisoned. It amazes me the PO did apparently nothing. Surely alarm bells would have rung when so many were accused of fraud?
Apparently the once boss of the PO has resigned from some directorships she held.
In my view, those in charge of the PO at the time should face the full force of the law. This scandal ruined many lives and those in charge deserve to be prosecuted for gross incompetence. At the very least, some should face heavy fines and possible imprisonment.
I sincerely hope that all the people affected by the scandal are very generously compensated. If it was me in government, I'd make those in charge at the time pay and hopefully they would be made bankrupt. Let them feel (really feel) the consequences of their gross inaction. Others suffered. Why should the helpless suffer and not those responsible? Sorry, but this makes my blood boil.
The photo shows Trinity Street in Cambridge, UK. In the right foreground is a bookshop that has been a bookshop for centuries.
