10m conditions today are best described as "mixed". On N-S paths at least the band has been open but nothing was copied here from the USA and Canada. Today was much more typical of conditions further down the cycle: NEVER write the band off, but openings are much more likely to be N-S (or S-N) than E-W. Tomorrow conditions could bounce right back or we could see poor conditions for many weeks. It is only by holding faith with 10m that we will find out how it really behaves in the "quiet years" ahead. This is where WSPR beaconing will prove so very useful.
Just spotted PY2WG (9562km) on WSPR and this sort of path will be typical of the paths likely to be manageable with far lower solar activity. PY2ZX spotted my 2W at 9555km at 1952z and 2004z..
2004z seems to be when the band died out for N-S DX, unless it was the Win 8.1 PC just going crazy again! I am monitoring WSPR.net on the lounge PC so I can watch TV at the same time. A quick shack visit is needed.
UPDATE 2145z: WSPR software was working fine, no DX since 2004z, but I have gone QRT now.
Roger,
ReplyDeleteAfter only hearing your beacon all morning, it finally opened up between about 1300 - 1500. Most notable receive spots for me were:
PY2RN
PY2WG
CX2ABP
4X1DA
So, my new antenna seems to work OK!
Cheers!
Good stuff David. Looks like you did not miss much at all.
ReplyDelete