add custom fonts

posts/amateur-radio-licence.md

@@ -5,16 +5,74 @@ date: 2026-03-12
 tags: ["radio"]
 ---
 
-In February I finally bit the bullet and booked the exam for the UK Amateur
-Radio Licence (Foundation Level).
+In February I bit the bullet and booked the exam for the UK Amateur Radio
+Licence (Foundation Level).
 
-My natural learning style is both meandering and thorough. I like to work at my
-own pace and pursue rabbit holes and tangents. I dislike exams and any aspect of
-competition injected into the learning process. At school my grades were always
-lower than my actual knowledge level because I never studied for the test, I
-pursued what was interesting to me to depths not required by the exams.
+Having the exam in the calendar helped me concentrate and remain focused, as my
+learning style is naturally quite slow and meandering. I really wanted to earn
+my licence so that I could get on the air and begin to advance my practical
+knowledge.
 
-I think all people who love learning for its own sake are like this but I did
-actually _need_ the licence in order to be able to transmit and start gaining
-practical knowledge. Having the test booked for the end of the month helped me
-concentrate and stay on target.
+I used the official Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) textbook and a
+simplified syllabus from [Essex Ham Train](https://www.essexham.co.uk/train/).
+
+![Flash cards from my studying](./img/flash-cards.jpg)
+
+In the mocks, I was averaging an 80% pass rate but in the exam itself I did
+particularly well and scored 92%, getting only two questions wrong (one of which
+didn't come up at all in the training materials). I completed the exam remotely
+but there was an RSGB invigilator observing my screen and environment to check I
+wasn't cheating! (Thank you Malcolm, G3ZNU.)
+
+Having received my certificate I was able to apply to Ofcom for my callsign. I
+chose **M7SYO**. The first two characters are mandatory and denote my
+qualification level ("Foundation") and the last three are your personal choice,
+based on what is available. Luckily I was able to choose letters reflecting
+"Systems Obscure". When appropriate to do so, I can add "E" as my regional
+secondary locator to indicate that I am operating from England (e.g. ME7SYO).
+
+The Foundation level is pretty generous given that it is the entry-level. I can
+transmit up to 25W and am permitted to use most of the amateur bands (10m, 12m,
+15m, 17m, 20m, 30m, 40m, 80m) at HF, apart from 60m, and many of the VHF/UHF
+bands.
+
+I am lucky that my uncle, Greg, is an experienced amateur operator and secretary
+of his local amateur radio club in Macclesfield. He has been helping me with my
+practical knowledge and advising on what gear to start with. For now, I have
+ordered the affordable and well-regarded
+[Baofeng UV-5RM Plus](https://www.baofengradio.com/products/uv-5rm-plus-8w-multi-band-radio)
+handheld along with a NA-771 antenna. This will enable me to connect to
+repeaters and hopefully make my first QSOs (contacts). I also plan to construct
+some home-made antennas that I can attach to the handheld and experiment with.
+
+![Monitoring over SDR](./img/monitoring-sdr.jpg)
+
+As I'm still waiting for the radio to arrive, I am currently limited to
+monitoring transmissions via my
+[SDR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software-defined_radio#Amateur_and_home_use)
+(RTL-SDR v.4). I've been able to pick up some Morse conversations and a faint
+read of the strange - possibly Iranian - number station that is currently
+[perplexing the amateur community](https://youtu.be/ErmbTpxAM7Q?si=auxTnY8HSSnu1xZ5).
+
+In order to access the HF band and reach contacts further afield by exploiting
+[ionospheric propagation](https://www.qsl.net/4x4xm/Propagation/Ionosphere-propagation-of-radio-waves.htm),
+I will need a better and more powerful tranceiver. I am looking into getting a
+second-hand portable Yaesu through one of Greg's contacts. My plan is to drive
+or cycle to good spots locally and work in the field. I also eventually want to
+communicate over CW using Morse code and experiment with some radio astronomy.
+The possibilities are pretty limitless with this hobby!
+
+![The new to me X1 and some light reading](./img/thinkpad-x1-carbon.jpg)
+
+To facilitate my field work I wanted a small and robust laptop so I bought a
+second hand ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen.9). It's very sleek compared to my T15 which
+I mainly use as a desktop device. I'm running Fedora Workstation for a
+hassle-free and easily maintainable Linux environment.
+
+Finally, I joined the RSGB. This gives me access to lots of useful radio
+resources, free access to the
+[National Radio Center](https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/national-radio-centre-gb3rs/)
+at Bletchley Park, and the print edition of the monthly _RadCom_ magazine which
+is a really good read.
+
+Once I start transmitting I will report here on my progress...

