Solar flux is 142 and the SSN 82. A=5 and K=1.
30 Aug 2023
29 Aug 2023
Late swifts - NOT amateur radio
We went for a walk around the village this afternoon. Much to my surprise I saw a swift on two separate occasions. It is possible this was the same bird. Most swifts fly south weeks ago, so this was a straggler(s). As far as I remember, this is the latest date I have ever seen swifts in the UK.
8m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)
At about 0942z, I QSYed to 40.680 MHz FT8. I had already had plenty of QSOs on 6m and the band looked open in the direction of Iberia. As usual my gear on 8m is a modified FT817ND (2.5W) and a dipole.
UPDATE 1757z: No spots today. I suspect there are very few people monitoring.
UPDATE 2056z: QRT now. No spots all day. Disappointing.
10m QRP WSPR TX (Tuesday)
My 500mW WSPR TX beacon was turned on before breakfast. So far spotted by 9 unique stations.
UPDATE 0951z: I see my 500mW WSPR beacon has been spotted in Antarctica by DP0GVN (13685km). See the photo of this permanent German base.
UPDATE 2050z: QRT now. 19 unique stations spotted me today.
6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)
Today, the early start on 6m FT8 QRP resulted in 3 QSOs across Europe. My gear is 2.5W to the omni V2000 vertical antenna.
28 Aug 2023
That kiss - NOT amateur radio
The man in charge of football in Spain, Luis Rubiales, is at the centre of a media storm.
The fact that the media has created such a fuss has taken the focus off the women's team that won the world cup and onto this man instead.
Now, I do not have all the facts and stand to be corrected. My reading of the situation is that this is a story whipped up by the media. Yes, he was carried away by the excitement of the moment, made a mistake, but it would have been better just forgotten. He is also in trouble for scratching his crotch. This took about 1 second! I am pretty sure he just had an innocent itch.
The media has a habit of creating stories. Personally, I do not think he should be made to resign.
Tired, giddy and exhausted - NOT amateur radio
It is almost 10 years ago I suffered my brain bleed/stroke and was in hospital for 3.5 months. Thankfully, I made an almost complete physical recovery and was able to get back to an almost normal life. I was given a second chance, unlike many.
My main issues are my poor voice, being giddy nearly all the waking hours, and getting exhausted very quickly after physical or mental exertion. Whereas before I enjoyed going out in the car doing experiments, I no longer feel able. I still drive, but do not enjoy it. Driving seems to require so much more concentration for me nowadays. All the time I am reading the situation, looking for stupid drivers. It is almost as if my brain takes longer to process things. Driving at 50mph feels like 70mph.
The net result is trying to find ways to enjoy things differently. These days, my experiments are at home rather than "in the field".
Although I long to be as I once was, I know this can never be, so we have to make the best of life.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/non-amateur-radio/stroke .
6m QRP FT8 tomorrow?
As an experiment, I may try 50.313 MHz QRP FT8 tomorrow. The main Es season is over, but Es still occurs, but less often. FT8, which is better than CW, uses a 15 second TX period. If propagation lasts this long, one has a great chance of being detected. Often Es signals can be quite strong, if short-lived.
I like to experiment on 8m FT8, but there are too few monitors sadly.
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