Exhaustion and giddiness - NOT amateur radio

It is extremely hard to get other people to understand my giddiness and exhaustion. 

This is an after-effect of my 2013 stroke.  All the time when awake, I feel giddy. Much of the time I feel exhausted. Not tired, totally exhausted. Any exertion leaves me very, very, tired. Many people think this is laziness. It is not.

In the past, I quite liked driving. These days, even short journeys are stressful. I guess my reaction times are longer and my brain makes all driving seem 20mph faster. Also, it is as if my brain is in overload when driving: all the time I am thinking of potential hazards.

Outwardly I look totally fine, much like many people who have MS or similar conditions. This is in some ways a good thing. In other ways it is hard, as people just do not understand.

My voice is also poor: it is very hard repeating myself as others do not understand what I am saying.

10m Tenner Transceiver

 

As 10m is getting good again and the Es season is approaching, this  may give you some ideas. I am sure it can be improved, like most of my ideas!  If you build one, be prepared to experiment.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-tenner-qrp-cw .

One year later - NOT amateur radio

This is a photo of me with my elder grandson. He's grown quite a bit in a year! Same place. 

10m FT8 (Wednesday)

My 10m FT8 gear was turned on at 0741z. Nobody spotted my short 2.5W QRP transmission. 

UPDATE 0858z:  So far this morning, 19 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1648z:  461 stations spotted. Worldwide 10m FT8 DX again.

UPDATE 1741z:  528 stations spotted today.

UPDATE 2105z:  QRT.

Old home - NOT amateur radio

This is an aerial photo of our old home. My son lives here now. We moved 300m in the village 8 years ago. 

Sunspots - Wednesday February 16th 2022

Solar flux is 114 and the SSN 73. A=5 and K=2.

10m operation

10m is my favourite HF band. It is wide enough to support all modes and at various times of the sunspot cycle it experiences virtually all propagation modes. For much of the solar cycle it is an amazing daytime DX band. On my main website there is a page about this.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-operation .

Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

This place is now owned by the National Trust. It has huge grounds in which to walk. We usually go there several times a month. It is about 4 miles away from home. 

8m NoV

In the last few weeks I wrote to my MP saying how disappointed I was that after months of waiting and several recent chase emails, I had heard nothing of progress from OFCOM.  She is contacting OFCOM to ask why I have not heard. We'll see if this does any good.  

I would much have preferred it if they has simply given me a response last year. I am not asking for much! Until they respond I was not planning to erect an 8m dipole. This was for serious propagation research too.

UPDATE 1515z : Wonders will never cease!! After months and months, they have refused my application for an NoV.  Instead they want me to apply for an Innovation and Trials Licence which has a fee starting at £50!! I think the real reason is they are afraid radio amateurs will get a foot in the door. So, unless I am prepared to pay at least £50 a year, I am not even allowed just 50Hz of spectrum at 5W for 6 months. I am speechless and quietly fuming. So much for propagation research. You can imagine, that even if I applied, the Es season would be over before I heard!

10m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

At the moment I am RX only, but I might try 2.5W TX later. So far today (at 1430z) 9 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1741z:  178 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.