Ian Renton

Since I name-dropped my new IC-705 transceiver in my previous post, I thought I’d add another quick post to cover the rest of the kit as well.

With the fifth and final RSGB Backpackers contest coming up, I fancied a try at a new hilltop, and with it one of my last chances to get some more 2m SSB contacts in the log for the 2026 SOTA challenge.

Once again, summer has been a quiet season for me on the radio.

For this afternoon’s 145 Alive event, I took a gamble and headed to every local ham’s favourite spot, Win Green.

It’s been a busy two years.

As I close in on the end of my “every POTA park within 20 miles” challenge, and start writing it up, I have noticed there were a few gaps in the list of activation reports.

Whenever you think there’s not going to be a hike, just a civilised walk from the car to the activation spot… there’s a hike.

Whitsun weekend, 2026.

This page lists the differences between version 4 of Plane/Sailing, with a Java-based server, and version 5, which rewrote the backend code in Python.

My part of the world is home to two major rivers, the Stour and the Avon, which both meet each other and the sea at Christchurch.