At the time the only option was a TXRX kit that was fixed onto one band. A long wait after first thinking about this later and the HF lite kits came out. This allowed a receiver only to built. Next up comes the electrically switched BPF add on.

These kits seem to come in two flavours and as I type there aren’t any available from tony’s website.

So that’s the rf side. On the computer side I have been looking various different options from ultra low power drain mchines like the fit pc through to the cheap atom based netbooks or even the original eeepc.

Obviously funding plays a large part in this and as a result that may force me down one particular route but I’d really like to go through the fit pc route as they claim to draw less than 10 watts which makes battery power fed from solar top up.

Still I’m a way off doing that but as the masters course comes to an end I may have a little extra time on my hands. Perhaps the xyl will present me a list of jobs to do instead!

After 2 tries at building separate kits I still get stuck with the same issue. A large spike in the centre of Rocky and no other signals to speak of. The first kit must have had some dodgy soldering as there were some weird voltages coming out the IC’s. I got myself another kit and spent a lot more time constructing, checking etc and low and behold the same issue.

I won’t give up with this idea but boy is it testing me….perhaps stepping away is the key and getting some guidance……any offers?

I’m struggling to get enough sleep at times and so I’ll have to work on getting to bed earlier or getting better quality sleep. Too much tossing and turning andnot enough snoring!!!

It’ll only last a few days but there isn’t much more annoying than a cold. A minor one and I wouldn’t think twice about going out and running actually helping the cold but a heavy one like this leaves you really, well, rubbish. Chances are as well you go out, run some of it off and come back worse, so this one involves rest and cups of tea.

Training starts properly on the 25th January and is going to comprise of 3 running sessions and 2 cross training sessions. The 3 running will be a speed session, tempo and long run whilst the cross training is likely to be bike based with a long ride out on the weekend to help the fred whitton riders and another session, probably revolving round commuting. Until then its increasing fitness for 4 weeks in order to be able to train!

The resolutions then is to keep reasonably good notes on this blog that remind me of progress against the plan….we’ll see how it goes.

So far I have been really impressed with Net Book Remix. It seems to fit the screen very well, only a few functions didn’t seem to work well. Connecting an external monitor is one of them. I don’t use it often but when I did need it it wasn’t there. Other than that minor niggle (I’m sure there’ll be a way of getting around it but I haven’t had the time to work it out or visit the forums !!) it works brilliantly.

I still use windows on my net top (Acer Revo) and had the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 7 for a small fee and whilst it is a vast improvement over the Vista that it came with I’m starting question what strikes the OS’s apart. So far I have worked on the basis that….

• Both work – Fundamental really but worth pointing out
• Windows is a more polished product
• Ubuntu suits those who may want to tinker
• Ubuntu updates slowly in a continuous improvement / kaizen methodology whilst Microsoft produces innovation type updates – smaller steps versus bigger leaps (sometimes the leaps are in a wobbly direction)
• Software for Microsoft OS’s is great. Ubuntu is good but not quite as good for specialist software (Ham Radio Deluxe springs to mind). Yes, there are alternatives available and no doubt one day they will exceed the Microsoft versions but Microsoft just pips it.

Here’s a question, why can’t the OS’s work with everything? HRD on Ubuntu would probably seal it for me as Office runs under wine.

Fundamentally both the OS’s work for me, just in different applications. My netbook will carry on running Ubuntu. It is running Open Office and Evolution as well as XBMC and a few others like Fldigi on a small screen and it works well. The net top runs Windows 7 for MS Office and HRD, MCE and others. Crucially they both run Dropbox, Picasa and Firefox

I’m still waiting for the cloud to deliver what it promised and then I wonder if I’ll need an OS at all. Especially if it means long battery life and energy efficiency.

Generally the paths between my qth and the US are in the early afternoon and are fairly consistent. Unfortunately at this time of year the normally breezy conditions become windy and it’s when the antenna usually comes down. This year as I’ve spent the last 3 months with my head in the books the antenna hasn’t even made it outside. I’ll be reclaiming my Friday afternoons as well so this afternoon I’ll be setting myself and the station back to work.