We visited Iceland some years ago and were surprised. We had expected a barren land, but most was green and beautiful. There were lupins everywhere.
28 Aug 2022
Iceland - NOT amateur radio
We visited Iceland some years ago and were surprised. We had expected a barren land, but most was green and beautiful. There were lupins everywhere.
10m propagation
We are now moving out of the main Es season into F2 being the main propagation mode. Using WSPR I mainly copy European stations whereas with FT8 I often copy South Americans. This is with the same RX, antenna and WSJT-X software!
My only conclusion is that far more people are now using FT8 than WSPR or that much shorter openings are caught with a 15 second burst of FT8 than a much longer WSPR burst.
ICOM IC-905
This is the new radio announced by ICOM. I have serious doubts about it ever making it to market.
It is meant to cover 2m-3cm with a control head based on the IC-705 and an RF unit that could be mounted next to the antenna.
It looks expensive and I just can't see it selling in huge volumes. Also, I cannot imagine it being low cost.
If it ever gets to market I can see this being a flop. Nice idea, but unlikely to make them rich.
Yaesu FTDX-10
After a huge amount of thought I have decided not to buy this radio.
Apart from 4m, it is unlikely to offer me much more than I already have. I am sure the IC-705 offers nearly as much. The 100W is wasted on me! What I might have bought was a 10W version or a real FT817 replacement.
There is little doubt that this is an excellent transceiver especially with the special bank holiday deals from MLS.
So, I'll pass. Maybe I'll regret this.
27 Aug 2022
Blackberry picking - NOT amateur radio
UPDATE 1545z: Came back with plenty.
10m WSPR QRP TX
The 10m WSPR 500mW beacon has been on since 0735z. It is now 0846z. So far only spots from local G6TUS (17km).
UPDATE 1734z: 6 unique stations have spotted me today on 10m WSPR QRP.
Shetland sunrise - NOT amateur radio
This photo appeared on 365project earlier and was posted by a friend on the Shetland Islands in the far north of Scotland. The days are long in summer, but short in winter.
Yaesu FTDX-10
As readers will know, I have been strongly considering one of these.
At the moment MLS is offering a very good deal, but I am still undecided. I am probably not buying one, although it is very highly rated in the Sherwood RX tests. With the £100 MLS gift voucher and Yaesu £85 cashback, now is probably the very best time.
It has a very good receiver, 4m and an auto-ATU, but not 2m or 70cm. At 100W on HF it has about 20 times the power I would ever use!
8m experiment (Saturday)
Yesterday, my 40.680 MHz QRP USB dial FT8 was spotted by 2 Iberian stations with 1 "QSO". The gear was turned on this morning at 0737z.
UPDATE 0959z: No spots.
26 Aug 2022
Wedding bells - NOT amateur radio
Our elder grandson loves to ring bells. He has now rung in 40 towers and, as I write, is ringing locally for a wedding.
Deleted by mistake?
If you have recently written to me and have not got a reply, it was probably my mistake.
I just emptied my bin and, too late, noticed something that I think should not have been there. Write again please. I try to respond promptly. Please accept my apologies. Writing again is probably the best thing to do if you got no response.
WISPY 10m WSPR receiver
It is amazing to believe that this design of mine is 10 years old! These days, many have gone on to FT8 instead, but there is a good following on 10m WSPR as well. This used very low cost 14.060 MHz crystals that were pulled, making this a very low cost design. It worked well.
10m QRP WSPR TX
My 500mW WSPR TX gear was turned on at 0939z. At 0949z, no spots.
UPDATE 1240z: Several spots from just Sweden. Limited Es opening?
UPDATE 1325z: Now spotted in Spain.
UPDATE 1335z: Now spotted in Norway.
8m experiment (Friday)
My QRP 8m FT8 gear on 40.680 MHz USB dial was turned on at 0939z. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1325z: No spots today on 8m.
UPDATE 1729z: HC02 (1808km) in Portugal has spotted my 8m FT8 QRP TX today.
The dealer shootout
Hopefully I will be very wrong, but I predict that at least one amateur radio dealer will be gone by the end of next year.
There could be more than one. Over time magazines will see revenue dip, which in turn could lead to smaller editions or even some magazines closing.
In my view, some dealers will survive, but others may not. Hard times are ahead.
As I said before, I hope I will be very wrong, but the signs are not good. I wrote to one dealer almost a week ago and I did not have the courtesy of a reply. They certainly won't be getting any business from me. Will they be one of the first to go? I shall not name and shame them.
It is not just dealers. Some manufacturers are also considering whether amateur radio offers them profits in the future. Some may decide it is better to get out soon.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
