10m 200mW WSPR TX (Monday)

 Shortly I expect to go on 10m WSPR TX with my little beacon.

UPDATE 1710z:  91 stations spotting me with the best Israel.

The peak of amateur radio?

When I was first interested in amateur radio in the early 1960s radio really was magic.  Arguably the golden years were just after WW2 . 

These magazines were on this blog some years ago. They were bought at a bookshop in Hay-On-Wye which is famous for its bookshops. 

Reading them you get a sense of just how exciting radio really was back then.

Getting older

This weekend I heard about the death of a school friend. 

I guess as we get older this will be more common. At one time it was another generation. Now it is my generation!  He died suddenly and as far as I know without pain.  

I guess this is a wake-up call: we all have a finite time. Milk life.

Sunspots - Monday July 27th

 Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 99. A=6 and K=1.

China's car market falls

In China, the sale of cars, especially petrol cars, has fallen dramatically. Cars in China are far lower in price than in the West.

War comes to Russia

The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going since 2022. Recently Ukraine has been attacking targets deep in Russia, so ordinary Russians are beginning to feel the pain.

Italian obesity

After WW2 Italy was praised for its healthy diet and was the model of the world for its Mediterranean diet and very low rate of heart disease.

These days have gone and many Italian children are obese.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c33y3151vydo

10m 200mW WSPR TX (Sunday)

 My beacon was turned on at about 0902z.

UPDATE 1715z:   41 stations have spotted me, most by Es.  Best is EA8BFK (2880km). 

Limited activity

 As we have company until later today, I am not currently on the radio.

FT8 on CB

 Although I have not tried it apparently FT8 is becoming a popular mode for CB DX chasers. I have not tried CB for years, but might try monitoring for fun as I cannot TX on the CB frequencies.