Radio and rails...

Today I had hoped to achieve two things: replace my ailing Linux PC with a far better spec'd eBay special; and add a disk to a Hikvision NVR and get it configured ready to swap the security cameras over. The disk from the eBay PC was going to go into the NVR as a test (it's only 500GB, far too small), and the two disks currently in the Linux PC were to be swapped over to the 'new' PC. QED. Ok... so the PC is a Dell. I always liked Dell PCs because they are just so easy to work on. No screws, everything clips in place. Even the hard disks sit in plastic trays and do not need screwing in. The PC has one of these already and I know I have a couple of others from a previous Dell system. So, all should just fit... right? The other disk caddies are, of course different! Ok, back to eBay and one ordered. But I can still sort the NVR. All I need is a SATA data cable, and I have plenty, and a SATA power cable. I have two of those in the spares box with different motherboard connectors.

Following on from me always saying it's about time I got some wire outside I have, temporarily put a 9:1 unun and random wire in the loft and connected it instead of the 20/6 fan dipole. So far, I can see my FT8 signals being received across Europe with one contact on 20m and one on 40, but it's getting on towards the evening now so I need to see what it is like tomorrow. Very un-scientific of course. Noise is high, but not much higher than the fan dipole. This one will tune down to 60m and 80m but I am yet to be convinced it is actually receiving. The fan dipole pegged out at 40m and that was a struggle - little wonder with so little wire. The YT-1200 will tune the random wire to 160m but it sets the house alarm off! The wire to the bell box runs through the loft and presumably whatever protection circuit there is in the alarm panel assumes someone has cut the wire.

I've been experimenting with 5W from the FT450D these past couple of days - only FT8 so can't really claim it to be QRP... and it's working well with spots and contacts all over Europe, and spots up and down the east coast of the US and into Canada. This was all on 17m, so a compromise on my loft fan dipole which is (still!) only cut for 20 and 6. Leaving the rig on 5W also has the advantage that it doesn't matter if I forget to change the tx power when I switch in one of the transverters. In fact, as an antenna the bit of wet string is pretty dire. Plans to put a wire outside remain on hold because we need to get the chimneys sorted due to leaks and naff pointing. Once that's sorted it will be too miserable to work up there!

Seems the Big Wheel 2m antenna in the loft is working ok, at least according to 2m FT8 with a bit of lift. It manages a good spread... (there's one 4m in there too)

Just managed to receive a fairly good image from the closest ISS pass. This started as it crossed the UK and continued as it passed onwards to Germany. There were a few dropouts (I run the FTM100DE with an open squelch for these) but all in all this pic is better than any that I managed from the last series. The transceiver is connected to a white stick 2m/70cm colinear in the loft and I really need to stop being lazy and set the Arrow up for these passes.