Cambridge Art Gallery - NOT amateur radio

This was an art gallery in the Grand Arcade, Cambridge this morning. 

They always seem to have unusual paintings on display.

Village History - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we walked to our village garden nursery to buy some plants. 

Opposite was a plaque to an old Jewish cemetery. It is called "Jerusalem Gardens".  I cannot imagine a Jewish community here centuries ago in the time of King Henry II.

UPDATE Nov 1st:  I did not realise King Henry II was in the 1100s AD.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Thursday)

 After returning from Cambridge, I turned on my stand-alone 10m W5OLF WSPR TX beacon. Plenty of USA spots plus F61695 (9729km).

UPDATE 2042z:  In all today 74 stations have spotted me.

At last! 6m F2 "across the pond"

 When I returned from Cambridge after lunch, I turned on my QRP 6m FT8.

For the first time in many years this autumn, 6m was filled with USA and Canadian signals on 6m FT8. This looks like F2 propagation.  

Even my 6m FT8 QRP was reaching Canada and the USA. See map. On RX there are several USA stations active.

UPDATE 1550z: My QRP 6m FT8 spotted by 4 Canadian and 1 USA stations today. No QSOs sadly.

UPDATE 2045z:  Spotted by 76 stations so far.

Sunspots - Thursday October 31st

 Solar flux is 270 and the SSN 200. A=15 and K=1.

Village tree - NOT amateur radio

 

Yesterday we did a  nice walk to our local garden nursery to get some plants and passed this tree.

What happens when we die? - NOT amateur radio

It has been estimated that there are 10 billion stars in our galaxy alone. In the observable universe there are trillions of galaxies. The "average" star has at least one planet, meaning that there are a huge number of planets!

Somehow I cannot believe this life alone is "it".  Some estimate there are 10 to the power of 25 planets. This is a truly staggeringly large number.

Most religions are very "Earth centric". What is certain is we only can know very little with our small brains.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

 My TX beacon has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1646z: So far today, spotted by 50 stations with the furthermost F61695 (9729km) in the Indian Ocean. This is far fewer than yesterday.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

My  QMX+ has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1519z: Furthermost is a spot of me by V51MA (8460km) in Namibia. 38 spots of my QRP, mostly in Europe. No sign here of any stations in North America.

UPDATE 1653z: 43 spots of my QRP 6m FT8 today. Although I shall be on for a few hours yet, I do not think I shall see any USA stations on 6m today.

What is DX?

DX means different things to different people. 

To some, it is working a new country in the Pacific. To others it may be being copied in the antipodes with a few milliwatts of WSPR.  To some it may just be working a few kilometres with ultra-simple gear. Thank goodness we are all different.

Just because we do not understand what "turns people on" we have no right whatsoever to judge others.