Malborough, Devon, UK 1927 - NOT amateur radio

This is a photo of where my parents lived in the late 20th century. The photo was taken in 1927.

Several ancestors (going back centuries) are buried in the churchyard.

Dalham - NOT amateur radio

Dalham has been on this blog before. It is near Newmarket and is filled with thatched cottages. This just one of many. 

481THz line of sight

For the uninitiated, 481THz is red light. 

My main interest in lightbeam communication was over the horizon beaconing (NLOS), but I did have one speech QSO line-of-sight over about 11km. As mentioned before, all my optical gear was homemade in the back of the garage. Most of the test gear was also homemade. In fact, optical gear is easier than microwaves and there are plenty of sources of ideas on the internet. My own page may trigger some ideas. The circuit above was used in the speech QSO.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/optical-nanowaves/line-of-sight .

Sunspots - Wednesday October 20th 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 11. A=14 and K=1.

Not on tomorrow morning probably

As the UK Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms tomorrow morning it is unlikely I shall be on until after lunch.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/cb25 .

That's a pity - NOT amateur radio

If all the SPAM I get daily was true I would be very rich! 

Today, I had several placing life-changing amounts into my bank account. Sadly, not one of these is true. Guess I shall still have to draw my pension! Never mind.  😀

Autumn garden - NOT amateur radio

At the moment it is very mild, although things are expected to get far colder later in the week. There is a  hint of autumn with colours starting to change. In another month things will look much different.

10m FT8 RX (Tuesday)

My 10m FT8 RX gear was turned on at 0810z. No spots in the first 30 minutes.

UPDATE 1222z:  47 stations spotted so far on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost PY5JO (9890km). South Americans just appearing. F2?

UPDATE 1853z:  202 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX. Several in South America with the furthermost VP8LP (12773km).  As there have been very few spots in the last 30 minutes, I suspect that is probably it for the day.

Lesotho - NOT amateur radio

11 years ago we had a holiday in South Africa and visited Lesotho. It was an eye opener.

8m NoV

As some know, I have applied to OFCOM (RSGB copied) for a time limited, 5W, digital only, permit to operate next March to October 2022 at 8m (40MHz).  I expect this will take some time, although I very much hope it is accepted as there are no 8m stations operational in the UK at this time as GB3RAL is looking for a new site. 

In my view there is a good justification for this NoV, especially when OFCOM can find a whole 2MHz for DTV experiments and I am probably after just 50Hz with QRP for part of 1 year. In my view. this would really contribute to radio propagation science.

I am awaiting their verdict....