Worldwide radio conditions

Often it is useful to have an idea about which bands are open and to where. 

One such guide is https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/global-hf-propagation/ which is a useful snapshot. 

There must be many others too.

New fangled stuff

This photo appeared yesterday as one of my memories, I have no idea where it first came from.

I guess it must date from pre-WW1?  Wouldn't they be amazed by modern technology!!

Uneasy "peace"

 As I write this there is a very fragile peace in the Middle East. 

There is a distinct lack of trust between the various parties.  

Let's hope, given time, things can improve.

Evening light

Last evening, we had a few claps of thunder and heavy rain. 

Then the sun shone! 

Just enough time to catch the amazing sky around the windmill next door. That's our hedge in front.

UPDATE 1053z : A red kite (bird) just flew over but sadly didn’t land on the windmill. That would have been a great photo.

Tuesday plans

 At the moment I plan to go on 10m 200mW WSPR TX and  6m 3W FT8 later. 

With noctilucent clouds having been seen this is a good time for 6m super DX from Europe to the Far East.

Donut batteries

Allegedly, the Donut battery is not living up to expectations. 

It would appear that the battery is not what we were all hoping for. 

At one time, judging by the hype, this was the breakthough we had all been awaiting.

This is just one video. I have no way of telling if it is AI.

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Sunspots - Tuesday June 9th

 Solar flux is 131 and the SSN 119 .  A=8 and K=2.

2m 3W FT8 (Monday)

Today, I decided to try 2m 3W FT8 instead of 6m in the hope of some Es.

UPDATE 1043z:   3 Eire, English and Welsh stations have spotted me with the best EI2FG (563km). 5 English stations have been spotted here. EI2FG has spotted me several times this morning - scatter?

UPDATE 1425z:  In the last hour I reduced the power still further to 2W FT8 to the big-wheel omni antenna. Despite this, I am still being spotted in Eire and N.Ireland. No sign of Es here today on 2m FT8.

UPDATE 1802z:  Now QRT - thunder!! 20 stations spotted my 2m QRP FT8 today. See map.

EVs - confused?

To me, it seems inevitable that we will evolve to electric vehicles (EVs) in the coming years. 

There has been a lot in the press about a breakthrough promising huge ranges, lower costs and fast charging times. It would appear that there are many competing approaches and it is far from clear which will emerge as winners. 

There is clearly a wish to move away from rare earth materials, to ensure safety and move away from fossil fuels.

In my view we are not (quite) there yet, but we are now getting very very close to a breakthrough.

10m 200mW WSPR (Monday)

My beacon was turned on before breakfast.

UPDATE 1014z: 22 stations spotting me. Some have spotted me over 60 times!