Wisdom and old age? - NOT amateur radio

It seems 5 minutes since I was a young teenager! 

Old age has descended on me suddenly. These days I feel older and frailer, as much as I do not seek this.  Some say you get wiser as you get older, but I seem as stupid as ever! 

My advice to those far younger is "you will be old yourself one day".  Milk life whilst you can.

I think one of the things I have to do is accept the "me" I am now and not the "me" I used to be. As we age, it is natural that some of the things we could do we can do no longer. There is still so much I can do. As long as I am able, I intend to enjoy doing the things I can do. 😄

Enjoying the sun - NOT amateur radio

Last Friday, we had a day out in Norwich by train. The sun was shining and it was a glorious spring day. It was good to see people out enjoying it. 

This week promises to be colder and duller. 😞

15m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop (Monday)

At  0855z, I turned on my 15m FT8 RX. No spots yet. I think conditions are disturbed.

UPDATE 1000z:   No spots on 15m FT8 RX on PSKreporter. As I lost the internet connection for a while I may have not uploaded some of the recent spots (there are a few).

UPDATE 1224z:   I have restarted WSJT-X as I am seeing plenty of spots locally, but none were appearing on PSKreporter. Since restarting, plenty of spots appearing!

UPDATE 1402z:   81 stations spotted so far on 15m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1710z:   169 stations spotted.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Monday)

At 0752z, I turned on my W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon which runs 500mW as the 10m antenna was not being used. No spots yet today.

UPDATE 0957z: Just G spots from locals G2XV (18km) and G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 1540z:  Still no DX today on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2100z:  In the end EA8BFK (2880km) copied me. QRT soon.

Norwich last week - NOT amateur radio

This collage shows Norwich last week. This week is far duller. 

17m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop

In the last day 321 stations have been spotted on 17m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna. I am amazed. 

Sunspots - Monday March 28th 2022

Solar flux is 130 and the SSN 97. A=18 and K=4.

17m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop

It is now 1520z. I have just QSYed to 17m FT8 RX from 2m. The antenna is the tiny loop on the shack windowsill. So far (after a few minutes) 22 stations spotted. This antenna really is remarkable. I guess it must be a few dBs down on a "big" antenna.

UPDATE 1628z:  93 stations spotted on 17m FT8 RX this afternoon. Furthermost is YB1HR (11790km).

UPDATE 1735z:   154 stations spotted on 17m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1810z:  179 stations spotted on 17m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1920z:  225 stations spotted.

Getting ready for 8m TX

As I now have the coax for my 40MHz dipole, things are on target.   Assuming I build and erect the antenna this week, I should start on April 2nd as per my permit.  

My aim is to run mostly FT8 near 40.675MHz (audio will be perhaps 1kHz higher) with some CW for some local crossband reports. I intend to use my amateur callsign.

Geosynchronous Oscar 100

Since I last looked, there is not much change. This was European mid afternoon on a weekend, when activity is highest. Still plenty of space.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .