Today I received my copy of the RSGB RadCom. One large UK dealer has most of the advertising space. I have no idea what this must cost, but it must be a lot. If this major dealer decided to stop advertising, or advertised far less, it would have a major impact on the RSGB and the remaining UK radio magazine available on newsstands.

Without this one dealer, I suspect RadCom would have to shrink in size and the one remaining magazine radio amateurs could  buy in newsagents would enter terminal decline.

I hope I am wrong.

 

We have a very busy history society in our village. Tonight was the first meeting of the season and was on Fen Skating which is in decline as a result of global warming.

 Although my beacon has been on all day just 2  spots. See table. 

 Solar flux is 165 and the SSN 140. A=71 and K=1.

Although we message daily on WhatsApp, we see each other face-to-face a few times a year if we are lucky.  He lives in Devon and I am in Cambridgeshire.

Yesterday, we visited Bury-St-Edmunds. The photo is of us in the Abbey Gardens, with the ruined abbey behind.

 Already this year we have seen the disappearance of CQ and Radio User (at least as a separate magazine). Others may follow. 

At one time you could pop into a UK newsagent and see several radio related magazines. Not any more. Over the years more and more have closed or maybe gone online only. If you want a magazine about PC games or steam trains there are several to choose from.

It is as if few people are interested in radio technology any more, sadly.

10 years' time? The best we can expect is a few pages in a magazine about technologies in general. 

I have made my view plain in the past. Am I right or am I right?

 It looks like there are fewer European openings today, which may account for just English reports so far (1039z) on 6m FT8.

See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .

As mentioned before, my brother and his wife are visiting us from Devon. Yesterday we went to Bury St Edmunds and today they have gone to Norwich. The photo shows some of the day yesterday.

This is a band that is gaining in popularity. It is very good when there is Es, but it is also good for inter-G working. I am sure that with reasonable power and FT8 the whole of the British Isles would be in range. The new Yaesu FTX-1F is supposed to include this in European versions.  I would expect 6W and a dipole to reach widely on FT8 especially.

A while back I designed and build a 4m transverter that is on my website. It is only low power but managed to work well. It was in  GQRP SPRAT some years ago.

 So far today, no spots on 10m QRP WSPR.

UPDATE 1145z:  Local G4KPX (14km) seems to have stopped at breakfast time. EA8BFK (2880km) is now spotting me.

My QRP 6m FT8 was turned on at about 0905z. 

UPDATE 1140z:  So far, spotted by 12 stations including 1 German.

UPDATE 1505z:  Spotted by 18 stations so far today. See map.

 Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 103. A=23 and K=6.

 This is where my younger son got married. It is St Mary’s in Bury St Edmunds and has the longest nave to n the country.

Tomorrow I think I shall go on 10m QRP WSPR and 6m QRP FT8.

This is a delightful market town in Suffolk. Unlike Cambridge where many people are foreign visitors, most in Bury St Edmunds seem to be East Anglian,   The old abbey was sacked centuries ago. The photo shows a view of the cathedral from the Abbey Gardens.

Today I am concentrating on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon . So far, just G4KPX (14km) spotting me.

UPDATE 1352z: 3 stations have spotted me today.

My brother and his wife have come up from Devon for a few days.

Solar flux is 173 and the SSN 68 . A=19 and K=3.

As there were no spots at all on 8m RX or TX, I have QSYed to 10m 500mW WSPR with my tiny beacon. Apart from time synchronisation at the start, it is totally stand alone and does not tie up a PC. 

UPDATED 1525z:  Already spotted 10 times by EA8BFK (2880km).