Car cleaning - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned in an earlier post, we cleaned the car before lunch. We really ought to clean it a lot more often! My wife did the inside and I did the outside. It looks better for it.  It was probably last cleaned last summer. 

As you can tell, to us a car is just a mode of transport. If it is reliable, we really do not care what it is. So far, we have had Kia's for about 13 years and they have proved very reliable.

Fancy car - NOT amateur radio

This morning we went for a walk. On the way we saw this car with metallic paint. It looked different colours from different angles. Very flashy.....and no doubt expensive.

Electric cars and batteries - NOT amateur radio

We are still awaiting a breakthrough in batteries for electric cars. Lithium, used in most (all?) electric vehicle batteries is a rare earth material in short supply. These batteries are expensive and big. There is also the issue of charging.

A breakthrough may be on the way promising much better ranges, less cost, and fast charging times. Until this happens, I cannot see a tipping point when there is a really big take-up of electric cars.  Imagine - far less expensive electric cars, very infrequent charging, long ranges. It will happen.

See https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/electric/solid-state-battery-ev/ .

Chinese electric commuter car - NOT amateur radio

The Chinese have launched a very low cost electric car aimed at commuters. It is a joint venture with General Motors. It is outselling Tesla cars by about 2:1. The standards in China are much lower than in Europe and the USA. At the moment it is only on sale in China.

It seems to me they have got their marketing spot on. In the west we have not got our electric car marketing correct. Our cars have (generally) got insufficient range for long distances and yet are far too expensive.

In what appears to be a stupid move, the UK government has today reduced the grant on electric cars under £35k and withdrawn it totally for cars over £35k. So much for encouraging us to go green!

In my view, the UK should launch a no frills electric car that fits the commuter range and can be charged at home. The government could actively encourage sales of these by strongly subsidising low cost electric cars made in the UK designed for commuters and local shopping trips.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56178802 .

Old car - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago we went to Norwich. This car was parked outside an hotel near the cathedral. I am not sure if this car dates from just before or just after WW2. It is certainly a fine car. I think it is a Bentley.

Telling Lies? - NOT amateur radio

A Member of Parliament in the UK has been found guilty of telling lies over who was driving her car when it was caught speeding and both her brother and her have been imprisoned. I have no facts, so cannot comment on this specific case. However, it is wrong for any MP to tell lies to save his or her career.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-46596588

Twat - NOT amateur radio

This car was probably stolen and the driver high on drugs?

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-46851036 .

Ripe for renovation? - NOT amateur radio

On our pre-Christmas lunch walk earlier, we saw this old Volkswagen. I think they enjoy restoring old Volkswagens at this place.

Toy Car - NOT amateur radio

This toy car was seen a few days ago at a National Trust place near Wolverhampton.

Diesel cars - NOT amateur radio

A year ago I bought a low mileage diesel car which was about a year old. Fuel consumption is low and a year's road tax (just renewed) was nothing.

There seems to be a backlash against diesel cars, but as far as I am aware recent diesels are low emission, clean and efficient.

Until electric cars have a range of 300 miles plus, I am put off electric. Yes, in the end they will be better for the planet, but battery technology still has a way to go.

Newer car - NOT amateur radio

Cars do not excite me - they are pieces of metal to help you get around. We bought our last car, a Kia, in 2010, so we bought the same make and model, but a 2016 version with low mileage. This is made in Europe and comes with a 7 year warranty. Our last car did around 60mpg and road tax was £20 a year. On this one, it is nothing a year road tax and we should get similar fuel consumption.

Working QRP SSB stateside DX from the car

This photo was taken in spring 2013 (before my stroke) and shows me working QRP SSB DX from the car on the edge of Dartmoor, Devon. I guess this will never happen again now as SSB is such hard work! I think the band was 15m. Conditions, and the weather, were good.

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

Electric cars have been on sale for years but today I saw my first electric car in use. This was a Nissan Leaf. To me the electric car is not the best solution. The range, even with new batteries, is quite low. Battery technology is still poor and huge batteries are needed to get quite modest ranges.

Although politically a "good idea", I feel we will see better solutions. Maybe this will be hydrogen fuel cells or power buried in the roads and paid for by the actual amount used? The latter would reduce the weight of batteries. Even with large subsidies, electric cars are expensive. We definitely need a clean, efficient alternative to petrol and diesel cars but I am not convinced by today's electric cars.

I watch the next few years with interest and wonder what motorists will be driving in 20-30 years' time.

Driving again

For the last few days I have been allowed to drive the car again. It had been 13 months without driving because of my brain bleed. Several (safe) journeys later I am, at last, starting to think again about doing some field experiments. Local driving/sitting in the car is fine, but doing any physical activity tires me totally and I still feel very wobbly when on my feet.  Doing the simplest of VLF or light beam field test is likely to exhaust me. Field work will be on the agenda soon, but I may need my wife to help set things up "in the field".

Driving again after 13 months

For 13 months I have not been allowed to drive because of my brain bleed. I have had to rely on my wife totally.

Today, I drove to and from the local garden centres at Fordham. This is a round trip of nearly 10 miles. Both the neurosurgeon and my doctor said "yes" and DVLA agreed I could drive again. I informed the insurer too just in case.  I would probably not want to drive too far for a while, but at least I can drive again locally. This is a major step for me. Just a little more independence.

With luck, I hope to be able to resume some amateur radio field experiments quite soon. I am still wobbly on my feet though. It would be good to try some earth-mode tests from this QTH.

An eventful return home

Today we travelled back from our son's in Kent - and broke down TWICE. The car and battery were fine when we left but the car would not start after refilling with fuel. A jump start got us going again. Then on the M11 near Stansted we broke down again as the battery was hardly functioning and the engine was struggling. We came to a complete stop on the hard shoulder. Thankfully our Direct Line breakdown service towed us home.  A new battery will be bought on Monday and we'll see if that was the only fault.