Well its about time, and frankly a well
over due Blog update. I’m currently sat in the living room suffering with a
very ill family. We all seem to have gone down with the winter vomiting bug,
which I can share is not a nice experience. But as a a location to write a blog
update I do recommend the downstairs loo. Its
a great place to gather your thoughts without distraction.
So since my last update what has happened
in my world ?
September saw me start my first “end to
end” foundation training. Under the watchful eye of Steve (G0FUW) and Lewis
(G4YTN) I took 13 students of various understandings and ages through to the
end. All but 2 students passed, but I am pleased to see that even though I had
2 failures it was only just and they have since sat re sits. The majority of
the class went forward and took part in the intermediate training with Steve,
Lewis & Myself.
October was another busy month of being
here there and everywhere, but I did manage to squeeze in the RSGB convention
with Dave (M0SFT). And Lewis. And wow what a convention. It was great to bring
Lewis this year along and share my passion for the convention with him. By the
end of the weekend he was already asking ”when do we book for next year” so
game on for October 2013. It is very clear that the convention is not really
advertised well, nor for newcomers is it particularly well documented where /
when you should be there. Maybe this should be looked at. Horwood house again
did a great job, in a fully booked up conference.
November & December were 2 months that
have really passed by very quickly and it was difficult to play radio as my
main shack Antenna is a bit broken. Not sure what is happening but I have a
loose or intermittent connection on the antenna somewhere. When rotating the
antenna the SWR changes when the antenna is stopped or “rocked” back and forth.
In the cold snap it all burst into life, so I managed a couple of QSOs while it was working. Once the rain came
back so did the high SWR. Will have to investigate, and pull it down.
January has come from nowhere.
This month sees me building a secret project (shhhh) I am taking lots of photos however so I will upload my project details
once complete. This project is inspired by a talk given by Steve G0KYA at the
convention.
January also sees the annual Bath
Buildathon where this year we are building the GQRP Sudden receiver. Steve (G0FUW) and I have just finished
building the prototype and reference project for the fellow builders and wow
what a great little kit it is. I’m very
much looking forward to the Buildathon, it’s a great experience for novices or
experiences alike. If I do have time, I will
write a small piece on the buildathon and share.
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