Monday Night Net 20 October 2025 Report

We fed tonight’s net into an AI engine and asked for a friendly report. Here’s what AI thought of our outing:

Who was about:

Pete M0PSX (herding the cats), Aubrey M7SDA, Dorothy M0LMR, Bob G4MDB, and a late fly-by from Rory M0NFJ.

Radio bits (aka the fun stuff)

• 

  Aubrey’s shiny new Baofeng UV-5R Mini had its first outing.

  • Sounded perfectly readable but a tad quiet, with a whisper of noise.

  • On the direct input he was about S7 into Leigh-on-Sea.

  • Swapping antennas was interesting: the stock Mini antenna actually did best. Sometimes new really does beat “that spare in the drawer.”

  • Connector: SMA-male like the usual Baofengs/Quanshengs.

  • Charging: USB-C (hallelujah).

  • Programming: Works with CHIRP and the Baofeng tool; even Bluetooth programming via the OLA Radio app. Colour screen, cute as a button, dual PTTs.

  • Rough prices folks have seen: ~£17–£18 via the “Ali hut,” a bit slower via Amazon.

• 

  Quansheng corner:

  • Still the ridiculously good £10–£20 wonder.

  • Firmware tinkering gives you spectrum scope, better AM for airband (Izuma/Yuzuma), and there’s even a little HF/airband mod board if you like soldering drama.

  • Bob’s QS at ~2W sounded lovely and clean.

• Listening habits:

  • Net ran on DA (“Daphne”); ER got some love.

  • When Aubrey’s roaming Southend, he usually keeps an ear on MB7ISX and S20 (145.500). DA can be a stretch there.

Weather & wires (life happening)

• Essex skies did their “end-of-level boss” rain impression. A few of us got properly drenched.

• AWS hiccups made Ring doorbells sulk; the classic fix—turn it off and on again—mostly did the trick. One factory reset made a tiny spider homeless (he’s been rehoused ️).

• Fibre’s creeping closer; voip/landline nostalgia vs. rising costs sparked a good natter.

Pets, plants & other pleasant nonsense

• Dorothy picked up a shrub with white berries (10/10 cosy).

• Halloween plans: skeleton costume locked in.

• Craft desk report: ~70 Christmas cards underway (power move!).

• Cat content: one happily sits in the rain; another needed a vet visit and scaled the HDMI cable like a pro.

• We also learned “hoist with his own petard” really is from Hamlet—and a petard is a small explosive used to blow gates. Who says radio isn’t educational?

Closing notes

Small crew, good vibes. Pete’s threatening to buy a UV-5R Mini (USB-C might have sealed it). We’re angling for a guest chair next week—Dorothy or Aubrey, perhaps—so we can “double the audience” and keep the giggles coming.

Actionables (lightweight):

• If you try the Mini: compare stock vs aftermarket antennas—stock may surprise you.

• Need quick programming? OLA Radio via Bluetooth is a treat; CHIRP is still the old faithful.

• Out and about in Southend and want to bump into Aubrey? Try MB7ISX + S20.

Related Links

• Baofeng link: Baofeng 5R Mini on Ali Express (affiliate link)