Perhaps it is because my voice is poor these days, but I actually am quite happy to get 1-way reports on WSPR or FT8. Seeing where my signal gets is quite enough nowadays having worked QRP DXCC way back in the 1980s on 10m SSB.
Some chase DX QSOs, but this is not important to me.
On a couple of occasions recently I could swear I was told something in a WhatsApp message.
However hard I try I have been unable to find the message and there is no proof saying the sender had deleted it.
My only conclusion is that I must have had a dream. This has happened more than once in the last few months. It is as if reality and dreams are sometimes merged. It makes me question reality.
For all of my lifetime I have lived in peace, although until 1989 we lived under the shadow of nuclear war.
These days I sense evil is abroad. Russia has invaded Ukraine. Israel has hit Gaza hard in response to the Hamas attack of October 7th. China is threatening Taiwan where I have been twice. In many countries there is a move to the right. There is every possibility of Mr Trump being the leader of the USA for the next 4 years.
The world seems more unstable than at any time I can remember, perhaps with the exception of the 1962 Cuba crisis.
Western democracy is far from perfect. Unhindered capitalism has many faults. What I hope is that across the world a fairer society emerges.
For the first time in about a week I am back on 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far, at 1805z, just spotted by G8OCV/SDR (65km) 14 times.
All being well, I hope to replace my 8m dipole in the coming days.
This Es season, as an experiment, I am trying 10mW ERP WSPR under ISM rules. This power should certainly get me into Europe on better days, but will there be people monitoring 40.680 USB dial WSPR?
When the band is really "open" I shall be competing with other ISM sources! At the other end, there is no knowing what interference levels I shall be competing against.
As mentioned, there was a major announcement about the future of MFJ. The owner is now aged 80.
In an earlier post I mentioned that CQ magazine was ceasing production. MFJ can no longer be competetive making on-site.
In my view, amateur radio is reaching a critical point. There is no denying that amateur radio is a hobby that (mainly) appeals to older men. There are a few younger people interested and there are now very few radio magazines on sale in newsagents, whereas there are many about PCs and gaming. In the main, much as many would wish otherwise, younger folk get "turned on" by other things. Younger people are not fascinated by the magic of radio.
As we age, fewer pieces of commercial gear will get made (fewer profits to be made), fewer ads will appear from dealers, magazines will have less revenue, these will shrink or disappear and amateur radio as we knew it will cease to be.
This sounds gloomy and I hope I am proved wrong, but, so far, everything I expected is coming true.
What will the future look like? Many PTTs are losing interest in amateur radio, preferring to concentrate on things that can make them money.
If I had to guess, these are what I expect will happen in the coming years:
Is it all bad? I don't think so. To many people CB and amateur radio are different ways of chatting. Experimentation will carry on.
My wife had a surprise yesterday when putting things in the compost bin! Something had sprouted, but I have no idea what they are. Somethin...
