Rain (or lack of)

 East Anglia is usually quite a dry area of the country, but yesterday we had only the first rain ☔️ this month after a very dry April. I hope we get some more ….at night! 

FT8 issue?

 Earlier I planned to go on 10m FT8. My Windows 10 PC had other ideas. 

Last night it did a Windows update and refuses to TX! I need more disk space to upgrade to Windows 11 or recover to an earlier date. I shall try reloading WSJT-X first and see if that cures it 😢

UPDATE 0930z: Reinstalled WSJT-X. Still no TX .

Sunspots - Thursday May 14th

 Solar flux is 103 and the SSN 56. A=10 and K=2.

70cm FT8 activity contest

Stations spotting me on 70cm FT8 this evening

It never fails to amaze me how well 10W FT8 and a 144MHz big-wheel omni does on 70cm . Tonight was the 70cm FT8 activity contest. Every contest I seem to be copied in continental Europe and was spotted at considerable range within the UK. See map.

I was only on about 10 minutes.

EV batteries

CATL is the biggest battery manufacturer in the world and has announced some remarkable advances. In my view we are on the cusp of a transport revolution leaving fossil fuel vehicles left in the Stone Age. 

Wake up USA, or you will be left far, far behind.

10m 3W FT8 (Tuesday)

 So far, the thunder has missed us, so I have gone on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1518z: Spotted by 65 stations.

Thunder?

Our weather forecast is a mix of sunshine and showers. We may get some thunder so I think that radio will "take a miss" today.

See  https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=ses;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;y=50.6166;x=0.7725;z=7;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;

My son and jazz

 My son is a professional jazz pianist playing all the major London venues (Ronny Scott's, 606 club etc.) and across the country and abroad.

70cm activity contest yesterday

 Last night was the May leg of the UKAC activity contest.With my poor voice, 10W and 144MHz big-wheel omni antenna it’s hard work, so I don’t stay on long. Just 2 stations worked.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 13th

 Solar flux is 111 and the SSN 58. A=4 and K=1.

10m 200mW WSPR (Tuesday)

 The 200mW beacon was turned on at about 1900z. 

UPDATE 1948z:  Many spots of me by EA8BFK (2880km). At the peak I had about 28dB in hand!

Fiddling as Rome burns?

In the UK there is a debate about whether the Prime Minister should be replaced. To me this seems like "fiddling as Rome burns".

Within 12 months we could have rationing of some foodstuffs and fuel, and live in a world that is radically different. 

With Ukraine, Iran, Gaza, Taiwan, Sudan etc, not forgetting climate change and a widening gap between rich and poor, the world has a great deal to think about and act upon.

Government Bonds

Government debt is financed by investors putting money in government bonds.  These are usually considered a safe haven with a certain yield over a given period. 

The trouble is currently interest rates are much higher than a few years ago, so governments have to pay a large amount of their budget on servicing this debt as is the case in the USA and UK.

 The danger is foreign investors think twice about buying this debt in the future. 

At the moment the US $ is the world's reserve currency. For how much longer?

8m FT8 RX (Tuesday)

Once again, I am monitoring 8m FT8.

UPDATE  1206z:  No spots. This will probably be my last day concentrating on 8m FT8. I am disappointed in 8m activity.

UPDATE 1822z: Just EA3ERE (1153km) spotted. QRT soon.

Sunspots - Tuesday May 12th

 Solar flux is 116 and the SSN 79. A=5 and K=1.

8m FT8 RX (Monday)

Although I no longer hold a UK TX permit for 8m, I still monitor 8m FT8  from time to time. 

I am monitoring today.

UPDATE 1308z:   Just G8VER (64km) spotted.

10m 200mW WSPR (Monday)

My beacon was turned on at about 0545z. 

UPDATE 1306z:   No spots.

Friedrichshafen

In late June is the big German exhibition, which I think is the biggest amateur radio gathering outside of the USA. I have never been.

UK politics

In the last week we have had several English council elections as well as elections to the devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland.

One thing is clear: people want a change. 

We are seeing the end of the 2 ruling parties (Labour and Conservatives) that have governed the UK for about 100 years. The parties coming to the fore are Reform and the Greens.

Often, local elections are protest votes against the ruling party.

Reform is on the right politically whereas the Greens are on the left.

Reform has a charismatic leader. Sadly, the current Prime Minister, is a principled man, but not very charismatic. I suspect Reform would be badly affected if anything happened to Nigel Farage.

Kaliningrad

This is an isolated part of Russia bordering the Baltic. Lithuania is stopping transit across its territory because of EU sanctions. Russia is unhappy but knows Lithuania is in NATO.