Just out of the photo is the Wren library. In the back is St John's college.
The tower is St.John's college chapel.
This photo has it all.
15 Apr 2026
14 Apr 2026
What's next for ICOM?
After the release of the IC7300MkII people are wondering what is next for ICOM. The IC-705 is due for an upgrade.
One "easy win" would be a repackage of the IC-705 as a handheld. This could just require new mechanics, but a nice upgrade would be to add 4m and delete the lower HF bands and add an internal auto ATU.
Oscar 100 and DATV
Activity is surprisingly low on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. There is (at least) one DATV net via the satellite, transforming amateur TV.
There are some very clever people around!
President Trump and the pope.
Whatever your political views, the lambasting of the pope by President Trump was ill judged at best in my view. As the leader of the western world I would have expected better.
The AI cartoon on Truth Social (was it Jesus or the Red Cross?) was in very bad taste in my view. I am not quite sure what message this was intended to portray?
10m 200mW WSPR (Tuesday)
At about 0805z I went across to 10m WSPR TX with my beacon.
UPDATE 1600z: No spots all day.
10m 5W FT8 (Tuesday)
My gear was turned on just before 0600z.
UPDATE 0746z: 1 English station spotted here and I have been spotted by 6 stations. Now RX only. I definitely think there are fewer people now on 10m FT8.
13 Apr 2026
New reserve currency?
For years the US dollar has been the reserve currency of the world. Oil prices are currently in US dollars.
The current US government seems to want a more isolationist stance on the world stage.
In my view we need a new reserve currency in the world and oil priced in something other than the US dollar. I have no idea what this should be. Any change might take years.
Sadly. the current US government seems hell bent on ruining the USA. In the next 50 years I can see China becoming a major power and the USA becoming far less important.
LoRa
Interest in licence-fee and internet free 868MHz mesh communications seems to be growing.
People are looking for a means of communication that does not need the internet as a backbone. Some are motivated by cyber-attacks on the internet. Others want it to communicate locally. Some just want to experiment.
In my view this is still immature much like the internet in the early 1990s.
As more and more people get active, things get better.
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