Bills Posts

Dear Meg,

This one is down to you. After the frustration of getting the wrong SD card, the replacement turned up today (thank you Amazon), and after a little bit of fiddling I was able to hear the repeater, GB3IW, on The Isle of Wight.

Everybody that was on the Thursday Night Net, an event that I haven’t been on for eleven months, who knew was pleased. To hear me. It was a real pleasure to make contact again. I shall do the Confusion Net (I’ll explain that later) on Sunday, and probably the Bramble Net on Tuesday (named after the Bramble Bank, the sandbank in the middle of the solent where they play cricket, I think the nets first broadcast was from there).

It’s good to be active on the air again, just lovely. Thank you.

The new radio is installed, and has been turned on. And then turned off again. Nothing wrong, except with me!

In order to get the best use I need to populate the memories with channels for various things. Mainly devices called repeaters. They pick up my signal and re-broadcast it over a much wider area. Trouble is, they are a bit fiddly to set up in the radio. Much better if you have a computer and a card reader, and in the case of the radio a Micro-SD card.

I knew that last bit, so yesterday, I ordered the card. Only, I didn’t. Or, I should say, I ordered the wrong one – a full sized card. Absolutely no good for me. Luckily, just right for Elayne’s. Camera. So now instead of being limited to the 452 best quality images of her old camera, this one gives her over 1,800 best quality photos.

Just a brief diversion from the radio. In my early days of photography, when images were taken on a 24 or 36 exposure roll of film, the thought of having the capacity of 1,800 pictures would have been mind-blowing, it still is in a way. I (in those days) dreamt of a 360 exposure back.

Anyhow, back to the radio. Elayne has her new card installed and I have ordered, this time, the correct card which will arrive tomorrow if all goes well.

I have used this picture before, I took it several years ago when Io was on the Butser Hill Run with RAYNET. I used to love those events. I left the group at the end of the last membership season. I’d quite like to rejoin, because I used to do really enjoy these events. More than anything, it was a serious opportunity to use our radios, in places that we might not ordinarily visit, and I felt useful to the community. Perhaps I will look into that.

It’s been over a year now since I last used a radio seriously, I have been incredibly lucky, as I have been bought an early Christmas present, a Yaesu FTM-500, it should arrive in the next couple of days – it might even be up and running for the next Thursday night Net. I haven’t done one of those since I gave it up rather dramatically. Even if not ready this week, no excuses now.

I’m licensed to the Intermediate level. Not quite ready to even begin thinking about acquiring a full licence, but it is definitely on the cards. Perhaps I’ll start in a year or so. I thought I would do a bit of catching up by looking again at the intermediate book.

One thing i would like to do, if the lads are up for it, is organise another breakfast. But let’s take things easy and see how it goes.

It’s going to be a short one tonight.

We were watching season two of DI Ray on ITVX, and I hadn’t realised that I’d fallen asleep. I work up five minutes from the end of the episode that I’d leapfrogged and wondered what was going on.

That’s when I realised that it was time to go to bed. Which is where I am writing this.

Goodnight.

I took the photograph because we were trying to find out some information about whatever it is I’m holding. That’s the thing, I can’t remember what it is I’m holding.

Yesterday, I wrote about having a weeks worth of posts planned out. I suggested that I could have some headings available. Well, I’ve done that, I do have a list of not so much headings as ideas for posts.

I’m not going to share the list with you, you’’ll have to see how the suggestions develop over the week. Following on from that, as I write a post, I would like to add another title or suggestion to the list, keeping a running schedule so to speak.

With a little bit of planning, I’m sure I could have an idea of what I will be writing a few days ahead, unless something in particular happens of course.

At the very least, I should have a weeks worth (minimum) of posts available. That will require a bit of effort of course, and doing that kind of anticipatory activity is going to be hard.

I’m going to try and at least get some post headings drafted. Once I’ve done that, it should be a rolling programme. Let’s see if I can do this.

Very annoyingly, earlier on today, I thought of a topic for quite a reasonable blog entry for this evening. Frustratingly, I didn’t write the gist of it down, even though I was sat at my desk, and very easily have done so. Of course, I have forgotten what it was.

Really annoying as at the time, I thought that would be good. I can’t even remember the context, whether it was anything specific that made the thought come in to my head.

Even sitting and thinking and doing this bit of writing hasn’t brought it back. Sorry. At least I’ve managed to write something tonight.

It looks like people are starting to move in on the bus station. I expect demolition will start soon. I think the offices on the first floor may have been occupied until recently so I don’t know if there is much clearing to do before they start pulling it down.

Even now, I am having issues with getting up for a morning walk. I’m beginning to try and work out if there is a way I can take an hours lunch, at least I would get get thirty minutes or so of walking in. I wanted to get up this morning, but I just couldn’t bring myself too.

Of course, it’s a feeble excuse to say that it’s dark and grey and slightly chilly – it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

The clocks go back this weekend. The end of British Summer Time. That expression is just not used much anymore, mores the pity.

I recall writing a piece a few posts ago, I haven’t checked to see how far back it was. It was mainly about a person not blaming his tools for his inability to produce good work.

I’ve done that in the past; “oh my camera isn’t good enough”, “Oh my radio isn’t good enough”. In this case, I am specifically thinking about my camera. I looked up the history, manufacture started in 2014 and came to an end in 22. At the time of its introduction it was viewed as a good DSLR entry camera, and at 24.2 megapixels, not a small one.

I was definitely heading in the direction of getting a new camera, perhaps mirrorless, one of the Z range? But then, I’d either have to change my lenses, or use them with an adaptor. Actually, why do I need to do this? What is wrong with my camera? Nothing at all. Why don’t I just learn to use it properly? So, that is what I am going to do. Perhaps I’ll consider a new camera if this one breaks.

The same principle applies to other thing

The source of my unhappiness is my Amateur Radio situation. This is a hobby that I have neglected for over a year. I really went a bit pear shaped with it, and could not bring myself to self to use my licence.

It’s bugging me. I know, all I have to do is pick up the handset, press the button and talk. I really do now want to do this. I can do it. A frustration, is that now I can’t get any of my radios to talk to the computer, so setting them up is frustrating, because it’s manual, so I am now thinking should I buy myself a radio for Christmas?