This is Parsonage Farm in our village.
13 Aug 2021
Arecibo Observatory and EME
In the mid 1960s it was used for some amateur moonbounce tests. Many amateurs made their first EME QSOs this way. The dish gain was very high with a 1000 foot dish! I have no idea what the ERP was.
This was 1964 (?), way before we had any weak signal modes that makes EME a little easier. EME still needs optimum equipment and is not for those not prepared to work hard.
I am not sure what is needed these days to work the better stations via EME, but I would guess at least 100W, mast head preamps and as big a yagi array as you can manage. This also requires accurate moon tracking, low cable losses and weak signal modes optimised for EME.
Re-tarred - NOT amateur radio
It looks splendid, although a few drops from starlings on the sails could soon spoil this!
All the work is done by volunteers.
Tunnel diodes
I am not sure if you can buy them still. They are 2 pin negative resistance diodes that work by quantum mechanical tunnelling.
Very simple uW TXs are possible and there was one published that was copied about 200km away in New Zealand on 80m.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_diode .
See https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Vendors/Tunnel-diode-manufacturers.html .
12 Aug 2021
2m FT8 QRP (Thursday)
After a very brief session on 2.5W TX (2 spots of me), I am RX only. It is now 1506z and 2 stations spotted.
UPDATE 1752z: 17 stations spotted with the furthermost DL1KDA (456km).
Perseid meteor shower
This meteor shower peaks about now. Often this is accompanied by some long "pings" with VHF signals propagated a long way via the ionised trails. I shall be monitoring 2m FT8 overnight, but there may be better modes.
10m WSPR TX 500mW (Thursday)
Since about 0930z, I have been on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW.
UPDATE 1000z: Already a couple of spots from Germany.
UPDATE 1414z: 17 unique stations have spotted me so far today. Furthermost is a spot by EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Isles.
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| Spots at 1738z |
UPDATE 2100z: QRT
6m FT8 QRP (Thursday)
At about 0930z I decided to try 6m with 2.5W FT8. 3 stations spotted me including 1 in Italy. Since then, I have been RX only.
UPDATE 0955z: 7 stations spotted on RX across Europe.
UPDATE 1312z: 67 stations spotted with the furthermost 5T5PA (3791km) in West Africa.
Kafka? - NOT amateur radio
This is supposed to be true, although I no way of telling. Whether true or not, I like it.
At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully.
Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would come back to look for her.
The next day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by the doll saying "please don't cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures."
Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka's life.
During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable.
Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned to Berlin.
"It doesn't look like my doll at all," said the girl.
Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: "my travels have changed me." the little girl hugged the new doll and brought her happy home.
A year later Kafka died.
Many years later, the now-adult girl found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written:
"Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way."
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