More Analog and the RBN

In the midst of yesterday's fun-and-games with the VFO, I was trying to engage in the G-QRP valve day with my (replica) Paraset. It was an almost complete failure!

 Unfortunately, I had greater than S8 noise around 3560kHz all day (I'm rock-bound on the Paraset to 3.56MHz or 3.579MHz) and the receiver isn't really usable on 40m in typical conditions.

Still, I plugged away in between playing with coils and SA612s and varactor diodes.

Here's the Paraset, squeezed onto the bench...

 

I didn't hear anything beside the aforementioned noise all day - but I do know that my signal was getting out there - thanks to the brilliant "Reverse Beacon Network"...

 

When I say "getting out there" it was - at least - getting the 287 miles to Brendan, ei6iz. Thanks Brendan!

I've never used the RBN before - but now I'm a convert and I'm sure it will feature heavily in all my working.

I'm fast coming to the conclusion that weekends are a wash-out for radio - and certainly a bad day to operate QRP with the additional handicap of a pre-historic rig! There's much more noise at my QTH on the w/e (presumably due to more electronics being used in residential areas when folk aren't at work). Then - of course - there's all that awful  "_ . ... _" QRM.

I had to give up in the late afternoon to tighten my trousers and QSY my Baritone voice up to Tenor to sing in a SATB context, before enjoying some more Morse in the evening.

All in all, a nice day - albeit a frustrating one.

 ...-.- de m0xpd