Sunspots - Saturday October 25th

 Solar flux is 134 and the SSN 99. A=10 and K=0.

Autumn colours

In the sunshine we went for a walk at nearby Anglesey Abbey. 

The autumn colours are really good this year. Apparently it is due to the high sugar content because of the growing conditions.

10m 2W FT8 (Friday)

My gear was turned on at about 1000z.

UPDATE 1117z: 130 stations have spotted me so far this morning. 

UPDATE 1755z:  572 stations have spotted me with lots in North America. See map.

King’s College , Cambridge

These are the grounds at the back of King’s. I used to go to a weekly meeting in a room just off this photo when I first came to Cambridge in 1970.

Batteries for the future

We all know that electric cars (maybe hydrogen) are probably the future. 

However, they are, on the whole, expensive with a limited range. They also tend to need batteries with materials that are not that common. 

What is needed is a real breakthrough allowing a far greater range and a battery technology that uses easily obtainable materials. 

It would be good to have lower weight. I am sure that across the world a lot of research is going on to make these breakthroughs as whoever gets there first would have a huge commercial advantage. 

One avenue is a solid state battery. Another is a technology that does not need lithium such as sodium. It would be good to be able to top up the charge quickly too although if the range was considerable, many could charge at home quite infrequently.

There is a lot of hype around and I am not sure what the answer is. I suspect this breakthrough is not many years away.

What do A and K indices mean?

Most days I give the solar data. Several people wonder what the A and K indices mean.  Hopefully this ARRL file will explain.   

Basically a high solar flux is good for HF conditions and low A and K indices mean stable geomagnetic conditions, which are good. 

As a rough indicator look for a high solar flux and low A and K indices for good HF conditions.

See https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/0209038.pdf

BST and GMT

This weekend we return to GMT from daylight saving time (BST) in the UK. This means darker evenings and an earlier drawing of curtains. It's amazing how we adapt.  

Sunspots - Friday October 24th

 Solar flux is 134 and the SSN 92. A=10 and K=3.

10m 500mW WSPR

My beacon was turned on just before lunch.

UPDATE 1851z:  31 stations spotting me with the USA and Canada the furthermost. See map showing stations spotting me today. Now QRT.

6m 5W FT8 (Thursday)

My gear was turned on just before lunch.

UPDATE 1804z:   14 stations have spotted me including 1 in Sweden and 1 in Italy. See map. Now QRT on 6m.

DX Explorer

 This is a website I like. There are lots of videos with interesting projects such as this one.

Cambridge market

This is in the centre of Cambridge, UK.  It used to be bigger, but there are fewer occupied stalls these days. I guess the council charge them too much.

More fool them?

I read today that some people pay £750 just for breakfast. This is what some people have to live on for a whole month. Personally, I think this is obscene.

Thursday plans

 Later I hope to go on 6m 5W FT8 and 10m 500mW WSPR as long as the thunder stays away. It could come our way later.

Sunspots - Thursday October 23rd

 Solar flux is 133 and the SSN 117. A=4 and K=1.

Amateur radio gear on AliExpress or Banngood

Many people now buy goods from China. Prices tend to be very low, often with free airmail shipping. 

In the past I have used these without issues. So far, I have never had to pay duty or VAT. Often prices are so low that even if everything went wrong you would not lose that much. Delivery is usually quick too.

Spitting Image

For those not familiar with this it was originally on terrestrial TV but it is now on YouTube. The format is simple: puppets are created of famous people and they are made fun of. 

In many countries you could be imprisoned or shot for this, although I think it is a sign of a mature society if we can make fun of people in public office or the news. 

To many, to be made into a puppet on Spitting Image is an honour.

Crash or revolution coming?

In many countries the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The gap between rich and poor is growing.  Young people, certainly in the UK, find it almost impossible to buy a house on their incomes, assuming they can find a job. We live in an age of growing debt - living beyond our means.

Many countries are becoming more right wing. This, I think, is because many do not feel listened to by those in power.  In my view this is not the answer. Sadly I do not know what is!  One thing is clear: everyone must be heard and society has to be fairer.

All this is pointing to a correction. I cannot see this situation continuing. I think we are heading of a crash in the stock-market, falling house prices, .... or even a revolution.

Views?

King's Parade, Cambridge, UK

The photo shows just outside King's College yesterday. 

We can get into Cambridge for free with our bus passes. We go in most Mondays for our University of the Third Age lectures about "The Silk Roads".

The church in the distance is Great St Mary's, which is the university church.

Wire antenna with gain?

 VK3YE has a new video about some experiments with his EFZZ antenna. It appears to have some gain in certain directions.  It is very hard to know the directivity and gain as this will depend on bands, local obstructions, band conditions etc. It might make a useful portable antenna.