Yesterday, my 40.680 MHz QRP USB dial FT8 was spotted by 2 Iberian stations with 1 "QSO". The gear was turned on this morning at 0737z.
UPDATE 0959z: No spots.
27 Aug 2022
26 Aug 2022
Wedding bells - NOT amateur radio
Our elder grandson loves to ring bells. He has now rung in 40 towers and, as I write, is ringing locally for a wedding.
Deleted by mistake?
If you have recently written to me and have not got a reply, it was probably my mistake.
I just emptied my bin and, too late, noticed something that I think should not have been there. Write again please. I try to respond promptly. Please accept my apologies. Writing again is probably the best thing to do if you got no response.
WISPY 10m WSPR receiver
It is amazing to believe that this design of mine is 10 years old! These days, many have gone on to FT8 instead, but there is a good following on 10m WSPR as well. This used very low cost 14.060 MHz crystals that were pulled, making this a very low cost design. It worked well.
10m QRP WSPR TX
My 500mW WSPR TX gear was turned on at 0939z. At 0949z, no spots.
UPDATE 1240z: Several spots from just Sweden. Limited Es opening?
UPDATE 1325z: Now spotted in Spain.
UPDATE 1335z: Now spotted in Norway.
8m experiment (Friday)
My QRP 8m FT8 gear on 40.680 MHz USB dial was turned on at 0939z. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1325z: No spots today on 8m.
UPDATE 1729z: HC02 (1808km) in Portugal has spotted my 8m FT8 QRP TX today.
The dealer shootout
Hopefully I will be very wrong, but I predict that at least one amateur radio dealer will be gone by the end of next year.
There could be more than one. Over time magazines will see revenue dip, which in turn could lead to smaller editions or even some magazines closing.
In my view, some dealers will survive, but others may not. Hard times are ahead.
As I said before, I hope I will be very wrong, but the signs are not good. I wrote to one dealer almost a week ago and I did not have the courtesy of a reply. They certainly won't be getting any business from me. Will they be one of the first to go? I shall not name and shame them.
It is not just dealers. Some manufacturers are also considering whether amateur radio offers them profits in the future. Some may decide it is better to get out soon.
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