New Invention hits the High Street
I'm sure some of you saw a story on Lidmag about some interesting new inventions to be conceived in Northern Ireland. For those of you that haven't:
Unconfirmed reports have reached the LidMag Newsdesk of an undisclosed number of new inventions, conceived in Northern Ireland, which, if true, could revolutionise Amateur Radio.
Northern Ireland is no stranger to inventors or producing new fangled gadgets – the first pneumatic tyre, developed by John Boyd Dunlop arrived onto the streets of Belfast in the late 19th Century. Perhaps you may be familiar with the portable defibrillators carried in Ambulances – yet another Northern Irish invention, by the late Professor Frank Partridge [...] .
Few details are known at this time, though, our source did let it slip of a product referred to as ‘SWR Grease’, claiming this product could revolutionise antenna installations in so much that it could effectively permit any random piece of wire to be 100% efficient as a radiator of RF energy. It remains to be seen how such a product will work in theory, and in practice is another matter entirely.
Either way [...]. Such a product could save valuable time in emergency communications or simply field day contests. It appears, in this early stage, that ‘SWR Grease’ [...]. Early indications also show that it should be available for sale by the beginning of January 2009, once the Health & Safety Executive has conducted tests to ensure it is safe for consumer usage.
Well, a little later than expected, I received word from HSENI, after asking if there were any developements, that they have given the go-ahead for this revolutionary product to be mass produced. They said that a number of tests were used to determine the structure and subsequent risk of the product. Thus, as it contains a large amount of Calcium hypoclorite - Ca.2Cl-H-O - they have designated it with the Hazardous Substances Databank Number: 914. Extreme caution should be used and protective clothing is required.
Let's see how well it performs...
Return to HF
Well, a long time longer than originally planned, but I'm glad to say that I'm back on HF for the foreseeable future with 100W and a Yaesu FT-857. I've even managed to cross off a few call signs from the "to contact list" 
Still have a few to contact...