When you don't hear about people for a while, you worry.
A few days ago I chanced upon a circuit by AA1TJ and realised I had not heard any news from Mike in a while. Does anyone have any news please?
Like every person from the USA I have ever dealt with he was kind and generous.
UPDATE 1910z: Just had an email from Mike. Great.
My 10m QRP FT8 was turned on at 1144z.
UPDATE 1149z: So far, spotted by 13 stations.
UPDATE 1252z: Currently 10m FT8 RX only. 249 stations spotted.
Yesterday we had all three in one photo ....and blue sky!
OFCOM is consulting on the future of radio broadcasting in the UK. According to them AM broadcast listeners have been declining. I am not sure if this is true or as a result of more people listening to traditional broadcasts via smart speakers and DAB. Yours truly is as guilty as the rest!
If traditional AM broadcasts are declining this is a pity as many first came across radio by building simple Medium Wave receivers. My first introduction to amateur radio was hearing some locals on 160m AM. To many, radio was magic whereas nowadays we take it for granted.
Because of my poor voice and rubbish set-up (10W and a 2m big-wheel omni antenna) I do not stop on very long.
If I had stopped longer I would have worked far more than the 2 shown on the map. Usually I work over 100km.
Often these new radios come with some new feature that a person "must have". Sometimes older radios are traded in to pay for the new box. In reality, this new feature will not be noticed or rarely used.
Of late, the Chinese, Indians and others have been producing transceivers that are superior at much lower prices. In my view, as the demographic of radio amateurs ages, many of the traditional Japanese manufacturers will think twice or even leave the market.
It would appear that many of these Japanese radios are still using conservative designs. In the past, I think I am right, the Japanese have not been so good on innovation.
Maybe the "big three" are about to get a bloody nose?
UPDATE 1502z: 57 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 195. See map for those received.
There are quite a few bikes in Cambridge!
My beacon has been on since about 0945z.
UPDATE 1440z: 17 spots of me with the best a spot from a station in Brazil.
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Back then 70cm was almost a frontier band with little commercial gear, so if you wanted something you probably had to build it rather than buy it. Most people (like me!) were fixed on a crystal frequency and people tuned across the band to get a contact. In those days, activity was higher , so you had a much better chance of a QSO. Most contacts were AM.
70cm SSB? Never heard of it back then!
Currently I am 10m FT8 RX only.
On TX it was widely spotted across Europe and North Africa.
The map shows the stations received at about 1500z.
My beacon has been on since about 0940z.
UPDATE 1011z: Just EA8BFK (2880km) spotting me
See https://ubersdr.org/ .
A Ukrainian athlete has been banned for wearing a controversial helmet showing people killed in the war with Russia. Usually sport and politics don't mix. He has made his point.
Snowdrops are out everywhere and daffodils are coming out. Nights are getting lighter and the birds are singing.
Of all the seasons I like spring best of all, but I like this time of year as it is filled with anticipation.
My beacon was turned on just before breakfast,
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My Zachtek receiver is monitoring 30m WSPR.
UPDATE 0911z: Spotted 5 stations.
In a very short while I expect to turn on my beacon.
UPDATE 0742z: Beacon switched on at 0730z.
UPDATE 0915z: No spots.
A few minutes ago I QSYed to 80m WSPR RX using the coax to my 2m big-wheel antenna via an ATU.
UPDATE 2107z: 5 Europeans spotted.
Today President Macron made a speech in which he allegedly suggested Europe should act like a world power on the world stage.
He pointed out that Europe has a population of about 450 million people. It is a stable democracy believing in the world order and international laws.
With the isolationism and breakdown in world order we see now, there is some truth in this.
Last night I re-looked at how far down my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground really is.
At first I thought it was perhaps 1 S point worse on 630m than the coax up to my 2m big-wheel antenna via an ATU. With changing conditions it is really hard to be sure.
If seems that it is far better than this on the LF bands. It seems to work well on 630m, 160m and 80m falling off as you move to higher frequencies.
Considering how simple and visually great it is (nobody knows it is even there!) I recommend it!
Whilst on 10m WSPR TX, I realised there is nothing stopping me going on 80m WSPR RX with my Zachtek WSPR RX and my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground, so at 1135z I turned on 80m WSPR RX.
Increasingly, we seem to be moving towards a new world order in which the rich and privileged have power over the common people.
I have no problem if wealth comes fairly through hard work, but I have a real problem if this came at the expense of others or simply the person was just born into wealth.
I hope this is just a blip and we move to fairness and justice for all.
My beacon was turned on at 1015z.
UPDATE 1046z: 2 stations have spotted me with the best UN7LCJ (4187km).
UPDATE 1201z: Spotted by 4 stations with the best HZ1SF (4939km).
UPDATE 1325z: 16 spots of me with 7 from DP0GVN (13685km) in Antarctica with about 10dB in hand!
UPDATE 1611z: 40 stations have spotted me with 10 spots from Antarctica.
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In those days they were A5 size. It would not bother me if radio magazines were that size again. It reduces costs of paper and postage.
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