Nothing like waiting to the last minute.

 

It seems whenever I move on to the next windows operating, OS I seem to wait until the last minute. My move from Windows 10 to 11 was no different. For some time I was thinking about it and as always I don't run and upgrade when the new OS comes out. I have found in the past that some of the programs I rely on may not be ready for the new OS. Some time ago, I checked to make sure my PC was worthy of the upgrade. I ran the Windows compatibility test and my system passed. 

It was now time to back up any needed files, located any passwords needed for some program re-installs and make a list of all the programs I do have to make sure they back on the PC once the new OS is installed. Having said that it never fails once the new OS has finished installing as programs are being installed I find I forgot to back up one or 2 needed files. 

The difference this time around is I do have a clone of my hard drive located on a different SSD. If I find I did not back up a critical file, I can always boot to that drive and retrieve the file. As I looked more into the programs loaded on my PC, there were 2 major programs that needed a password when download and re-installed. I had no idea where these passwords were located, and that meant I would have to purchase the programs again. 

As I did further investigation, I found out Microsoft offered a Windows upgrade from Win10 to Win11 for free. The catch was if you had Win10 home you have to upgrade to Win11 home, you could not move to Win11 pro. If you wanted pro, you would have to purchase that OS. The main differences I could see were pro had BitLocker, windows information protection and the price.  I made the choice to stay with Windows home edition.  Also, I opted to go with the free upgrade to Win 11. To do this upgrade go to the Microsoft site and download the Win11 installation tool. This meant the installation would go over top of my Win10 install. Now I have heard and read of issues with doing this, but I thought in time if I find that it's just not working out I can purchase Win11 home and do the installation old school style. So far, things are working out just fine, and I am very happy with that. As a side note, if your system does not pass the Windows upgrade check thanks to a fellow blogger Bas PE3BAS, he posted about a program that can fix this issue and allow you to install Windows 11 on your PC. 

Nice to see 10m open.

 

 I dipped my toes this weekend in California QSO party. I entered as low power, CW, non assisted. Conditions were good and I was shocked how good 10m was. It was my highest scoring band for my part time effort. 

 

The Pi is cooked

 

Ham Clock setup page 

A very long time ago I purchased a Raspberry Pi3 and at the time I was excited about experimenting with it but work got in the way, and it was put on the self. About 4 years ago and retired, I blew the dust off it and loaded Ham Clock on it. I have been using it ever since and found it has some very handy information for when I am contesting. The other day I turned on the Pi3, and it started to load, but I was then met with a black screen and the message "unable to load". I turned it off and back on and this time everything loaded except Ham Clock and for some reason it reverted to the setup page. I tried again to reboot, but Ham Clock still showed the setup page. I entered all my information again and was good to go...until I started the Pi3 the next day, when I booted the Pi3 nothing appeared on the screen and the LED lights on the Pi3 were flashing on and off very erratically. I changed out the SD card, reloaded the OS and after some investigation, I concluded the Pi3 was done. I now have a Pi4b on its way here and should be here on Sunday.

Things are looking up

This past weekend, I participated in the FOC (First Class Operators Club) event known as the Bill Windle QSO Party. It’s a relaxed, 24-hour gathering that I found thoroughly enjoyable.

What stood out most wasn’t just the event itself, but the surprising band conditions. For the first time in quite a while, 10 meters was in excellent shape, which was a welcome change. The band was open to the U.S., Europe, and South America, making for a diverse range of contacts. In fact, I made nearly as many contacts on 10 meters as I did on 15 and 20 meters, which is unusual and exciting to see.