23 Jul 2026

Taxing big landowners?

There has always been a reluctance in the UK to tax really big landowners; the fear is they will up and leave the country. The answer is surely to increase their tax just enough to bring in what is needed (say 1% more) but not enough to really "rock the boat".

In the UK there are some really big land owners like many of the Cambridge Colleges, the Duchy of Cornwall, the Duke of Westminster and the Church of England. If all these were taxed just a little bit more I am sure they would hardly notice. I am sure this could finance social care and defence.

It is unfair to put the burden on the average person or those in greatest need. Those with the broadest shoulders should carry the heaviest load - always. Why should people have to sell their homes to pay for care?

Trump Supporters

Based on some comments that YouTube algorithms might be pointing me to anti-Trump videos, I searched YouTube for "Trump supporters". This appeared. It might help to explain things. 

Still the vast majority of videos question why he was elected. Assuming everything was fair, I guess his election is a reflection of over half those that voted.

I had always assumed the USA was a fair minded country interested in justice for all.


New Chinese 100W HF+6m radio announced

Xiegu has announced the G7250 transceiver. At one time Chinese radios were considered inferior to Japanese transceivers. Quality has improved from China and prices are always very good.

6m 1W FT8 (Thursday)

 

Stations spotting my 3W 6m FT8 today at 0810z

My gear has been on since before breakfast.

UPDATE 0810z:  66 stations have spotted me. I see Europeans (better equipped than me!) are working the Far East on 6m FT8.

Stations spotted here today on 6m FT8

UPDATE 1813z: 
Spotted by 357 stations with the best UN0GY (5528km). Yet again 6m was open to the USA and Caribbean. Although I could spot stations, my 1W was not enough. 

PIN removal

 My shack PC had a PIN . The trouble was that Windows had a glitch and frequently forgot it! Carefully following Google, I have removed it. It was a right pain.

Sunspots - Thursday July 23rd

 Solar flux is 150 and the SSN 63. A=12 and K=2.

22 Jul 2026

Trump Report (2 hours ago)

 This was the Trump Report from 2 hours ago.

Sodium Ion Rechargeable Batteries

 The EV market might be on the verge of a revolution. 


6m 500mW FT8 (Wednesday)

Still plenty of Es on 6m.

UPDATE 1923z:  So far today, my 500mW 6m FT8  has been spotted by 201 stations.

10m 200mW WSPR (Wednesday)

 My beacon has been on since breakfast.

 UPDATE 1924z: So far, spotted by 113 stations.