Tuesday, 1st April, 2025

Oh it’s April. Have to make a new folder for this post.

The shelf on the wall that has the camera plus other stuff started to lean and looked like it was going to fall off. I fixed it but it meant I took everything off. Made me debate about selling all the Fuji gear and getting a fixed lens camera. Like a X100XYZ. I should at least sell some lenses I never use. I just don’t have any interest in taking a camera and taking photos. I’ll bring my phone and snap one or two but that’s it.

I do feel bad about it. My wife has started in the next photo album, of last year, and there’s enough but it’s getting less and less each year. I’m a bit obsessed with radio at the moment but it’s not like I take that everywhere so it’s not really displacing a camera. I still bring it out for birthdays and Christmas etc. better make sure it’s charged for this week’s birthday.

The photos never look that great either. The colour settings on the camera aren’t great - some profile I set ages ago but no longer like, and I really don’t want to edit them afterwards.

Grumble grumble grumble.

Wednesday, 26th March, 2025

Falling behind on my summit write ups. Makes me think should I not bother…but I do like it, so I should, but I just get distracted. I also think I have to do them all at once and actually I could do one a day and achieve something.

Monday, 24th March, 2025

Parents were staying this weekend. Always feels like hard work 😓. Got a lot of computer time to catch up on!

Got a lot of computer time to catch up on!

Sunday, 23rd March, 2025

Bought a new radio…well used one, the one I wanted from before. Found a good deal - and assuming it’s real! - it should show up this week. Need a make a new yagi and antenna for it but then good to go! That seemed to open the flood gates and I bought a bunch of other things. Things I’ve thought about getting but now finally have. Maybe that’ll stop me spending so long debating them.

Thursday, 20th March, 2025

Woke up tired this morning. Makes everyone especially annoying.

I keep seeing stuff about the radio I sold and thinking that maybe I shouldn’t have sold it. Even though I never used it. Although I think the older, high power version is more what I want. There is an older lower power version that does everything mine did, just without the nice waterfall and touchscreen. It is about 1/3 of the price. Although would I rather have the fancy one…probably…

I should do something constructive rather than looking at radios online again.

Wednesday, 19th March, 2025

I missed out on a prime skiving opportunity yesterday…everyone at work was busy out the office all day at various things. Anyway, probably not best practice to be thinking about these things 😅

Had a cold/cough for ages now. It’s not terribly bad just a constant niggle.

Still not finished soldering this TNC kit, I moved it into the office to do in the evenings, as it’s cold in the garage still, but all that’s happened is it has made a big mess on the desk. It risks losing parts as the kids mess about with it too. I should just get on with it. Usually fall into the habit of “I’m too tired to do it, I’ll just look at rubbish online”.

I’ve fallen into “do absolutely nothing online in the evening until 10pm, then suddenly start writing blog posts”. Except I did the 6:30 swimming drop off and I’m tired.

I liked this from Jack’s blog:

It is difficult for amateur photographers to accept that, on any given trip, they will not likely take unique photos of staggering social significance or prize-winning landscapitude. The reality is that the photos most likely to survive generationally will be the ones with family members in them. The rest stand a good chance of being binned. – Dante Stella, Mutiny! Travels with a camera | The Machine Planet

It’s why I only take pictures of family.

Sunday, 16th March, 2025

Just when I think I’m getting ahead of my todo list I remember more stuff. I could write it down but then I fear I’ll get sucked into “where to write it” or “let’s create the perfect todo system” and really just add more todos but not do any of them.

So I just keep remembering and if I have time when I remember it, I’ll do it. Not really the greatest but it’s only my hobby stuff so doesn’t really matter. I should decide what I’m going to do today, as I’ll have about 2 hours to myself when everyone has gone out.

Thursday, 13th March, 2025

We finally went in our big outing today. 15 miles, bike and hike to two summits. Feeling tired now. Bike skidded on some rocks on the way down and I took a fall. Remarkably fine, but if a scratch on my hand and knee but the clothing was worse off. My nice hiking trousers! Although I think the company repairs stuff, so I’ll contact them to see.

Going out again tomorrow, but will just do some smaller walks to tick off some summits I’ve not done.

Think I’m going to make my SOTA tools app in streamlit and then eventually self-host it. Not sure when I’m starting that.

Monday, 10th March, 2025

A ham friend wrote a nice blog post which got to the second page of hacker news. Said he ended up with about 7k visitors over 24 hours. Not much in the grand scheme of the internet but compared to the average of 100 a week, it’s quite the jump. It is a very interesting blog post though.

After lovely weather this weekend, today was terrible. Annoying as I wanted to go out with a friend on a hill walk and radio activation. We’ll probably go Thursday now but I’m more time constrained then.

Not listed that 27mm lens yet. Although I was thinking maybe I need a whole system refresh to trigger my interest in photography .. or to kick start it back up again. Just don’t have an interest now. Like the DayOne journal…that died a while back…

Oh I remembered this morning that I should check in on those friends who were thinking of Apple Mac minis….

Saturday, 8th March, 2025

I want to find a book or online resource that explains microwave rf design stuff to me. So many times I look at articles or blog posts where hams have made various microwave things and I have no idea why they’re doing something. Horns, pot caps, sun noise, wtf are they talking about.

Admittedly, I don’t have deep knowledge of regular radio and it’s more just use stuff and make contacts. I do make antenna but that’s mostly following instructions online but I do have an idea of why.

I could just buy various microwave things and join them together and try and make contacts but everything is expensive so I’m hesitant.

But I also don’t have time for that. Just like going up hills. Another thing with microwave is you often need a radio to drive the start of it. The radio I just sold, the IC-705, is pretty much the favourite everyone uses. So that’s slightly annoying. However, when I bought the 705 I told myself it would be useful for microwave stuff but I’ve not done any and I think it’ll be years before I do. By which time something new will be out anyway. Or, what usually happens, is everyone still says the 705 is the best and newer models aren’t as good and so used prices stay sky high. There is a new yaesu coming out that’s similar to the 705, and I do wonder if people will sell their 705 for it…but this depends on if the new yaesu is actually any good.

I don’t need more radios. I need to finish the projects I have and make some more antenna and the packet radio thing.

Friday, 7th March, 2025

Managed to get 1Writer and Working Copy working on my phone again. I turned it off and on again…but it is telling that I often write on here via my phone.

Wednesday, 5th March, 2025

I like this site, both the design and this blog content.

Tuesday, 4th March, 2025

For some reason Working Copy folders aren’t working on iOS files or any apps that use them. Like 1Writer that I use to write these entries. It’s annoying, and I can’t find out why it’s doing it.

Work wasn’t the greatest today. I blame other people but probably it was me being stupid, and I’m embarrassed by that fact. Makes me seem incompetent. Stupid work.

Wish I could go out into the hills and play radio.

Had a sore throat for several days now, it’s always worst in the evenings, especially when reading stories to the kids. Feeling tired too.

Haven’t worked on my radio apps in a while. I want to make a centralised place for them all but I’m not sure what framework or system to use. Perhaps flask or fastAPI? I don’t know. Maybe I just make a big single streamlit app or host streamlit myself? I want the vanity of a custom url but equally I don’t want more things to look after.

Looking at photos of the kittens from 6 weeks ago and they’ve grown so much since then!

Sunday, 2nd March, 2025

Finally got started on soldering the TNC for packet radio. Had this about 18 months and only now making it. Only managed about 6 components then had to go. I’ll keep going this evening, as long as the computer doesn’t suck me in.

I think the Fuji 27mm is next on the ebay chopping block. I never use it, and the amount of dust on it reflects that. I’ll clean it up and list it.