src/index.css

@@ -1,128 +1,149 @@
 @media (min-width: 768px) {
-  main {
-    max-width: 768px;
-    margin: 0 1.5rem;
-  }
+	main {
+		max-width: 768px;
+		margin: 0 1.5rem;
+	}
 
-  .post-listing-item {
-    display: flex;
-    flex-direction: row;
-  }
+	.post-listing-item {
+		display: flex;
+		flex-direction: row;
+	}
 }
 
 @media (max-width: 768px) {
-  .post-listing-item {
-    display: flex;
-    flex-direction: column;
-  }
+	.post-listing-item {
+		display: flex;
+		flex-direction: column;
+	}
 
-  .title-link {
-    letter-spacing: 0 !important;
-  }
+	.title-link {
+		letter-spacing: 0 !important;
+	}
 }
 
 .post-listing-item {
-  display: flex;
+	display: flex;
 }
 
 html {
-  font-family:
-    system-ui,
-    -apple-system,
-    BlinkMacSystemFont,
-    "Segoe UI",
-    Roboto,
-    Oxygen,
-    Ubuntu,
-    Cantarell,
-    "Open Sans",
-    "Helvetica Neue",
-    sans-serif;
+	font-family: "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
 }
 
 .header-links {
-  display: flex;
-  list-style: none;
-  gap: 1rem;
-  margin: 0;
-  padding: 0;
+	display: flex;
+	list-style: none;
+	gap: 1rem;
+	margin: 0;
+	padding: 0;
 }
 
 .plain-link {
-  color: inherit;
-  text-decoration: none;
+	color: inherit;
+	text-decoration: none;
 }
 
 .no-bullets {
-  list-style: none;
-  padding-left: 0;
+	list-style: none;
+	padding-left: 0;
 }
 
 blockquote {
-  font-style: italic;
+	font-style: italic;
 }
 
 figcaption {
-  text-align: center;
-  font-style: italic;
-  font-size: 14px;
+	text-align: center;
+	font-style: italic;
+	font-size: 14px;
 }
 
 figure {
-  text-align: center;
+	text-align: center;
 }
 
 figure img {
-  width: 100%;
-  max-width: 500px;
-  min-width: 300px;
-  height: auto;
+	width: 100%;
+	max-width: 500px;
+	min-width: 300px;
+	height: auto;
 }
 
 .shiki {
-  padding: 1rem;
-  /* border: 1pt solid black; */
-  background-color: whitesmoke !important;
-  overflow: auto;
+	padding: 1rem;
+	/* border: 1pt solid black; */
+	background-color: whitesmoke !important;
+	overflow: auto;
 }
 
 .code-stats-sect {
-  font-family: sans-serif !important;
+	font-family: sans-serif !important;
 }
 
 .code-stat-grid {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: row;
-  justify-content: space-between;
-  margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
+	display: flex;
+	flex-direction: row;
+	justify-content: space-between;
+	margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
 }
 
 .code-stat-label {
-  font-weight: bold;
-  font-family: sans-serif;
+	font-weight: bold;
+	font-family: sans-serif;
 }
 
 .code-stats-disclaimer {
-  font-style: italic;
-  font-size: 14px;
-  text-align: center;
+	font-style: italic;
+	font-size: 14px;
+	text-align: center;
 }
 
 .about-li-padding {
-  padding-right: 1rem;
+	padding-right: 1rem;
 }
 
 h1.site-title,
 h1.post-title {
-  margin-bottom: 0.75rem;
+	margin-bottom: 0.75rem;
 }
 
 .big-title {
-  padding-bottom: 0.5rem;
-  margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
-  border-bottom: 1px solid black;
+	padding-bottom: 0.5rem;
+	margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
+	border-bottom: 1px solid black;
 }
 
