Mostly I go on RX, maybe also on TX giving a few points away.
It never fails to amaze me how far away I can copy stations with just my 144 MHz big-wheel omni antenna. The RSGB contest has not even started yet I have already spotted stations in the Netherlands and France out to 347km on 70cm. Also spotted the Isle of Man and DK1VC (503km) in Germany.
I have often wondered if I can receive that far by some kind of scatter.
As a QRP operator, the limited power handling does not bother me. Usually I operate at about 5W.
With high power some have reported RF feedback, often cured with a small counterpoise or choke on the coax. I am tempted to see how this works. I doubt I could make one for that price.
Banggood is selling similar ones for even less.
We certainly see far fewer swallows although I saw plenty in Devon last week.
This year, I seem to have spotted more swifts than last year. If I had not heard of the issue of falling numbers I would not have known. Maybe locally there are still plenty of swift nest sites or numbers are growing again? For example, there were about 20 screaming overhead earlier in a feeding party.
Plenty of Es about this morning with my 500mW WSPR beacon being widely spotted across Europe.
My IC-705 at 5W has been on since mid-morning. Lots of Es about with me being copied widely around Europe.
UPDATE 1608z: So far spotted by 205 stations. 92 stations spotted here.
My main rig is an IC-705. I have never tried this using wi-fi or Bluetooth.
Apparently there is an iOS version to remote the rig using Bluetooth and I hope there is one over wi-fi allowing the rig to be used from an iPhone. There is a video that show the Bluetooth version of this. I must try this.
My beacon has been on since late morning.
UPDATE 1502z: Spotted by 58 stations today.
My 6m QRP FT8 was turned on late morning.
UPDATE 1630z: 345 stations have spotted me today, mostly via Es.
Listening to the natural emissions at VLF can be fascinating. Not much is needed as this video shows. Of course, if the recorder does not provide DC power, you will need a source. In this case DC is provided by the recorder, so only 3 parts are needed.
I think this audio recorder is available on Amazon. On the DXexplorer site is another sferics receiver to drive headphones.
