n0mql.com

Screenshot from GridTracker2, of the map, centered on Utah/Wyoming corner, roughly. A chunk of Alaska is yellow in the NW corner. The SW corner shows Hawaii pink. Center East, Massachusetts is also pink.

Saw an AK stn CQing FT8.

Clicked. QSO’d.

Looked @ #GridTracker map.

CQ MA NOMQL EN35

The immediate response? Yeah. A station in Louisiana.

Of course, sun was up in MA, but not LA, so likely no shot anyway. And HI will be a challenge.

I could go for a frosty mug o’ Hamms right about now.

I mean… he’s not wrong.
#HamRadio
#MeetingStrangeMen
#ExoticPlaces

❤️ The Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk is on Saturday! If you would like to donate to my local gender-inclusive shelter for people fleeing domestic violence I would be eternally grateful!

I will be walking the 2.5km route this year*
My goal is $2000, I am at $1350. Every little bit […]

RFK Jr.: ‘Time In Hot Cars Helps Babies To Sweat Out Toxins’

RFK Jr.: ‘Time In Hot Cars Helps Babies To Sweat Out Toxins’ https://theonion.com/rfk-jr-time-in-hot-cars-helps-babies-to-sweat-out-toxins/

So you missed infamy by a half metre or so?

Definitely.

Am I weird in that I just felt a sharp twinge in my testicles upon reading that?

A painting of two lovebirds

I’ve been a full time artist since December 2020, and apart from one month when I had a huge commission for a hotel, this has been the best month I’ve ever had, and that’s 100% down to all of you on here. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart ♥️ I can’t wait to post your orders tomorrow 🫶🏻

🪶

The Epstein Administration is acting this way BECAUSE he is an active asset.

FT8 vs Computer Clock YouTube video by Kelvin D. Olson

youtu.be/0HlnDVjEd1I

Does your computer clock have to be super well synchronized to UTC for #FT8 to work? NO!

And I prove it.
#HamRadio
#AmateurRadio

Rep. Angie Craig: "The attacks on Black and brown people in Minnesota have been egregious. At the end of the day, what they wanted out of Minnesota was for us to riot. I think this will go down in American history as one of the greatest examples of peaceful resistance from an entire community."

TWO Tuners, One Antenna?! YouTube video by Kelvin D. Olson

youtu.be/9hKaZJTsLeA

The other one, as promised in the previous.
#HamRadio #AmateurRadio #AntennaTuner

#AndCatsApparently

This, absolutely, 100% correct. This really annoys me, it is (as you say) a weak signal mode, not a low power mode. And hey, if you're an introvert that doesn't like talking to people, there is nothing at all wrong with using FT8 for 100% of your QSOs!

Too Much Power On FT8? YouTube video by Kelvin D. Olson

youtu.be/b8y4LSIcsrU

In which I take (gentle, polite) issue with a thing I’ve heard #AskDave say a few times.
#HamRadio #AmateurRadio #FT8 #WSJT #WeakSignal #Antenna #FCC #Part97

It's bad enough that multiple stations are making me decode their transmissions on the exact same freq. But then one of them immediately after 73 they CQ DX on right on my spot!

I've been impressed with the work being done on #OpenHamClock - and it's a very nice look, has good flexibility.

But I can't help thinking it's intentionally built for a very different audience.

#HamClock (of old) is for casual, general use. The openhamclock is very active-DXer-focused.

So that Russia might say they won medals, & the rest of the world says, “TF you did.”

Holy cats, this makes me ACHE, it's so lovely.

It would require that I TALK to another ham, which I am loathe to do.

Because: I'mma weirdo.

#SocialAnxiety #NeuroSpicy

Do I think these changes would make good #PullRequests? Yeah. But I'm disinclined to make PRs, & here's why: I would have to make my case that it's worth changing HIS thing to cater to hams who RX 99.9% of the time, & that's almost assuredly not him. So I don't think he'd ever merge my shit.

And yes, I'm talking to myself.

Nothing new. Doin' that for decades, since long before social media.

But for SM purposes, it might drive more engagement on my 2 different #HamRadio specific SM platforms/accounts.

@n0mql.com
Next, I really gotta figure out the count-summary panel.

I need/want to be able to glance at it and see which bands are unusually hot.

Not that I'm likely to transmit. But "Oh shit, 10m is HOT to Europe" is the dopamine hit I crave.

Tightly-cropped screenshot of my fork of openhamclock where I've clicked on a East (but not coast) station's dot on the map. It says From N0MQL by N2HQI FT8 @ 3.574 MHz SNR: -3 dB

But what about my transmitted reports by other stations? Well here we go. Here's one where I transmitted, and another station reported my signal.

If you want to tentatively try my fast-moving unstable fork...
github.com/kelvin0mql/o...

Tightly cropped screenshot of my modified openhamclock, where I've clicked on an East Coast dot and it shows From N2XK FT8 @ 7.077 MHz SNR: -7 dB

So I've changed my fork of it in 3 ways so far.
1st, it shows pskreporter spots past hour, not past 15min. The 15min thing is for active operators. The past hour is more sensible for a station that hops TEN BANDS 24x7. Heck, I don't think it even gets through all 10 bands within 15 minutes.

Tighly cropped screenshot of openhamclock.com showing that I've clicked an East Coast station, and it says N0MQL FT8 @ 7.077 MHz SNR: -6 dB

1st problem, #OpenHamClock does not give me the same count-per-band summary. I intend to fix that soon.

2nd problem, though more annoying, click on a dot on the map that your station reported (heard), & the map shows you YOUR callsign!

I mean... insanely un-helpful. I know my callsign.

Tightly-cropped screenshot of just the "Live Spots" section of HamClock, wherein 160m 0 80m 0 60m 0 40m 19 30m 19 20m 116 17m 0 15m 102 12m 105 10m 161 6m 0

Much heard lately about #OpenHamClock & I'm quite grateful that someone's making something that can replace the soon-expiring #HamClock

However, its author is clearly more on-air than I am. My station is RX FT8 band-hopping 24x7, & my HamClock shows me at a glance what bands are hot HERE.

Was going to say this, sorta.

McDonald's PlayPlace was one of the most clever long-game marketing strategies I can think of.

Was it also a SERVICE to the community kids? Sure. But not primarily.

Mix 61 ferrite rod is 4”x0.33”, has approx 60 turns 23AWG primary, & 2 turns 28AWG pickup coil. #NanoVNA gave me a mere 17dB dip on the target frequency. Antenna is taped to East-facing window, about 6’ above grade.

But TONIGHT’s test will be this 8”x0.33” rod. All else is the same, except with 2 rods glued together, reinforced with heat shrink, there’s more “aperture” to take in RF. Got a better match with this longer rod also… got NanoVNA to show my dip at -38dB. So I’m very hopeful about this next test.

Last night’s ferrite #MagLoop antenna test was a success, but barely. Got #WSPR decodes of only 1 station, <700km.

MUCH more detail in the ALT text.