Crouching down - NOT amateur radio

 

One of the issues with getting old is crouching down. If you get down, it is hard to get up! However, we have an answer - grandsons! At their age they have no problems with hips or knees, so we ask them to take a photo. Problem solved.

Old pals - NOT amateur radio

We have known these friends since university days in the 1960s. My wife and I are in yellow.

This was at nearby Anglesey Abbey with a complete stranger kindly taking the photo.

Simple regen RX

Quite often I get asked how simple can you make a receiver that gives useful results. 

Of course the simplest of all is a crystal set that does not even need a battery. 

The simplest circuit that really works well is probably the one shown. I even adapted this into a 1 FET 80m transceiver. The RX works well on AM, SSB and CW.  By changing the tuned circuit, it will work on different bands. As a transceiver my main issue was netting the RX onto the TX frequency.

There are plenty of similar circuits on the Internet.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-or-40m-regen-rx .

10m QRP WSPR TX (Wednesday)

Testing with the 500mW beacon started at about 0940z. It is now 1000z and, so far, 2 unique stations spotting me. No surprises.

UPDATE 1019z: 4 unique stations spotting me.

UPDATE 1420z: 13 unique stations have spotted my QRP today.

UPDATE 1621z: 19 unique stations have spotted me today. Certainly the station in the Canary Is could have copied me on microwatts at times if his noise floor was low enough. Pretty sure than 10mW ERP 8m WSPR (legal, I think, in the UK without a licence in the ISM band for beacons) could reach surprising distances at times.

8m QRP FT8 ( Wednesday)

 Testing began at about 0940z. No spots yet today.

UPDATE 1414z: It seems "crossing the pond" is almost daily at the moment on 8m FT8, even though the ERP is about 1W when the rig get hot!! Just spotted by FG8OJ (6670km). 

UPDATE 2142z:   On 8m FT8 RX today my system spotted G9PUV and EI2IP.  I am surprised that I do not copy many more. At some point, I need to check the 8m sensitivity. This would involve a trip to a nearby amateur with a calibrated signal generator. It would not surprise me if it was several dB deaf on 8m. Even so, I have still copied S.Africans and Caribbean stations several times.

SPRAT back issues

All the back issues of SPRAT are available on a flash drive. It is cheaper for GQRP club members. It is very low cost and well worth it. There are years of projects on it. Look for "SPRAT on a stick". 

Many times I have said that if all magazines had to go, SPRAT would be my last. This is incredible value. 

See  https://www.gqrp.com .

Sunspots - Wednesday February 22nd 2023

 Solar flux is 161 and the SSN 106.   A=16 and K=2.

Tulips - NOT amateur radio

These are colourful flowers in the spring. Sometimes they are floppy and an aspirin in the water makes them stand up again. I have no idea why! My wife likes flowers in the house.

QDX coming

This morning, I had an email from QRP Labs and the carrier saying that my QDX is on its way. It is due this week. It covers 20-10m at 5W FT8.

See https://qrp-labs.com/qdx.html .

UK winter 1947 - NOT amateur radio

The winter of 1947 was very harsh. This is a photo of my cousins outside their house. Some years later we lived a few houses down. In Salcombe, snow is rare.