Old church vessels - NOT amateur radio

Our local church had its open day today. On display were some of the vessels used today. One chalice dates back to 1512. Imagine what life was like back then!

Optical communication in daylight

Earlier, I noticed the the reflection of the sun from my watch face on a distant wall. This got me thinking of heliographs. These were used to send Morse code messages in sunny countries. I think ranges were remarkable.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliograph. I seem to recall ranges were up to 80km. The best DX (line of site) was 295km.  Basically, the sun's reflection was obstructed to send CW.

My mind turned to QRSS beaconing. For this to be possible it would be necessary to divert the beam when the QRSS was not on. One possibility would be to have a loudspeaker with a mirrored sheet (kitchen foil?) over it with a tone keyed.  It would also be necessary to have a receiver that was optimised for daylight.  I have no idea how good this would be. 

I guess the same idea could be used for speech. The mirror would be deformed as speech was said. I seem to recall there was a 19th century patent for this called the Photophone. For speech I guess one could simply speak against the metal foil mirror.

I would imagine an optimised system could be used for over-the-horizon (NLOS) tests. Sadly, my health these days means I can only dream about this. It may already have been tried.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Saturday)

My QRP 10m WSPR beacon has been on most of the morning. So far at 1125z, 4 unique spots of me. Most look like F2.

UPDATE 2103z:  Now QRT.  Altogether, spotted by 9 stations.

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 2.5W and the dipole have been on since shortly after breakfast. So far today, 2 Gs have spotted here. One is a local and the other I think was aircraft scatter.

UPDATE 1236z:  No further spots.

UPDATE 1825z:  A small Es opening (?) to Portugal.

UPDATE 2050z:  QRT. A better day on 8m than I was expecting.

Utter frustration - NOT amateur radio

Twice when out this week I have not been able to make people understand what I say because of my poor voice since my 2013 stroke. My wife is used to me and even she struggles. 

It is for this reason I do not join in casual conversations. Some can understand me, but clearly what comes out of my mouth is not what I want. Frustration!

Sunspots - Saturday September 9th 2023

Solar flux is 161 and SSN 123.  A=6 and K=1. 

EI7GL blog

This blog has not been updated since June 10th sadly.  I do not know why, but I for one miss it.

Late, late, show? - NOT amateur radio

This morning, I could not believe my ears and then eyes. 

At first I heard what sounded like swifts screaming, but saw nothing. Later, at the bus stop, I again heard screaming overhead again. Then I saw them. Quite unmistakable with their scythe like wings. 

It was probably a very late brood that had just left the nest. I saw 2, but there were probably more.  My wife also saw 2. 

Swifts normally migrate by mid August. These are the latest I have ever seen in the UK. They may be the latest ever seen in the whole county this year.

10m 500mW WSPR TX

There would appear to be no Es on 10m today. All these look like F2 propagation. My beacon has been on since breakfast.

Having a chat? - NOT amateur radio

It looks like these two are having a good old chat about something. Seen in St James' Park, London on Wednesday.