6m WSPR and the transatlantic path by Es

6m spots - note the drift

 There seem to be more people trying WSPR on 6m than in previous years. Prompted by Nick G4IKZ this evening I have moved from 10m to 6m and have spotted CN8LI (2113km) and been spotted myself by a few G stations. On 6m the Doppler shift on signals can be quite fierce and setting the FT817 accurately on frequency is a little more tricky: I have to set the FT817 to 50.29260 rather than 50.2930kHz to get the correct frequency spots. I assume my 12 year old reference oscillator in the rig is a bit off. On inter-G signals I suspect that the Doppler is a result of aircraft reflection. On more distant DX stations I assume it is as a result of E layer clouds moving around.

Doppler on transatlantic 6m multi-hop Es signals might be a killer - I can imagine reflection points moving around in the E layer  - but if not, then WSPR would be a great way to check for transatlantic openings.

I'll leave the 2W WSPR to the co-linear vertical running overnight tonight and on a few further nights through June and July. We just need LOTS more USA and Canadian stations both monitoring and RXing on 6m WSPR.