So many rabbit holes, you’ll struggle to find ground
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Setting up Heltec V3 868MHz on TinyGS
TinyGS, is a network system to retrieve LoRa satellite data using ESP devices, much like SatNOGS. Everything is managed via the GitHub repo and the Telegram channels. Getting started and flashing the software on devices is very easy via their web installer. You then request a username and password via their Telegram bot. I’m not…
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SOTA API and Google AI to find the Goat
After my double activation yesterday (which I’ve yet to write up), I bumped into Fraser, MM0EFI of RadioRover YouTube fame, in Tesco. He was asking when I was going to be doing some higher point summits, as mostly I’ve been doing ones near to the house which don’t score that high. There are quite a…
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Strathfinella Activation
Another hill, this time to the south of Aberdeen. The weather was wet and windy in the morning, particularly so inland, so thought I’d stick to the coast. The two options were Strathfinella or Hill of Garvock. Reports of angry cows from Garvock, plus the sheltered nature of the wooded summit of Strathfinella made the…
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Brimmond Hill Activation
A lovely sunny day, and time for another activation. Hopefully better than the last – certainly the weather was better. 🌞 Quite a close summit to home, Brimmond Hill overlooks Aberdeen and the airport to the east and then Aberdeenshire to the west. There’s a walk up and over it which is popular with dog…
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QSL cards time
It’s always slightly confusing getting a letter with your own handwriting on it, but that means it’s bureau delivery time! Interesting to get a SWL (shortwave listener) card confirming they heard me make a contact with someone else. It was a QSL with PB37EUDXF, which I remember having a hard time copying as I wasn’t…
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SOTA saved by 2m
It’s been a few weeks since my last activation and I wanted to go out. I didn’t have much time as I was meant to be sorting out the garage, so I picked a summit close to home, Cairn-Mon-Earn (GM/ES-080). It’s quite an easy walk following the loggers roads up to the summit. There are…
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Building a tiny mic 🎙️
In an effort to slim down my travel kit, I decided that a tiny mic was in order. I’ve seen several people on YouTube use small mics and I’ve seen some for sale on eBay but when I found this design, I knew I had to build one. The site has a list of what…
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First SOTA Activation
I’ve chased a few SOTA activators before, it’s quite a fun thing to do, you watch the spotting website and then see if you can get them. Once someone posts a spot it’s pretty quick for them to get a pile up. I’ve kept thinking about doing it, and I do live in an ideal…
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CQWW SSB Contest 2023
If ever there’s a time when the bands are busy, it’s the huge contest of CQWW. 12th in Scotland isn’t bad for 3.9 hours of operation. Least I don’t think so. Here’s my log summary ************************** Summary *************************** 94 Raw QSO before checking (does not include duplicates or missing exchanges) 93 Final QSO after checking…
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One year on
The 7th December 2022 I passed my foundation exam online. My invigilator, Bob G0OCB, would also become my full exam invigilator. I had done the Essex ham foundation course in August/September but then put off the exam for a while. I actually only just passed, and probably should’ve just read the manual instead of doing…