Lode walk - NOT amateur radio

It has been cold and sunny for several days. We decided to go for a walk in the nearby village of Lode. 

It was too icy to go on our usual route.

Village cottage - NOT amateur radio

This is Church Lane in our village.

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My QMX+ was turned on after breakfast. It gives about 2W out on 40.680 MHz.  No spots at 1120z.

UPDATE 1800z:  Just 2 European spots of me today. QRT soon.

10m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

My 500mW beacon was turned on after breakfast.

UPDATE 1120z:   9 spots of me so far.

UPDATE 1820z:  40 stations have spotted me today. QRT now.

Advice - NOT amateur radio

 This was on LinkedIn yesterday. The advice given may be helpful.

"My husband passed away unexpectedly last year on his 43rd birthday.There is nothing more jarring than returning to work when your world has fallen apart. 10 months on, I've thought a lot about how many of us must be facing unimaginable hardship whilst pushing through the day-to-day grind. Grief in the workplace can be tough to navigate - not only for the person grieving but for those wanting to support them.We could all be better at it, if we knew how. These are a few things that have helped me, and may help someone you know:

1. Acknowledge their loss/person/special occasions - you may be worried about saying the wrong thing, but saying nothing at all could make the person feel worse. Mentioning their person isn't going to remind them of their loss - they're thinking of them all the time anyway. Acknowledge how challenging holidays, birthdays and anniversaries must be without them.

2. Offer support - there are countless challenges that accompany a loss and the life admin is enormous! Anything that can lighten the load at work is helpful. Offer to grab them a coffee or lunch, ask if they'd like to go for a walk to get away from their desk and if you work from home, a virtual check-in could do the trick. And if you don't know how to help, simply ask 'how can I support you?'

3. Avoid platitudes, comparisons and advice - everyone's grief journey is different and even if you've suffered a loss yourself, please don't compare! Don't tell them 'time will heal' or 'it will get better'. Often grief feels worse as time passes, especially in those early weeks, months or years. Advice can be well-meaning but know that there is no solution or 'getting over' grief.

4. Language is important - asking 'how are you?' or 'how was your weekend?" can be superfluous. Instead, you could ask, 'how has the transition back to work been?', or 'would you like some company/a chat?' In grief, everything can become amplified including common words/phrases that may come across as insensitive.

5. Avoid commenting on the grieving person's appearance - if they have lost/put on weight, or look tired they are well aware. If you're worried they're not eating then offer to cook them a meal or gift them a voucher for a food delivery service. If you're worried about their health, invite them along for a walk or exercise class. If they look tired, acknowledge how hard it must be to sleep when grieving.

6. Praise their effort - getting up each day, showering and getting dressed is a huge feat in itself, let alone showing up for work each day and interacting with people. If they are caring for children or elderly/sick parents on top of that, the weight of this can be excruciating alongside their grief. Acknowledge how they show up despite this and tell them you're proud of them.

7. If nothing else, be kind!"

Saturday plans

Today, I expect to try 10m QRP using my 500mW stand-alone beacon and 8m FT8 QRP TX using my QMX+ where the output is about 2W to a low dipole.

Sunspots - Saturday January 11th

 Solar flux is 157 and the SSN 105.  A=12 and K=0.

Canada 11th province? - NOT amateur radio

 This made me laugh earlier. Makes you think.

QMX+ QRP on 8m FT8

 My QMX+ should work on 8m TX just by adding a band configuration using PuTTY. 

I successfully altered a parameter with this PC and PuTTY, so I must be experiencing "finger trouble" with PuTTY at the moment as I cannot (yet) get it to work in terminal mode. My trouble is I cannot remember what I did!

I should be able to use the 6m TX LPF and make no internal changes. RX is a different matter, as I would need to create a new BPF, something which is now beyond my fine motor skills. So I shall have to accept that my 8m RX will be deaf.

UPDATE 1220z:  Indeed it was finger trouble!  My QMX+ is TXing about 2W on 40.68MHz FT8.

UPDATE 1528z: Already spotted on 8m FT8 in the USA, Greenland, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico with the QMX+. It works!!

UPDATE 1610z: This once again shows that the MUF reaches 40.680 MHz far more often than 6m, once again showing a very small amateur band at 8m worldwide would be so useful for propagation research. As I have said very many times even a 5 kHz, digital only, low power allocation would be of use.

LA fires - NOT amateur radio

The wildfires in Los Angeles look horrendous. It is so sad when whole districts are destroyed like this. On the whole, this was a natural disaster. 

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg7z9zjv90jt .

It makes me furious when Man causes destruction through wars that just aren't necessary such as in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. Surely, by now, you would think that we would have learnt from history. Obviously not.  Sadly, I can only conclude that Man really can be basically evil.

All we can do is to try is try to make the world a kinder and more compassionate place a step at a time.