GIRI

The Japanese talk of a sense of an obligation as a debt that can never be repaid. Among the acts of courage and selflessness seen over the last few days, such a debt has been owed to the power plant engineers, technicians and firefighters that have responded to the disaster at Dai-Ichi. Learning that these individuals have said there goodbyes with text messages or not at all before facing this invisible killer makes this writer hope for the human spirit.  Courage in the face of sudden danger is commendable but to face it with full knowledge and time for consideration is incredible. Some have compared these workers to the pilots that  climbed into their aircraft in one-way missions to try to save their homeland. Perhaps they too are deserving. But what do I know I'm just another gaijin.

73 de Rob

The Crud

Missed two days of work and had a new radio, barely got it hooked up-it's a pisser actually to be sick when you take  sick days!  Between bouts at the porcelain throne I got some contacts on 17 and 40, 20 stll the go to band, tuner is still cranky on 40 and depends on how I drape the counterpoise so a new build is in order-Lord how I hate winding coils!     
                                   73 de Rob

It's Almost Like I know What I'm Doing

Preparing for a new multi-band radio-don't worry sport fans still low power- multiple half waves above 40M and a Hi and Lo Z tuner from junque for 10 to 80, works on 20M so far. What could go wrong? Still LL crap!
73 de Rob

Toda & Laila Tov

Hits almost reached 1000 last month-999! What is interesting is the readership is 3:1 Israel vs. the rest of the world-Whats up with that? 73 de Rob

GIVE TO THE SALLY FOR THE KIWIS

Give till it hurts!

73 de Rob

Tis a Puzzlement (Update)

It was my carbon footprint on the sun,click the link for audio. 73 de Rob

PS Set the Spaceweather archive for 2/13/11 for the audio.

Propagation, Tis a Puzzlement

Erratic propagation today, into N. Italy, New England, the Midwest, central Canada, Texas (of course!) and Florida with good signals, then, in the middle of a QSO with Bob, W1ARL, things went flat and the QRN was a steady S-5 to S-7 hiss and nobody was there. No doubt Al Gore would blame it on my carbon footprint. I mean, according to him it effects the sun's output-hence global warming, oops, no, my bad, climate change. So it must be why there are not enough sunspots. I'm sure there is nothing to the Maunder Minimum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunder_Minimum. Cold and no band openings guess I could build a LF rig. 73 de Rob