Promises - NOT amateur radio

The first daffodils have appeared in our close.

Over the coming months we will see plenty, but like the arrival of summer migrant birds, they herald better times ahead and gladden the hearts.

This was a photo my wife took a few hours ago. Winter is here, but spring is coming.

10m WSPR?

It is a while since I tried 10m WSPR. A few years ago it was a popular mode whereas many have swapped to FT8. We are currently very near to sunspot minimum and outside the Es season in the Northern Hemisphere.

One of the reasons for not going on is the lack of an outside antenna, but yesterday's success with the magnetic loop on 17m FT8 on the windowsill has got me wondering. I can run 500mW WSPR on 10m all the time on TX with randomised frequencies every 2 minutes. So, this could run all the time in the background. On 10m the loop is likely to be more efficient than 17m, but would anybody be looking?

I am tempted.

Space weather forecast by the UK Met Office

Southgate News regularly carries the space weather, but there is also a forecast by the UK Met Office.

See https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/specialist-forecasts/space-weather

15m FT8

As I have no external antennas for 15m, I am again using the indoor magnetic loop antenna on the windowsill. Only 1 station spotted so far  - OD5ZZ (3438km) and no-one has spotted my 10W yet.

UPDATE 1415z: No spots yet of my 10W FT8 to the magnetic loop. 2 EA8s and 1 OD5 spotted on 15m FT8 RX so far.

UPDATE 1435z:  After calling CQ on 15m with 10W FT8 for about 40 minutes with no success, I have returned to 15m FT8 RX only.

Cowfield - NOT amateur radio

Where we used to live backed onto fields. For years, we had cattle in the fields in summer and we could hear them munching over the fence. Many years ago the 11 acre site was bought for the village by the local council. It is a real meadow and has the remains of a Roman settlement as well as a castle built nearly 1000 years ago in the time of King Stephen. We walk there often. The photo shows the field in summer. Even now we still call it the cowfield.

Sunspots - Monday February 3rd 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=2.

Magpies - NOT amateur radio

These magpies (see photo) were at Anglesey Abbey recently. A few years ago magpies were rare in this part of the UK. In nearly 40 years of travelling 12 miles into Cambridge for work I saw not a single magpie. These days I see them almost daily. At one time, buzzards were rare up here . Now we regularly see them. Red kites were limited to Wales. Now we see them often near major roads. Since the  1980s little egrets have become common in the UK.

Declining radio amateur numbers?

Southgate News has a piece today about declining amateur numbers in Germany. This is mirrored elsewhere. In 20 years' time, unless things change, we could see steep declines in our hobby.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/february/germany-ham-radio-decline-continues.htm#.XjbnpY6TLnE

DNA memories? - NOT amateur radio

It is well known that physically characteristics can be passed down the generations. As an example, my brother-in-law looks just like a relative from 100 years ago.

Years ago I met a distant relative who branched away from our family tree in the 1700s. He looked remarkably like my uncle! That was over 200 years ago!

Now, I am no human biologist, but I gather much of our DNA is not used to create us physically. So, I wonder what it is for? Will we ever find out? Do we have hidden in our DNA, ancient memories? Maybe one day we will find out.

Yorkshire pudding - NOT amateur radio

When our granddaughter comes to stay, she loves to make Yorkshire pudding. This is a savoury dish served with or before a meal. It is great with stews.

The photo shows one she recently made. Apart from putting it into a very hot oven, she does everything. Even her brother thinks they are good!