My beacon was turned on at about 1015z.
UPDATE 1405z: Just OH6BG (1718km) spotting me.
5 May 2026
6m 5W FT8 (Tuesday)
UPDATE 1407z: 17 spots of me, many by Es. See map. 21 stations spotted here.
Is 8m "going off the boil"?
As many know, I held a UK TX permit for the band getting all over the world with just a few watts and a low wire dipole. I was considering getting a new permit, despite the £50 price tag for the pleasure. In the end I decided not to bother, but to concentrate on 10m and 6m instead.
As the sunspot numbers decline, I reasoned that radio science, and me, would learn nothing new.
Also, I was extremely disappointed by the very negative attitude of many PTTs, when even temporary access to the band around sunspot maximum could have taught us so much. It is, arguably, too late now.
Faroe Islands
One of my friends on 365project lives in the Faroe Islands. This far north it must be cold and dark in winter and the days short. This is one of his photos.
Oscar 100
Periodically I give an update on the narrow-band transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. Sadly, activity on a Monday in a European evening, was still very low.
4 May 2026
What a mess
News from the Middle East is confusing if nothing else.
The USA claims 2 merchant ships have passed the Strait of Hormuz whereas Iran flatly denies this! In the fog of war we cannot know who is true at the time of writing.
This much is certain. The impact on the world economy is immense. Even if the war stopped tomorrow, it could take a long time (years?) to recover. The USA does not want Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon. Arguably, the USA is a declining world power and China is growing.
Are we at a tipping point in electric cars?
It seems to me we are nearing a "tipping point" in electric cars. The recent war in the Middle East may have concentrated minds, but battery technologies have moved ahead at a breathtaking pace. If we are not there now we very soon will be.
These days I do not do many miles in the car. Even I have considered an EV for the first time. The days when range was a real issue, as was charging time, are behind us and EV cars no longer need rare earth materials like lithium.
ICOM portables
In the late 20th century, ICOM produced a range of VHF and UHF portables, that worked on SSB and CW. Their style was very military.
I owned the IC202 which covered 200kHz on 2m using a very clever VXO. Using a home-designed transverter it worked the world with 1W SSB on 10m with simple wire dipoles or a CB vertical.
On 2m it worked some amazing DX handheld using just the whip on the rig.
6m 5W FT8 (Monday)
My gear has been on since just before breakfast.
UPDATE 0830z: Mostly English stations spotting me with just one in Austria. Currently RX only.
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