Wednesday, 8th November, 2023

My new radio shack monitor arrived today. Grumbling noises of unnecessary things came from the wife 😅 It’s very nice though. Just a plain Dell 27” 1440p but tidy design, and not even an ultra fine(?) (top end) model.

Although I’m thinking I need a dedicated computer as I’d like to setup remote operation of the radio, and so it needs a computer there all the time, and I’d be using the laptop to connect. Mostly so I can operate in a different room around the house, rather than away from home, although that would be fun too.There’s no obvious solution to do this though. The manufacturer of my radio does make a remote box, which has a web interface, but it’s £280 and you rely on them for software updates. There is software that can do it but some is just as expensive and I was hoping for some open source solution. Probably there’s something out there, I just need to find it.

There are radios made by flex radio which are designed from the start for remote operation, and they are absolutely amazing. They also make a remote control unit which looks top quality and the whole thing it what I’d love. A friend I’ve made via radio, has one and he gave me a tour and it is lovely. He controls everything via the software on his Mac or iPad and it is lovely. The downside is the absolutely eye-watering price. It’s not excessive, and is competitive with top spec radios but it’s still £4k region. One day perhaps…

Tbh I’d be better off spending £4k on some mast arrangement and antenna! But that’s less subtle to sneak into the house 😅

I’m liking top spiral notepads of late, specifically Rite in the Rain brand. I found this via a radio YouTube channel, where he uses them for logging whilst outdoors. Maybe I’ll do that but mostly I use them indoors. However, I like the thickness of the paper and the slight waxy coating, gives the paper a nice feel.