Rally postponed

The Dartmoor rally, which was due to take place May 3rd, has been postponed to July 4th. Let's hope that by July things are far more normal.

Buttercups - NOT amateur radio

The green near our post office is a sea of buttercups. 

10m FT8 RX

Most of the morning I've been on 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna and my homebrew 10FT8R RX. It is now 1052z and nothing spotted yet today. 

UPDATE 1458z: No spots so far.

UPDATE 2113z: Just one German spotted. QRT soon. 

Photographing Bluebells - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago we went to a bluebell wood. The photo shows one of our sons taking a photo on his phone. 

External 10m antenna

Small steps....

• The first stage was to drill a hole for the coax into the shack.  This needed a long masonry drill bit, which I had. It turned out to be far less difficult than I was expecting. DONE.
• The next stage, which will need help from my son, will be erecting the wire dipole. Both supports will need ladder work, which I can no longer do. If I attempt it I am likely to be giddy. This involves cutting the dipole wire to the correct length and running the coax into the shack.
• The final part will be attaching the BNC plug and testing the antenna.

But, I do not have coax! I thought I had a reel, but will have to buy some. I guess I need about 5-6m, so 30m from Amazon should be fine.

Sunspots - Thursday April 29th 2021

 Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 42. A=3 and K=2. 

"Some external links page" on my website

Originally, this was on my very old website, but it is now on my current site. 

As it was created originally many years ago, some of the links will not work, although you may well find archived copies of these on the "Wayback Machine". 

It is surprising what you find there! I found one of my first websites from the 1990s! This site was first created in 1996! At the time I am waxing lyrical about the Philips Velo with its built-in 19.2k modem. We have come a long way.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/ext_links .

GQRP Club

I have been a member for a very long time! It is run by volunteers and produces an excellent colour A5 magazine called "SPRAT" every quarter. This is filled with ideas and projects.

Joining GQRP club allows you to buy parts from member's sales, which includes nearly all the past SPRATs on DVD or flash stick. It is worth joining just for this! 

Many times in the past I have said that, if I was suddenly poor, SPRAT would be the last magazine to go. I still feel this way.

See http://www.gqrp.com/ .

Does the UK prime minister lie? - NOT amateur radio

To many outside the UK the heated discussions over who initially paid for renovation work on the UK PM's flat must seem odd.  Indeed they are, but at the heart is a question over whether Boris Johnson tells lies. If he tells lies, should we trust him? 

There is no doubt the the recent pandemic crisis has taxed us all with many things in life quite different. In many ways he has tried to "steer the ship" in very choppy waters and has done quite well, even though the death toll in the UK is high. He has definitely made mistakes and I just wish he would accept this and be honest with us.

Sadly, openness and honesty are in short supply with politicians.

No, what is at the heart of this is how honest is the UK PM?

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56915307 .

Overseas holidays - NOT amateur radio

Many people are anxious to travel again. Since the Covid-19 pandemic few have been able to do so. The main worry is spreading the virus and one possible answer is Covid digital certificates. An EU wide scheme is being trialled in Spain in May and may be rolled out in time for the summer holiday season.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56912667 .