Cambridge Botanic Garden

 

This is owned by the University of Cambridge. 

It is very large and has some amazing plants and trees.

10m 200mW WSPR (Monday)

 My beacon was turned on at 0850z.

Heathkits

In the past Heathkit produced some great QRP CW transceivers. 

The HW7 a QRP HF transceiver was produced first, then the HW8 (which I owned) and finally the HW9. 

Sunspots - Monday March 16th

 Solar flux is 109 and the  SSN 95. A=17 and K=3..

Lenovo Chromebook

In the last few days  I noticed that Amazon  was selling a Chromebook with 128GB memory, detachable tablet, keyboard and touchscreen for £149.  It is being used now.

For several years I have enjoyed my Chromebook. 

This one is supported with updates until 2034. It seems to work perfectly.

10m 2.5W FT8 (Sunday)

I changed to 10m FT8 at about 1515z.

UPDATE 1526z: Spotted by a couple of stations, but now RX only. 32 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1843z:   70 stations spotted here. Suggests conditions were probably not good.

10m 200mW WSPR (Sunday)

My beacon has been on until about 1510z

UPDATE 1523z: Only 2 stations in the Canary Is have spotted me. Now QRT .

Improving portable range

 This video shows a possible way to improve the range of a handheld by adding a counterpoise.

Real-world amateur radio

 I only came across this blog seeing a post in Amateur Radio Weekly.Maybe true experimenters are not in amateur radio?

See https://mw1cfnradio.blogspot.com/2026/03/868mhz-dx.html

Hellebores

In the UK these are definitely spring flowers. Sadly, despite their name, they mostly have their flowers down, so they can be hard to photograph. 

These were seen at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens on Saturday .