All the snowdrops have been replaced with yellow daffodils.
24 Mar 2025
10m QRP FT8 (Monday)
I went on 10m QRP FT8 with my IC-705 at 6W at about 0650z.
UPDATE 1413z: Just for fun I have reduced my IC-705 to 500mW FT8. It will be interesting to see how this goes.
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| Stations spotting my 500mW 10m FT8 |
UPDATE 1817z: 104 stations have spotted my 10m 500mW FT8. Furthermost is HK4R (8498km). See map.
23 Mar 2025
Intelligent life in outer space - NOT amateur radio
One of the points which I picked up from my recent University of the Third Age course in Cambridge was about the advances in AI.
Within a few years AI is likely to exceed the intelligence of human beings. When we scan the skies for intelligent life elsewhere we may come across civilisations (e.g. via SETI) that may not be sentient.
What is consciousness? I think it is beings that are self-aware. Although vast computers may have vast amounts of knowledge, this is not the same as self-awareness and consciousness.
I can imagine some planets even slightly more advanced than ours which have AI far more advanced than ours.
Interesting viewpoint - NOT amateur radio
On the right of the photo you can see part of the Tower of London.
6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)
My IC-705 at 6W to the vertical omni V2000 antenna was turned on mid-morning.
18 British Isles stations have spotted me so far.
10m 500mW WSPR (Sunday)
My beacon was turned on after breakfast. Three stations spotting me.
UPDATE 2150z: 15 spots of me today. QRT shortly.
New life - NOT amateur radio
2m QRP FT8
22 Mar 2025
Salcombe, Devon, UK - NOT amaeur radio
In my early childhood, I lived by the sea in Salcombe, Devon. A look on YouTube had loads of videos of the town.
It is now a rich man's playground with many second homes. In my day, although we had plenty of tourists, it was still a town for locals.
AI lectures - NOT amateur radio
On Friday, I finished a 10 week course at the Cambridge University of the Third Age about AI. It was an excellent course and got me thinking. It is generally known that AI will well exceed humans in the next few years.
This morning I watched an AI generated video imagining life in late Victorian times. If I had not known it was AI generated, I would never have known. It was amazingly good. This is just one of the negatives of AI. It is already hard to tell what is fake and what is real. Imagine how this will be in just 10 years' time!
In many ways AI will benefit mankind. It is also very dangerous in the wrong hands. I imagine that the military in the USA, China and Russia are already working hard to counter each other. I imagine they are all working on the idea of mutually assured destruction (MAD) remembering what ever you can do to me I can do to you. It is like nuclear weapons.
Am I in favour of AI? It is here and we have to live with it whether malign or benign.
21 Mar 2025
Ad-(non)sense - NOT amateur radio
As part of running this blog I get stats on visitor numbers from Google Adsense. Basically this is rubbish! Sometimes visit numbers are high, whereas other times I am supposed to get very few visits. It is best ignored.
WSJT-X 2.7
This happened about a month ago, but I have only just noticed! WSJT-X is now at general release 2.7. WSJT-X has many of the common digital modes and may be downloaded for free.
6m QRP FT8 (Friday)
My IC-705 was turned on at 6W just before 0800z. At 0920z spotted by 9 stations in the UK and Eire.
UPDATE 2112z: 18 stations have spotted me. No continental Europe and no exotic DX. In fact, a pretty lousy day. QRT.
10m QRP WSPR (Friday)
My 500mW beacon was turned on at 0754z. 3 stations spotting me at 0938z.
Quasheng video
This handheld dual band transceiver is available at a bargain price. It may be modified to receive on a wide range and in many modes.
Grass cutting - NOT amateur radio
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