Brave New World?

 As an experiment just now, I asked Chat GPT4 to generate me an essay about amateur radio. GPT4 is a form of artificial intelligence.

The essay looked remarkably accurate and was just as if a human being had written it. I stopped after about 30 lines. I also asked it to create a couple of poems about places I knew. These were amazing.

You can see both the good and bad here: the good is getting AI to do what humans find boring and hard. The bad is where does this stop?

Although I do not want to sound like a Luddite, I can see dangers ahead.

Wicken Fen walk - NOT amateur radio

 

Yesterday we walked to Wicken Fen. It tried to rain (briefly) on the way back.

19 set

Back in the 1960s these were quite common WW2 surplus radios often used on 80m AM. These days they are more difficult to get. At one time these were made by Pye Telecom. 

Sunspots - Friday March 31st 2023

Solar flux is 140 and the SSN 99.  A=17 and K=4.

Red-legged partridges - NOT amateur radio

Only a few days ago I was saying how we had seen none of these for a while. This evening, one appeared in our front drive and then perched on the bird table in the back!  

I heard it first. It is probably after a mate!

10m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

 So far, 38 stations have spotted me and I have copied a lot more!  2 QSOs so far.

Stations spotting me
 today on 10m FT8 QRP

UPDATE 2110z:  156 stations have spotted my QRP 10m FT8 today. 3 QSOs. It seems the world is there with QRP on 10m FT8. It is too easy! Currently not trying for QSOs. More like FT8 beaconing.  

Death - NOT amateur radio

We have just heard of the death of the husband of my wife's old work colleague. They live in Australia. Although expected, it must be such a shock when it actually happens. 

I guess it is also a wake-up call to our own mortality. I am reminded of this poem.

See https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44400/spring-and-fall .

23cm SSB sked

Assuming G4BAO confirms, my intention is to have a 23cm sked on 1296.2 MHz SSB at 1430z today. As yet, he has not confirmed!!

UPDATE 1650z: We are trying at 1430z on Friday March 31st on 1296.2 MHz SSB. 3.30pm BST.

Lesser Chirpy

Originally, this was called the XBM10-2. It is probably one of the simplest transceivers you can make. It really works! These days there is less CW activity as people move to modes like FT8, but it is fun to make contacts with ultra simple homemade gear.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-lesser-chirpy .

Plans for this afternoon (Thursday)

 Assuming the thunder storms keep away, my plan is to go on 10m FT8 later. 

Wicken Fen walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning we walked to Wicken Fen a distance of about 3.75 miles. 

What was this? - NOT amateur radio

This odd building, now very derelict, is on sale in a nearby village (Lode) for £250000. It looks like it was once a shop, but its odd design suggests it was once something else. Sadly, I do not know its history. In decent condition it would probably sell for over £1M. Nice restoration project for someone!

Rally on Sunday

This is a reminder of this rally this coming Sunday. As I always say, please be sure it is on before travelling far.

Sunday April 2nd - Hack Green Surplus Sale and Militaria, Nantwich, Cheshire , CW5 8AL. Contact coldwar@hackgreen.co.uk.

Walk with grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

This was last weekend on a walk with 2 of our grandchildren. We were playing a game of "Pooh Sticks" when a stick is dropped on one side of the bridge and one waits on the other side of bridge for it to emerge.

Sunspots - Thursday March 30th 2023

Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 135. A=6 and K=2. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) - NOT amateur radio

This worries me. 

Just now I tried Google's version called Bard again. It tries to make sense of the data it knows about and writes about this. Some answers were remarkably good, whereas some were useless and factually incorrect.

Now, used properly I can see lot of uses. However, many will (wrongly) take everything it says as factually correct when it is not. I can see a future when many people accept everything produced by AI as factually correct. "Brave New World", as Aldous Huxley Huxley said?

Cambridge artwork

 

This painting was in a shop window in Cambridge on Monday.

G4BAO away?

Several times I have tried to contact John to arrange a quick sked on 23m SSB. It seems odd to me that he has not replied even when I sent to an address he had used quite recently and another that I had. 

At first I wondered if my address had gone into SPAM by mistake. I have come to the conclusion he is away.... or I am no longer in his good books,HI!

6m FT8 (Wednesday)

Stations spotting my 6m FT8 until 1602z

At the moment (1510z) I am on 6m FT8 with the FT-710. So far, spotted across the UK with the furthermost MI0BOT (478km). Was this aircraft reflection?

King's College flowers - NOT amateur radio

At the moment the spring flowers on the lane towards King's College in Cambridge from Queens Road look a picture. This photo was taken on Monday.