Tidy up - NOT amateur radio

 Yesterday, many volunteers tidied up our local bowling green. I think they must have a match this weekend.

Amateur radio on the streets?

Around the world it seems harder to find radio magazines on the stands of newsagents. This is certainly true here in the UK, but I am wondering if it is different in other countries?

Yaesu FTX-1F

This radio is creating quite a buzz. 

It is Yaesu's answer to the IC-705 and it also is the long awaited answer to the FT817/818 series. 

It is not a hand portable, although I suspect Yaesu have done their homework in that most people will not use it pedestrian portable but in hotel rooms and on park benches. In this regard it may be an ideal choice with a large battery capacity.

So far, there is no indication of price, but I hope it is well under £1000. Also, we have only, so far, seen very preliminary specs. The IC-705 has things like Bluetooth and GPS. It will be interesting to see what appears in the full specs.

Often there are hardware and software bugs in very early models.  This will be the first time that Yaesu will have made units in significant volumes, so they will be looking for feedback so they can "tweek" the design on the next production run. In some ways early adopters are guinea pigs.

Soldersmoke AI experiment

As an experiment, Soldersmoke did an experimental AI generated podcast. It is frightening. 

If this is possible now, what will be possible in 2050? To me, it sounded incredible. You would never have known it was AI generated.

It is frightening how realistic this podcast sounds, making you wonder how AI could be used to distort truth in future e.g. in elections.

See http://www.soldersmoke.com/About SolderSmoke 2.mp3

Sunspots - Sunday September 29th

 Solar flux is 195 and the SSN 148.  A=7 and K=3.

Dying of cancer - NOT amateur radio

 My wife has been to see her old work colleague and friend several times recently. 

After a long battle with stage 4 cancer she has come home to die. They gave her less than 5 years, but she has lasted 8 years. She probably only has days left. It is all so sad. She sleeps a lot of the time and is confined to bed. 

It is odd. In some ways this experience has dulled the fear of death. For her husband it must be unbelievably sad knowing that your wife is dying and there is no prospect of her getting better.

Apple day 2024 - NOT amateur radio

Our next door neighbour has a large orchard and far too many apples, so he organised an apple day so we could pick some for the winter. 

For once the weather was sunny and bright.

It was a lovely social occasion too.

10m 500mW WSPR (Saturday)

My stand-alone 10m WSPR beacon by W5OLF was turned on at about 0835z.  No spots.

UPDATE 0848z: Just a couple of spots by local G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE  0855z:  Just G4KPX spotting me.

UPDATE 1556z:  33 stations have spotted me with many in the USA and Canada.

UPDATE 1603z:  The map (see WSPRrocks by Phil VK7JJ) shows the stations spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR TX beacon today.

UPDATE 1629z:  36 stations have spotted me today.

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 2.5W 8m FT8  was turned on at about 0835z.  

UPDATE 1317z:  QRT.  No spots all day on RX or TX on 8m FT8.

UPDATE 1703z:  On again, but still no spots. So far, I have been disappointed with 8m FT8 this autumn.

Crab apple jelly - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago I collected the crab apples from our single tree. 

Yesterday, I turned them into crab apple jelly as the photo shows. It is delicious on some meats.

I have no idea why they are called crab apples. They are tiny compared with more usual apples. I would guess 2cm diameter or less would be more typical.

See https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/crab-apple-jelly .