Ephemeral beauty - NOT amateur radio

 

The spring blossom does not last long. 

The blossom on our ornamental cherry lasts about two weeks only.

Sunday plans

 After breakfast my plan is to go on 10m QRP FT8. 

Sunspots - Sunday April 13th

 Solar flux is 165 and the SSN 120. A=20 and K=4.

"Our" windmill next door - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, we live immediately next door to a fully restored 200 year old windmill. 

Earlier this week our son took this photo at night.

The future of amateur radio in the UK

 It is hard to predict the future, but some trends are clear:

• Amateur radio is, in the main, a hobby of white older men.
• People less often use amateur radio for chatting, preferring the internet.
• The hobby is attracting and keeping fewer young people.
• There is far less building and experimenting.
• The national society (RSGB) depends heavily on old men volunteering.
• Far fewer transceivers will be sold in the future as we age.
• Japanese manufacturers will increasingly question if there are still profits in amateur radio.
• The licencing authority (OFCOM) gains no revenue from amateur radio, just costs.
• We increasingly rely on fewer UK dealers.
• Some dealers will retire and close.
• Some magazines depend heavily on advertising revenue and would really suffer if this revenue stream stopped.

Take together, things will inevitably change.  The same situation is likely in many countries e.g. the USA and Germany.

It is my view, quite possibly totally wrong, that deregulation is the most likely outcome. One possibility is:

• Amateur radio will cease in its current form.
• All amateur radio bands will be deregulated so no licence will be required.
• Callsigns will become optional, but allocated by the RSGB if still needed.
• No interference must be caused.
• Amateur radio will merge with other licence free services like CB and ISM.

It is far from clear what the future holds, but change will come. One possibility is than any frequency may be used with the exception of certain restrictions such as frequencies allocated to the military or commercial services and broadcasting as long as no harmful interference is caused.

Am I concerned?  No. My interest has always been experimentation and any such changes are unlikely to make things worse. Also, most amateur radio operators are appliance operators these days, buying their transceivers from a dealer with little or no idea about how it works! I know of one local who does not know how to even use the transceiver he bought!

VLF earthmode

This was 14 years ago when I was still fit. I used to drive out in the car to see where my 5W beacon could be received.

10m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 6W 10m FT8 was turned on at about 0620z.

UPDATE 0845z: 17 spots of me so far with the furthermost Gabon in central Africa. The impression I get is conditions are "average".

UPDATE  1546z:   114 stations have spotted me today with the furthermost Western Australia. Nothing yet from the USA or Canada. See map.

UPDATE 1818z:  146 stations have spotted me.

Village cottages- NOT amateur radio

 

These cottages are next to the church in our village . Although a private house now they have been an antiques shop and a dress shop in our time.

Sunspots - Saturday April 12th

 Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 120. A=18 and K=3.

Friends across the world

One of the aspects of amateur radio I really like is its ability to completely transcend politics. 

Way back in the days of the USSR many stations were worked. Likewise I worked many stations in the USA and Canada. These days there are more Chinese stations active.  To this day I still exchange emails with a radio amateur in Moscow.  I also exchange emails with someone in the USA.

Most of us are just interested in some aspect of the hobby and politics just doesn't matter. Some are capitalists, some are communists. It really does not impact us. 

All we can do is continue to break down barriers and remember we are all the same really.