Solar activity

There is no doubt that we have seen some very high solar activity of late. 

Both solar flux and sunspot numbers have been high. As the peak of the solar cycle is an average, it will be many months after the event that we will know when the peak actually occurred. The good news is solar conditions will be good for several years yet.

See https://www.solen.info/solar/ .

OFCOM consultation

Apparently OFCOM is consulting about applying code powers to LF Holdco 2 Ltd. 

Don't even ask what the hell this means!! I am sure it must be very important!  😄

As you know, I am not a great fan of OFCOM, although I suppose this keeps these people in a job.

G3XBM shack

As you may know, most of my fun is seeing how far I get with low power. 

Some years ago I made a page about my shack. Although I tend not to change gear often, the photo shows the shack as it was a few years ago.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/shack .

Dying of cancer - NOT amateur radio

One of my wife's friends is dying of cancer. She was told she had perhaps 5 years to live, but she has lived with it for about 7 years.

She is now in the very last stages and has days or weeks to live. She was in hospital, but has come home to die.

It must be incredibly difficult for her, her husband and all their family. It is so hard to know what to do for the best. 

It brings our own limited time on this planet into focus. I am reminded of the famous poem "Spring and Fall' by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

See https://poets.org/poem/spring-and-fall .

East Anglian Church blog - NOT amateur radio

After a very long break I have updated my churches visited blog. On Tuesday we visited 3 Suffolk churches. So far I have added just one (Hessett) but intend to add the other ones too.

See https://eachurches.blogspot.com/ . 

2m FT8 UKAC activity contest

Last night was the 2m FT8 activity contest. This clearly illustrates the popularity of FT8 with 66 stations spotted here as the map shows.

Sunspots - Thursday August 8th

 Solar flux is 303 and the SSN 242. A=7 and K=1.

DX Explorer video

This site is great. He always tries new things. I like that he is a true experimenter.

Hawkedon, Suffolk, UK - NOT amateur radio

Within a short distance of us are some delightful Suffolk villages such as Hawkedon shown in the photo. The Suffolk border is about 300m from us!

Ancient wall painting - NOT amateur radio

This wall painting, in Hassett church in Suffolk shown in the photo, was painted in the 1300s at a time when most people could not read or write. It shows the seven deadly sins. 

We visited 3 churches in West Suffolk yesterday. All had some amazing things.

Most English churches are extremely old.

For centuries it was covered behind whitewash.