21 Sept 2014

Now QRT. The next few years on 10m and 6m.

I decided to go QRT about 10 minutes ago. All kit has been switched off.  In the morning I shall probably return to 10m. Today, the band has been in good shape again.

We are now moving into autumn conditions. With sunspot numbers still being quite high, we can expect excellent 10m conditions for months to come. If anything, 10m is going to be "too easy".

6m is unlikely to support much F2 propagation although N-S paths may open by TEP (trans-equatorial propagation) especially from latitudes closer to the geomagnetic equator. Stations in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece etc will have much better TEP chances than stations in the UK.

WSPR is likely to help "smoke out" openings on both bands, but when these bands close it is usually quite sudden. What WSPR allows is near continuous monitoring with little need for intervention. As WSPR works with signals some 12-14dB lower than CW, just a few watts should be enough to see if either 10m or 6m is "open". Of course, this depends on stations being active.

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