Blog Archive — Page 3

Gigawiggles, or, the Caterpillar Centipede

Written on Saturday 17 Jan 2026

Before we begin, there are a few things you should know. Along with the Second World War and the 1966 World Cup final, the British are weirdly obsessed with caterpillar-themed children’s birthday cakes. Despite the lawsuit, most large UK supermarkets have one. Some time around 2022, Sainsbury’s sold a longer...

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SOTA Activation Report: Hardown Hill

Written on Wednesday 7 Jan 2026

Today’s journey back and forth along the coast gave my logging assistant and I one last chance for an activation over the Christmas break. This time it was the turn of G/SC-011 Hardown Hill, conveniently en route through the village of Morecambelake (home of the famous Dorset Knob (oh ah))....

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POTA/WCA Activation Report: Nothe Gardens

Written on Tuesday 6 Jan 2026

This afternoon I took the opportunity to swing by new POTA park GB-5719 Nothe Gardens, right next to WCA G-01117 Nothe Fort, the Napoleonic defense that dominates the Weymouth coastline. I had hoped to take in a second park on the way home, so I brought along the QRO kit,...

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POTA/WWFF Activation Report: Garston Wood and Martin Down

Written on Sunday 4 Jan 2026

As the new year dawned, fourteen POTA parks remained in my quest to complete every park within 20 miles of home. Of those, two stood out as a pair with a reasonable walk between: GB-0202/GFF-0100 Garston Wood and GB-0258/GFF-0124 Martin Down. My logging assistant wanted one last proper hike over...

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52 Week Ham Radio Challenge Weeks 49-52, and the Christmas Wrap-Up

Written on Friday 26 Dec 2025

It’s the end of the 52 Week Ham Radio Challenge for 2025, and what a journey it’s been! The final Christmas Wrap-up and New Year’s Radio Resolutions are below, but first, the results of the challenges from weeks 49-52: Clean up your shack and post the most curious item you...

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POTA Activation Report: Langley Wood and Pepperbox Hill

Written on Friday 19 Dec 2025

With my logging assistant back from University, it was time for another portable radio adventure: two of us, and two parks to activate on our first POTA excursion into Wiltshire. Since we had a student’s sleep schedule to contend with, we didn’t set off until 1300 local time, which on...

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POTA Activation Report: Up Blandford Way

Written on Tuesday 16 Dec 2025

The nights are drawing in now, on the run-down to the solstice. The wind is getting cold, the ground is muddy underfoot, and it’s time to think of indoor activities to while away the short winter days. Oh, sod it, no it’s not. Time for a five-park rove. Four parks...

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Unifi Dream Router Setup on Vodafone/CityFibre

Written on Friday 5 Dec 2025

Our home internet connection is provided by Vodafone, via the CityFibre FTTP network. We have an ONT in the wall, then had an Ethernet connection to the free Vodafone-provided router, which provided WiFi and LAN to the rest of the house. I’ve recently replaced that flaky router with a Unifi...

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52 Week Ham Radio Challenge Roundup: Weeks 45-48

Written on Sunday 30 Nov 2025

If you’ve read the first post in this series or are playing along yourself, you’ll be aware of the 52 Week Ham Radio Challenge. If not, hit up that link for the details! This post covers the challenges from weeks 45-48, which were: Fix something that is broken. Write a...

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The QRP Kit Gets Smaller

Written on Saturday 22 Nov 2025

In 2024, my first year of portable radio operating, my kit stayed pretty constant. The Yaesu FT-891 in a hard case, the Eco-Worthy 20Ah battery wrapped in bubble-wrap, SOTABeams antenna and pole, and a picnic blanket, all shoved into my work bag. The JPC-12 antenna I purchased in September allowed...

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