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Today I unpacked this kit which I’ve had a couple of months. I have been waiting until I feel a bit better (less wobbly and clumsy) but now feel well enough to start the build.

Ultimate 3 beacon kit – received from Japan

I’ll build the TX low pass filter for 10m first as this looks “do-able”. The other parts may have to wait a few weeks. I want the kit building but want to do it when I am fit enough. The big issue will be boxing it. My brain bleed makes drilling cases a nightmare for me.

I was surprised to find no enclosed instructions. Guess one is meant to look on the net. Only unpacked the LPF module so far.  Being very careful.

Why would an amateur radio operator be interested in space weather?  Is it worth the time and resources to forecast propagation, in the daily operation of a typical ham radio station?

Gary, host of the popular ‘Ham Radio Now’ video podcast, talks with Tomas Hood (NW7US), propagation and space weather columnist for CQ Amateur Radio Magazine (and in the late ‘Popular Communications Magazine’ as well as ‘CQ VHF Quarterly Magazine’) and The Spectrum Monitor Magazine. Gary discusses with Tomas how scientists forecast space weather, and how the average ham radio operator can also make predictions, and what propagation forecasting can bring to the daily operations of an amateur radio enthusiast.

Watch on YouTube: ‘Ham Radio Now’ Episode 156: Propagation…

Tomas, NW7US, talks about radio propagation on shortwave (HF) as well as space weather.

Today we went on a day return by train to London to be with our son Tim, his wife Jo and our grandchildren Lucien and Amandine. Tim met us and took us back to Kings Cross. Booking in advance and with Senior Rail Cards if works out cheaper than driving. At present I cannot drive because of my brain bleed last year.  It was good to spend time in their home again after so long.

With the grandchildren in London today

Totally by accident, we sat next to Nick G4IKZ on the train back from London. I’d not seen Nick since work days over 6 years ago. Many years ago we worked together in several Cambridge companies. Nick is one of the brightest minds I’ve had the privilege to know. There are few better RF engineers. We compared notes on 6m WSPR of course. He confirmed his 6m antenna is a horizontal Moxon.

Being late back, I decided not to turn the rigs on tonight.

I was up in Kasabonika, Ontario last week June 25th and 26th. I was up there doing Chainsaw training in this remote fly-in only Native Reserve. Kasabonika is located about 575kms North of Thunder Bay, Ontario. I took along my HB1B MKII with built in battery, my Elecraft T1 tuner, Chameleon Hy-Brid Micro coil and my PRC-271 whip along with a 15′ counterpoise and jaw mount to attach Hy-Brid coil to.
I called CQ for what seemed a long time while battling black flies and mosquitoes. A tune down the band on 20 meters showed W1AW loud in this community that is very much quiet in the way of line noise and other man made QRN. I tuned up just a bit to hear Peter OX3XR calling CQ with no takers, here is the information on that QSO.
Time: 2314z
Date:06-25-2014
Freq: 14052.5
Pwr:4 watts
Rig:HB1B MKII
Key:Micro switch
Antenna: Chameleon Hy-Brid Micro and PRC271 whip and 15’counterpoise with jaw mount
Location: Kasabonika, Ontario
Station worked: OX3XR
Name: Peter
His report:559
My report:539

Needless to say the contact made my day all the way around. Thanks Peter for the great contact.

Fred VE3FAL

There is little doubt now that we have passed the solar peak and we are now on the way to the minimum. This is still years away mind you. This graph (located at http://www.solen.info/solar/images/solar.png) illustrates this well. As I said before, it is too early to say just how poor HF conditions will get.

http://www.solen.info/solar/images/solar.png

This is a photo of me in the shack just before lunch today. Since lunch, I have had to disconnect everything because of an approaching lightning storm. At the last count (flashes to thunder) it was about 2km away but I think the storm is now moving away.

G3XBM in the shack today

For storm maps see http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en . The storm seems to have moved off: I can still hear thunder (to the east) but no nearby lightning. We have heavy rain, which will do the garden good.

Just a moment ago there was a flash and thunder almost overhead.  This showed up on the lightning map. Storms still rolling around. I shall not reconnect the antennas and radio gear for a while yet.

That font of all knowledge 🙂   Steve G1KQH has just informed me that Maplin has changed hands for £85M. Although not a frequent customer, I do use their shop in the Beehive Centre, Cambridge.

See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10930541/Electronics-retailer-Maplin-sold-for-85m.html

Not sure what it will mean for the business. One of the two stores in Cambridge is always busy, the other less so. Maybe less profitable shops will close?  A bit like Jessops?

Not sure if they still sell them,but I used to buy their small aluminium boxes for QRP projects.