There are some things computers are just not good at, and collating memories is one of them—thus I am a huge proponent of scrapbooking. I’ve been scrapbooking since 2014, and since then I haven’t touched any of the tools, binders, or boxes of keepsakes I’ve been intending to go through.
667
joined 1 year ago
TILIL: I’ve been in a dissociative fugue since I was born.
Backdoor deregulation. It’s been their plan all along.
I stay awake all day to punish myself for not sleeping at night.
From the article:
A message appeared at the top of multiple NIH websites last week that says: “This repository is under review for potential modification in compliance with Administration directives.”
Orwell:
Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones. […] The original figures were as arbitrary as the rectified ones, and in any case, the Party had control of all records, and they themselves created reality. The past, he reflected, had not merely been altered, it had been actually destroyed.
Onno, you’re spot-on, we are troubleshooters.
When I was fiddling with my first self-built antenna last year, the first problem I had to contend with was design selection, then materials, and all the discrete steps through erecting the antenna—which itself posed some issues when at first the mast was too short, and then again when a taller mast attenuated the signal (carbon fiber) if the antenna got too close to the mast.
The troubleshooting process was always rewarded with the end goal of two-way comms.
I regret that you you are right. Nothing’s been the same since Harambe.
Idiocracy is a documentary!
That’s two levels deep, and an amazing take.
The subtext there might be that Dr Strange felt so hopeless about the situation that he didn’t conceive to look into the possibility, out of an infinite number of them.
I got it into my head that I would like to see a spherical depiction of my QSOs. Azimuthal and other representations weren't cutting it for me.
I managed to coax an LLM to output my ADIF into a KML so I could better visualize the reach of my QSOs, and I am quite stunned. 20m has almost complete global reach, as you'll see below. Admittedly, on CW it probably does. In these visualizations, the vast majority of contacts are on FT8 20m, but there are a few dozen SSB contacts as far as Indonesia. Usually I made these contacts well before sunrise.
This is a representation of my entire logbook, so any QSO not from the SW US are 10m.
Setup: IC-7300, barefoot, 15m mast, and a 20m twinlead j-pole. Having been temporarily based in a residential area, I had quite a high noise floor from various EMI sources, and could have probably done better with weak stations had my noise floor been lower.
Moving to the west:
More west, Australia prominently visible:
Antipodal view:
Looking toward the east, the west coast of Africa coming into view:
Africa; the lonely QSO east of Madagascar is Reunion Island, got this one on FT8:
You can see a sharp decline in activity about mid-screen.
About 1m 15s remaining:
45s after 1200Z:
Granted, this is the IARU Championship. But that's a lot of people on the radio.
20m at 1500Z.
Side note: for the last three days I’ve enjoyed nearly bottomless noise floors; been making SSB QSOs to Japan, Indonesia, and even Rarotonga. Then–today of all days–the AirBnB beside my house has turned on their aircon and it’s completely wiping out all but the strongest signals. My waterfall looks like college ruled notebook paper:
1830Z Update:
1900Z. This is wild.
Man, what an amazing day which will be long–if not impossible–to forget.
In the late 90s, I observed my first partial eclipse from South Florida. Then and there I decided I needed to see a total solar eclipse. Nearly 30 years later, I made good on that little personal promise. The moment I realized I would be in position to get along the path of totality, I made plans with my spouse to do so. We saved the date and planed the logistics.
I, of course, ensured my radio was packed and fully functional; charged the battery the night before. We left Del Rio, the closest place we could find reasonable accommodations, at 0400L. By 0700L we had hoisted and strung the OCF dipole and we were ready to go in DL98rv, just under the central path of the eclipse on the side of Hwy 131 in Texas just beyond the US-Mexican border.
The Tech section of 10m was silent that early, but I kept calling CQ until I started getting QSOs, pretty much went ten in a row in nearly the same number of minutes once the band came alive.
I had wanted to participate in the research project contest, but the instructions and bonuses were a little overwhelming, but I did manage to make one QSO during totality. On the one hand, I was expecting propagation attenuation, but the QSO I made was over 1,500 miles away.
I've read over and over about experiencing totality. Photos will never do it justice. Words doubly so. If you've ever been on the fence about traveling to see totality–just do it.
Lessons learned or confirmed:
- Get there at least two days before; scout potential setup locations. We scouted several locations with our radio setup in mind. We didn't want to risk trampling on private property, and the OCF antenna (being a 7-band) has nearly a 200' wingspan on its longest dimension. We needed plenty of space while also being considerate to others who would certainly want to see the eclipse as well. We must be good stewards of Amateur Radio.
- Get lodging as near as you can, as far in advance as you can, maybe no more than an hour away.
- Set up at least six hours before C1 (eclipse start).
- Make considerations for food and toilets. I was fortunate that our travel partners had a trailer with a functioning toilet. In my eagerness, I had completely overlooked the requirement for toilets.
- Don't underestimate the value of a radio day checklist.
- A 7-band OCF dipole is absolutely unwieldy for portable ops. I love the mast I've been using, but the antenna itself is a huge pain–and a huge footprint–to get up. For future ops, I plan to go with a monoband. I am planning to make KB9VBR's 10m window line j-pole to hoist on the mast instead.
- Small auxiliary/desk lights or headlamp, red is my preference, for log work before sunrise. I was struggling to get my radio configured and my log setup before the sun came up.
I am eager for your questions and feedback!
Let’s QSO!
18:05Z QSY to 28320khz
19:30Z QSY to 28315khz
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Really? I’m getting mixed signals tbh