 .blog-meta {
-  font-size: 14px;
+	font-size: 14px;
+}
+
+@font-face {
+	font-family: "DejaVu Sans";
+	src: url("/fonts/DejaVuSans.woff2") format("woff2");
+	font-weight: 400;
+	font-style: normal;
+	font-display: swap;
+}
+
+@font-face {
+	font-family: "DejaVu Sans";
+	src: url("/fonts/DejaVuSans-Bold.woff2") format("woff2");
+	font-weight: 700;
+	font-style: normal;
+	font-display: swap;
+}
+
+@font-face {
+	font-family: "DejaVu Sans";
+	src: url("/fonts/DejaVuSans-Oblique.woff2") format("woff2");
+	font-weight: 400;
+	font-style: italic;
+	font-display: swap;
+}
+
+@font-face {
+	font-family: "DejaVu Sans";
+	src: url("/fonts/DejaVuSans-BoldOblique.woff2") format("woff2");
+	font-weight: 700;
+	font-style: italic;
+	font-display: swap;
 }

src/templates/MainTemplate.jsx

@@ -2,71 +2,80 @@
 
 import { Link } from "react-router"
 const Header = () => {
-  return (
-    <header>
-      <nav className="">
-        <h1 className="site-title">
-          <Link className="title-link plain-link" to="/">
-            Systems Obscure
-          </Link>
-        </h1>
-        <ul className="header-links">
-          <li>
-            <Link to="/">Home</Link>
-          </li>
+	return (
+		<header>
+			<nav className="">
+				<h1 className="site-title">
+					<Link className="title-link plain-link" to="/">
+						Systems Obscure
+					</Link>
+				</h1>
+				<ul className="header-links">
+					<li>
+						<Link to="/">Home</Link>
+					</li>
 
-          <li>
-            <Link to="/posts">Posts</Link>
-          </li>
-          <li>
-            <Link to="/about">About</Link>
-          </li>
-          <li className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
-            <a
-              className=""
-              href="https://forgejo.systemsobscure.net/thomasabishop"
-              target="blank"
-            >
-              Code
-            </a>
-          </li>
-        </ul>
-      </nav>
-    </header>
-  )
+					<li>
+						<Link to="/posts">Posts</Link>
+					</li>
+					<li>
+						<Link to="/about">About</Link>
+					</li>
+					<li className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
+						<a
+							className=""
+							href="https://forgejo.systemsobscure.net/thomasabishop"
+							target="blank"
+						>
+							Code
+						</a>
+					</li>
+					<li className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
+						<a
+							className=""
+							href="https://fosstodon.org/@systemsobscure"
+							rel="me"
+							target="blank"
+						>
+							Fosstodon
+						</a>
+					</li>
+				</ul>
+			</nav>
+		</header>
+	)
 }
 
 const Footer = () => {
-  return (
-    <footer className="mx-auto">
-      <nav>
-        <ul className="">
-          <li className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
-            <a
-              className=""
-              href="https://forgejo.systemsobscure.net/thomasabishop"
-              target="blank"
-            >
-              Forgejo
-            </a>
-          </li>
-        </ul>
-      </nav>
-    </footer>
-  )
+	return (
+		<footer className="mx-auto">
+			<nav>
+				<ul className="">
+					<li className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
+						<a
+							className=""
+							href="https://forgejo.systemsobscure.net/thomasabishop"
+							target="blank"
+						>
+							Forgejo
+						</a>
+					</li>
+				</ul>
+			</nav>
+		</footer>
+	)
 }
 
 const MainTemplate = ({ children }) => {
-  return (
-    <div className="">
-      <main className="">
-        <Header />
-        <div>{children}</div>
-      </main>
-    </div>
-  )
+	return (
+		<div className="">
+			<main className="">
+				<Header />
+				<div>{children}</div>
+			</main>
+		</div>
+	)
 }
 export default MainTemplate
 //antialiased max-w-3xl mt-3 mx-auto bg-[#282828] no-scanlines wrapper
 //main: flex-auto min-w-0 mt-0 flex flex-col px-2 md:px-0
-