10m QRP FT8 (Friday)

Since 0915z, I have been on 10m QRP FT8 with the QDX transceiver. Poor conditions?  At 0928z, just 2 stations spotted and just one local has spotted me so far.

UPDATE 1208z:  15 stations have spotted my 10m QRP FT8 today.

30m FT8 RX in the last day using the 20-10m QDX

As stated yesterday, my QDX covering 20-10m is used with a 10m end-fed antenna. As an experiment I wanted to try it on 30m FT8 RX. I am amazed. Having been on since last evening only, with a totally non-resonant antenna, 654 stations have been spotted!!

Sunspots - Friday April 28th 2023

Solar flux is 150 and the SSN 136.  A=21 and K=3.  Conditions seem poor.

30m FT8 RX with the 20-10m QDX (Thursday)

My 10m band end-fed antenna is way off tune on 30m. As an experiment, I tried my QDX for 20-10m on 30m FT8 RX this evening.  I have no idea how sensitive it is on 10.136 MHz. So far, 384 stations have been spotted at 2131z. The map shows the stations spotted here by 1935z.

15m QRP FT8 with the QDX (Thursday)

Stations spotting my QRP FT8 on 15m today

As 10m FT8 is so poor, I have QSYed to 15m. So far, I have been spotted by 14 stations with the furthermost WA4MIT (7015km) and I have spotted 21 stations.

UPDATE 1643z: 45 stations spotted and I have been spotted by 41 stations.

Adder snakes - NOT amateur radio

At 74 years old, I just realised I have never once seen an adder snake in the wild! 

I believe they bask in the sun, but they cannot be that common. They are most often seen on heathlands and woodlands. They are the only venomous snake in the UK. They are also known as vipers.  Their venom is rarely harmful to humans although medical treatment is advised. The photo is attributed to Benny Trapp on Wikipedia.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_berus .

See https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/reptiles/adder .

Ely yesterday - NOT amateur radio

This was Ely yesterday by the River Great Ouse.  Ely is a nice place with a cathedral on the hill and an attractive waterfront. The railway station seems always to be busy.

Rally at the weekend

The following has been notified to me. As this is an automatic email, it is advisable to check it is on and the information is correct.

Sunday April 30th - Ripon Radio Rally, Ripon, HG4 2PT. Contact  https://www.g4sjm.co.uk/contact-us .

Low key? - NOT amateur radio

On Saturday week, our new King Charles III is crowned. At the moment things feel very muted. For example, John Lewis in Cambridge, a major department store nationally, has nothing for the coronation, that I could see, on display. I guess they are worried about excess stock on their hands in hard times. This small display was at the back of a pub in Ely yesterday.

It is a very long time since Queen Elizabeth II was crowned and this was shortly after WW2 when there was a national support for the monarchy. These days, many younger people are not in favour of a monarchy and do not like wealth and privilege just because people inherited it. The problem is who would be president? 

Personally, I think (just) I am in favour of a symbolic monarchy as long as it is considerably slimmed down.

Worked all Cambridge(shire)

The Cambridge club (CDARC) is launching a scheme like a mini WAB scheme called "Worked all Cambridge (or is it Cambridgeshire?)". The object is to work stations in all the Ordnance Survey 10km squares in the county. For example, I am in TL56 square. I think it runs for a year, but as I do not have details yet, I have no idea how many squares there are. I can imagine some in the Fens are quite hard. What a fun scheme for a club.