Storm risks

At the moment, all storm activity seems to the north and missing us. As this can change, I am watching the lightning maps "just in case" things alter. It feels very humid.

UPDATE 1544z:  All the storms seem to be clustered about 60 kilometres north of us. At the moment, this still looks encouraging.

20m FT8 RX with the indoor Miracle Whip

 4 stations spotted so far on 20m FT8 RX with the Miracle Whip.

UPDATE 1540z:  29 stations spotted so far on 20m FT8 RX today. All bar one are in Europe, but one is 3375km away in European Russia (UA9CK). Compromise antennas they may be, but they work with FT8. 

UPDATE 1628z:  72 stations spotted so far today on 20m FT8 RX with the indoor Miracle Whip.

10m QRP WSPR TX

My 500mW W5OLF beacon was turned on at 0827z.

UPDATE 0914z:  Spotted many times by EA8BFK (2880km) and EA8/DF4UE (2876km). This looks like F2.

UPDATE 1314z:  5 spots of me so far today.

8m experiment (Tuesday)

All being well (storm risk) I hope to be on 8m TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 QRP later this morning. 

UPDATE 0831z: TX turned on at 0827z.

UPDATE 1310z:   No spots on RX or TX FT8.  At the moment, the storm risk looks low.   As things don't look encouraging, I may QSY to another band on FT8.

UPDATE 1421z: Spotted by S50B (1220km). Now QSYed to 20m FT8 RX with the indoor Miracle Whip in the shack.

Our garden 2016 - NOT amateur radio

This photo shows how our garden looked in 2016 on this day. The grass is green! 

Consciousness - NOT amateur radio

This has been discussed before, but I am intrigued by consciousness. We, and arguably some other animals, have the ability to think and contemplate our very being. 

Is this a function, as yet not understood, of our brains? Does our consciousness just go when we die? Does it somehow survive after we die? Can some computers be sentient? 

Arguably, one of the greatest mysteries is exactly what is consciousness? Will we ever be able to answer this?

Sunspots - Tuesday August 16th 2022

Solar flux is 131 and the SSN 92.  A=6 and K=1.

10m WSPR QRP TX (Monday)

 As mentioned earlier, I am not on the radio whilst we have a guest. All being well, I should be on tomorrow.

Crimean Cannon - NOT amateur radio

This cannon outside Ely Cathedral was a gift to Ely after the Crimean War from Queen Victoria. 

It is a Russian cannon draped in the Ukrainian flag at the moment. 

Note the colour of the grass! We had a shower this afternoon. 

Goldfinch - NOT amateur radio

These colourful little birds are very common these days. They are probably one of the most common birds we see and hear. They are one of the most colourful birds in the UK.