Earthquake in Hokkaido

A huge earthquake hit a north island of Japan yesterday.  Many people were killed and injured in the neighboring area of Sapporo. Most of the areas are suffring from the shortage of electricity and water.

ICF-EX5MK2

I didn't noticed that SONY ICF-EX5MK2 had been discontinued.  This model is famous for its high sensitivity as a portable radio and had been produced over 30 years following the previous model ICF-EX5.
SONY has already discontinued the shoortwave radio ICF-7600GR, which was one of a few choices for enthusiastic listeners.

Break

In the morning, I dropped by a coffee shop for a short break every Monday.

Autumn

September has come. The end of the summer and the eiginning of the autumn. The condition of the amateur radio bands are getting better and some signals from Europe can be heard on several bands.

New GP antenna

I set up a new antenna for VHF and UHF. This is Diamond's V2000. This antenna is 2.5m long featuring the coverage of 50MHz as well as 144 and 430MHz. One of the three radials covers 50MHz, which can be moved for changing the lowest frequency of SWR. The season of Espo has ended. I hope this will be of much help in the next season.

Break time

It is sunny day here around my place. I came to the coffee shop and have a relaxing time in listening to the radio via Internet. This cafe is equipped with free-wifi, and it helps us a lot to get information.

Break at Starbucks

As usual, I go out for a break to the nearby Starbucks. I carry a notebook and a ipod touch and spend some time there. This is a nice place to stay to check some news and information on the internet.