Sunspots - Monday May 13th

Solar flux is 222 and the SSN 186. A=54 and K=5.

Cobbles - NOT amateur radio

 Among the problems of Belgian 🇧🇪 streets are trams, bikes and cobbles. Since my 2013 stroke, balance has been a problem .This means I am always looking down to ensure the cobbles are OK as I could easily fall. 

Crossing the road has always been hard, but it is worse with trams, tram rails and bikes, especially when they come from the wrong direction!!

Yaesu FT710 field

Some time ago I had one of these. They are excellent transceivers and MLS is offering them at a reasonable price with the Yaesu cash back deal. They come out very highly on the Sherman test ratings. I am almost tempted. I have to ask myself why?

If you are after a good all round HF, 6m and 4m rig I can recommend it . It can TX on all bands to 75MHz in Engineering Mode without uncasing just with button presses. Mods are fully reversible.

I forgot the 3 year warranty on Yaesu gear which I hope they still do.

Solar storm

As radio  amateurs we look for good auroral propagation. Visually they can be stunning as this photo from Wicken Fen near us at 2330z shows.

Quirky - NOT amateur radio

 This quirky bike with lots of bells was seen in Ghent a few days ago.

True?

This photo of a cartoon I found earlier summarises how many XYLs must feel.

Sunspots - Sunday May 12th

 Solar flux is 214 and the SSN 148. A=272 and K=6.

EchoLink

 As I am away from home, I am able to monitor my local repeater  -  silent every time I tried!!

Swifts in Belgium 🇧🇪 - NOT amateur radio

 A sight that gladdened my heart tonight: swifts screaming and flying overhead. These were the first I have seen this year. All is well with the world. When swifts return as they have for thousands of years I know the world carries on. I know this is a sight I shall not see much more, but it confirms my place.

Sunspots- Saturday May 11th

 Solar flux is 223 and the SSN is 156. A=118 and K=8.