10m 200mW WSPR TX (Sunday)

My beacon was turned on at breakfast.

UPDATE 2036z:  55 stations have spotted me with lots of Es. Best is 5Z4ZO (7269km).

Portable operation

This photo must date from the early 2000s I think, or more probably in the 1990s judging by my hair colour!  

I am operating portable from my mother's garden in Devon on 10m SSB with 1W to a vertical mag-mount on the grass. It worked very well.

Sunspots - Sunday August 2nd

 Solar flux is 140 and the SSN 102. A=4 and K=1.

Italy back on 8m

 Italian radio amateurs have again been granted access to the 8m band. It is a real pity that in the UK the RSGB (or parts of it?) seem so against 8m when all we need is a 5kHz sliver, non-interference, narrow digital only, when several EU administrations have granted access. Also, judging by the I&T licences, I do not think OFCOM is anti, just the RSGB.

Petition the RSGB - 5kHz wide only, narrow digital only, strictly non-interference, NoV required.

10m 200mW WSPR TX (Saturday)

My beacon has been on since about 0530z.

UPDATE 0806z:  So far 34 stations have spotted me.

Sunspots - Saturday August 1st

 Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 123. A=5 and K=1.

6m 1W FT8 (Thursday)

My gear has been on most of the day.

UPDATE 1908z: So far, spotted by 176 stations, mainly Es in Europe. I think I need to try re-installing WSJT-X or get a new PC. It seems to fail to upload spots I make and cannot access certain memory locations as if my hard drive is failing. Never seen this before. Seems to work fine unless the program tries to use these memory locations.

10m 200mW WSPR (Friday)

My beacon has been on all day.

UPDATE 1800z:  97 stations have spotted me today with the best 5Z4GO (7269km).

Heathkit HW8

As mentioned before, I recently bought a second-hand HW8. This product is often used for restoration and modification.

Home grown tomatoes

Most years I grow some tomatoes at home. I am sure that buying them from a supermarket is cheaper and less hassle. 

However, I like the smell and the taste always seems better if you grow them yourself.

I wish mine looked like these seen at the nearby village of Lode.