Lavenham, UK - NOT amateur radio

Lavenham is a village in Suffolk, UK. It was the 14th richest place in England in the late Middle Ages as a result of the wool trade. It has lots of timber framed properties. 

Our younger son had his wedding reception at the Swan Hotel, shown in the photo taken earlier today. Many years earlier I went on a course here for 1 week   ....and came home 7lbs heavier!! Mind you, I was not paying and the food was good!

10m QRP WSPR TX (Saturday)

 As my 10m antenna is available, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from my W5OLF beacon. So far, just spots from local G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 1630z:  6 unique stations in 3 continents have spotted me today on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 2100z:  QRT.

8m experiments today (Saturday)

My experiments on 8m carry on today. Yesterday EI9KP (649km) spotted me again. Whilst at home I shall go on FT8 TX but when out I shall be monitoring 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 RX. 

 UPDATE 0925z:  My TX was turned on at 0850z. Now RX only. No spots given or received.

UPDATE 1625z:  As I was out most of the day I was mostly on 8m FT8 RX. 3 stations spotted. 

UPDATE 2103z:  QRT. No further spots today.

Shopping locally - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went to our local Co-op shop for some odds and ends. The coconut biscuits were far less expensive than Waitrose which is a 4 mile car ride. The Co-op is a 5 minute walk. 

Sunspots - Saturday April 24th 2022

Solar flux is 163 and the SSN 101.  A=6 and K=2. 

10m WSPR TX QRP beacon

The 10m antenna is available,  as I'm using a different antenna for my 8m experiments.  So, I shall be on 10m WSPR TX again using 500mW from the W5OLF beacon. 

UPDATE 0755z: TX beacon now turned on. Just the usual locals spots from G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE  1901z:  So far today - I may remain on for a short while - 6 stations have spotted my 500mW WSPR with the furthermost PY1EME (9453km).

UPDATE 2028z:  QRT.

Ultra-simple 10m CW transceiver

The Lesser Chirpy was one of my designs from 10 years ago. It is one of the simplest transceivers you can make. As with all my designs, I  would be very surprised if you could not make it better! It works by FSK so the frequency shifts when the key is pressed. The first version had too much chirp!

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

Dreams versus reality - NOT amateur radio

Sometimes I wonder if I dreamt something. 

Recently I tried to re-find a website I had seen. I Googled it many times using words that I thought would find it. I was unsuccessful, and was beginning to think I had just dreamed it. Then I found it - I had not been dreaming after all. 

All this has me wondering: what is reality? Certainly the boundaries between dreams and reality seem less clear.

8m experiments continued (Friday)

Later today I expect to continue my 8m experiments. As the TX loses power when warm, I have been on FT8 TX for a period, then RX, then QRT as the rig cools and then back to TX. 

Although I miss some of the DX others are seeing, it is interesting to see what a simple QRP station can achieve on 8m. My estimate is that I'm some 10dB at least down on the better stations, which can make a lot of difference on weaker signals. 

UPDATE 0753z:  After a brief TX period (no spots), I am currently on FT8 RX on 40.680 MHz USB dial (no spots). We are about to go shopping.

Swallows (Barn) - NOT amateur radio

At one time, these were a common summer migrant bird wintering in South Africa. They usually arrive here early in April.  In 2021, I only saw 2 all year. 

Swifts are also meant to be getting rarer, but we seemed to have similar numbers here to previous years. I have yet to see a single swallow here, which is very late. In the past, they were common by now.

My son, who has been wild camping, has seen and heard several cuckoos, but no swallows. Times, they are a changing...

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swallow/ .