Spring - NOT amateur radio

According to the UK Met Office, spring starts March 1st. True to form, yesterday was cold, windy and wet! In many ways, spring came early in the UK. Daffodils that traditionally appear in March are well out and some are even dead. Blossom is well out. Last year we had blossom early on our pear tree. The frost killed it and we had no pears. Let's hope the same does not happen this year.

Sunspots - Saturday March 2nd

 Solar flux is 153 and the SSN 120. A=9 and K=1.

Village pump - NOT amateur radio

Most of us take plumbing and running water in our homes for granted. 

But there was a time when water had to be collected from the village pump. 

The pump in our village is shown in the photo.

Kenwood handheld TH-D75

MLS is advertising the new Kenwood 2m/70cm handheld for pre-order at £789.  In my view, why would anyone pay this much for a 2m/70cm handheld?  Kenwood makes some good gear and has a loyal following, but at this price I cannot see them staying in the amateur radio market for many more years.

My prediction:  the next 5 years will be a torrid time for Japanese manufacturers of amateur radio gear, dealers and magazines.

MLS call it a "game changer"  .....hmmm.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/thd75.

Is my software slowing down? - NOT amateur radio

I have had an Asus Chromebook since November 2019 and it has been simply brilliant. It was fast, responsive and did everything I needed. 

The free online support stops soon. In the last few days, it has become noticeably slower. I am wondering if the Chromebook OS has a timer that says after x years slow the machine down to encourage people to buy new machines?

My intention was to check all I need is saved on Google Drive, Google Photos or on a flash drive and then do a reset to factory conditions. I do not think it is bloatware or rubbish.

Quantum mechanics - NOT amateur radio

Many years ago (late 1960s) I did a course on quantum mechanics at university. If I remember correctly, everything can be thought of as a wave function that exists in all space and all time. What we think of as the "here and now" is the most probable.  Tunnel diodes only work because of quantum mechanical tunneling.

According to quantum entanglement, particles at opposite ends of the universe can have some sort of affinity, which would not conform with relativity.

What is certain is how little we know.

GE3XBM?

 One of the recent UK amateur radio licence changes mean I can use GE3XBM instead of G3XBM.

I doubt I shall bother!

Sunspots - Friday 1st March

 Solar flux is 164 and and the SSN 107.  A=4 and K=3.

137kHz QRSS test

On my ‘to do’ list are some QRSS tests at 137kHz using my earth-electrode ‘antenna’ in the ground and SpectrumView software on my iPhone.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

Overnight 17 stations spotted my 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.