Friday Night Again

I sit here ,writing this blog on a cold (1.7 degrees C outside) and foggy Friday Night.
Expect the temperature will have dropped to almost freezing by the time I venture out to the pub for a few real ales. Still its nice and warm in the shack at the moment.
Currently listening to the new album by Dido, only took a week to get round to playing it. I like it, certainly going to be one of my favourite albums of the year.
Check back at the end of December or early January 2009 for my top 10 albums added to the collection this year.

Though had other albums longer that I've not got round to playing yet as well.

MKARS-80 Transceiver Project

The soldering Iron was warmed up this morning.
Bag 1 of components opened and tipped into a tray, and then the deed was done, the first compenent soldered to the board.

4 hours and another 97 components later, the first bag is completed.

Winter Is Here (At Least For Today)

Woke up to a dusting of snow and ice. Supposed to turn mild and wet as the day goes on.
Temperature dropped to -1.4 °C during the night (1:52am). Its now just creeping above freezing.

Found On A Bottle Of Beer

Upton Snodsbury,
Peopleton and Crowle.
Wyre Piddle,
North Piddle,
and Piddle in the Hole.

Bert Ford Rides Again

During my visit to the Leicester Rally, I purchased a remote weather station.

Displays inside/outside temperature & humidity along with pressure.

The outside indicator uses a wireless sensor. I have finally got round to installing it outside at long last. At the moment its suffering from an occasional loss of signal. Repositioning the display seems to cure it, so I might have to move the sensor a bit closer. Its supposed to work up to 100 metres away.

At the time of posting this entry the current outside temperature is 11.8 degrees Centigrade.

The time is linked to an atomic time server so is always accurate.

It also has a min/max function for the parameters, but this is not displayed under normal usage, but selected by one of the buttons on the front.

Trick Or Treat

Halloween, its dark outside and its cold too. Once I get my outside thermometer sensor for the weather station fitted up I'll know just how cold it is. :) (Or how warm it is in the summer).

Still not had time to start soldering the bits into the circuit board for my QRP rig, have to dig out some fine solder too.

Leicester Rally

Yesterday, was the annual trip to the 37th Leicester Radio Rally (Though its actually at Donnington Park exihibition centre).

A few "goodies" were purchased, inculding a wireless weather station with a remote sensor for temperature / humidity and a lovely QRP 80M SSB transciever kit. This will no doubt take quite a few hours to assemble but it will be a nice radio once completed.

That will most likely be the last time the rally is held there as the centre is due to be demolished to build the new grandstand ready for the British GP moving to Donnington in 2010. This has been about the 10th time the rally has been here since moving from Granby Halls in Leicester.

Leicester Rally Web Site