Make Me A Maker

Ahh, my lovely new Morse key.

I got it for my birthday last week but I can't use it yet because I have no buzzer. I saw one on the internet but it was pretty ugly and it made me want to make my own.

To be honest I don't know very much about electronic circuits but I thought that a buzzer box was about as simple as it gets and that I should have a go. So while I was out and about today I popped into Maplin and bought a few bits. It's going to be a quiet buzzer because I want to practice my Morse without driving my girlfriend mad.

I'm also waiting for a steel base for the key so that it doesn't move around. This is where I need ConcreteDog living around the corner because it'll need a couple of holes drilling in it.

I'm sure I'll work out a way.

Yet More Radio

It's been a while since I posted here and I've been fairly busy. Here's what I've been up to.

I've moved things around a bit to create a radio shack for myself. This is in preparation for me hopefully passing my Foundation Licence for Amateur Radio. I'm currently looking at a few radios, one of which I hope to add if and when I pass the licence exam. I have a small Baofeng GT-3 which I'm itching to broadcast on but all in good time. I'm into doing this properly and legally.

I've moved both my laptop and desktop PCs away from Windows. The laptop got virused and it was going to cost me to have Windows re-installed so I took the opportunity to try and install Ubuntu. It went so well that I did the same for my desktop which was running so slowly that it was almost unusable. I'm really happy with both of the Ubuntu Linux installations, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner.

I've also brought my Canon StarWriter 30 out of retirement. It's a lovely machine to work on, it's very tactile. I have a reasonably sensitive document to work on this year and I needed a word processor that is air-gapped from both of my Ubuntu machines. I'll do my final editing on one of them and disconnect it from the web until the document is ready for final release. By release time the document will be available to everyone on a Creative Commons licence.

I'll let you know how the exam goes and which radio I buy nearer the time. For now it's SWL only and a lot of revision for the exam.

Connected To Space

 
I suppose like most people I've dreamed of somehow being connected to space.
Tonight I realised that dream by listening to the distorted tones of ham radio operators talking to each other using a satellite in earth's orbit. I couldn't understand what they were saying because I didn't have the right mode on the scanner I was using but there were definitely voices behind the static. I was excited about ISS being the first station I'd pick up but it wasn't to be. Instead FunCube-1 provided the delight of being connected to space.
While I know that orbiting satellites aren't that far out into space they are nevertheless outside of our existence and separate from us while constantly connecting us to each other. The mere fact that ordinary people like me can choose where and when to communicate with other people via space is to me pretty darn amazing.
So there you have it. One man, one scanner and a bit of research and I'm connected to space. The next job is to get a ham radio license and start chatting back.
As ConcreteDog said when we met.
I should just do it.
 

So Much To Do, So Much To Learn

 
I thought I'd better write something here because it's been so long since I have.
There's been quite a lot going on in the last few months so I better tell you what I've been doing. I've been to Wales where my excellent host ConcreteDog showed me around his beautiful part of the world. I've been to Ramsgate with my GFs cousin Amy, another brilliant host. I have yet to edit video footage of these two trips but that'll happen before the year is out.
Mostly what has distracted me from writing here is listening to my radios and staring through my telescopes. I'm fascinated by what can be found both in and beyond our atmosphere. It's hard to drag myself away from learning about all this new stuff, I haven't even written any music. I'm not sure anyone would be interested in the fact that I have decoded some PSK31 although I might make a tutorial video or two for beginners in the SWL hobby as there seems to be a lot of old videos on YouTube that haven't kept up with the fast pace of iOS apps.
I'm also thinking about getting a CB radio before I venture into getting my Ham licence. This is due to new sets including SSB with a transmitting power of 12w which makes DXing possible without having a licence.
I'll try and blog a bit more about what I'm up to and get some videos online. I'll apologise now if they send you to sleep or seem way too nerdy. I may be just talking to myself but it's probably better than the radio silence of late.
I'll be back soon.
 

Gone Fishing

 
It's gone midnight.
I'm sitting here with a bottle of Côtes du Rhône and some tobacco for company. I'm waiting, patiently.
My girlfriend likened listening to the radio to fishing. It's a good analogy and she's right. Unless it's ones trade one rarely goes fishing for food. It's a sport requiring skill and a lot of patience. As it is with Shortwave Listening (SWL). Tonight is the big game match, the prize landing. Tonight at around 4:20am the International Space Station (ISS) is going to be within range. That's what I'm waiting for.
The chances are that I'll fall asleep and miss the whole event but I'm hoping that that won't happen.
After tuning into Australia in the week this would top it all. Lots of people have done it before and I'm hoping to join their ranks.
I'll let you know how it goes.