6m WSPR - CN8LI again

CN8LI (2113km) is coming in pretty well on 6m WSPR again. We exchanged spots just after lunch. He is still a good signal here at nearly 1400z.

All quiet on 6m and 10m WSPR, so far

On both 6m and 10m WSPR I am just being spotted only by G stations with no sign of Es as yet. Of course, things can change very quickly, although at this time yesterday I was being spotted, or had spotted, many Europeans by Es.

UPDATE 1025z:  I was spotted by F5UBP (661km) on 10m WSPR a few minutes back by Es.

UPDATE 1045z:  All quiet still on 6m with WSPR spots exchanged only with G0OQK (98km) so far this morning and no 6m Es seen yet.

UPDATE 1118z:   CN8LI (2113km) was just spotted on 6m WSPR. I think he may have just switched his rig on as there was quite a bit of drift on his signal. I see he has also spotted me on 6m WSPR a couple of times.

UPDATE 1622z:  Plenty of 6m WSPR spots being exchanged with CN8LI (2113km) now.

UPDATE 1912z:  Very very little Es evident on 10m WSPR with just EA1KV (1304km) spotting me (once) earlier.

UPDATE 1938z:  So far today, the better Es has been on 6m rather than 10m.

UPDATE 2100z:  CN8LI (2113km) has spotted me 13 times today so far on 6m WSPR. Not bad.

6m Es - CN8LI

I see that CN8LI (2113km) in Morocco, was spotted strongly at 1002z on 6m WSPR. I think he was there earlier but not decoding. Perhaps he has only recently turned the rig on and it is still stabilising?

UPDATE 1250z:   Spots were (and still are) being exchanged with CN8LI strongly on 6m WSPR all morning and lunchtime.On 10m WSPR it has been pretty quiet for several hours with just spots by local G4IKZ (18km).

UPDATE 1512z:  CN8LI and I are still exchanging 6m WSPR spots and I am also spotting CT1PT  (1685km) at intermediate range. A reminder that my ERP is about 1W. I use a V2000 (vertical omni) fed via a run of lossy UR58 coax.

UPDATE 1715z:   CN8LI and I are still exchanging WSPR spots.  He has been spotted, and has been spotting me, most of the day. Recent reports of CN8LI have been very strong.

UPDATE 1919z:  CN8LI (2113km) has spotted me on 6m 14 times today at up +5dB, that is up to now.  It is possible there will be yet more spots. I have spotted him 31 times so far today on 6m WSPR. His ERP is higher than mine, I believe, by at least 10dB.

Furthermost G on 6m WSPR

G4IJM (271km) was spotted on 6m WSPR at 0908z today. This is the furthermost G that I have copied on 6m WSPR by any propagation other than Es or F2. I suppose it could have been some form of backscatter or aircraft assisted tropo?  Interesting distance. Unfortunately I was too late checking the trace to see if there was any evidence of aircraft reflections. Most signals  in the last hour from G0OQK (98km) have had some evidence of aircraft reflections - usually multiple traces every time the signal decodes.  IU1DZZ (973km) has been copied multiple times this morning by Es on 6m as has IK1NET (981km).

UPDATED 1343z:  Spots exchanged both ways with CN8LI (2113km) just after lunchtime on 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1652z:  So far today CN8LI (2113km) has been spotted 9 times (sometimes very strongly) and he has spotted me twice.  I shall be going QRT on 10m and 6m late this evening and not stopping on overnight.

UPDATE 2028z:  CN8LI (2113km) has been spotted 14 times today so far and he has spotted me 10 times on 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 2125z:  I have only just seen that I was (yet again) spotted by 4X1RF (3519km) at 0738z this morning.

Early 6m Es today? - CN8LI again

CN8LI (2113km) was spotted at -13dB S/N at 0816z this morning on 6m WSPR. I assume this is Es. This is promising so early in the day.

His ERP is probably 10dB more than mine. Drift was high, which could be his rig stabilising, Es patches moving or even aircraft reflections at his end or mine.

I guess this could even be single hop F2?  2113km is F2 range.

CN8LI tends to be right at the bottom of the WSPR sub-band. I may miss some spots of him as he may be out of band (to me) sometimes?

UPDATE 1100z:  CN8LI has been spotted strongly (-10dB S/N) on 6m WSPR by 4X1RF (3860km). Multi-hop Es? It is a very long way across the Med.

CN8LI (2113km) on 6m WSPR

Although I have spotted this Moroccan station a couple of times on 6m this afternoon, at quite reasonable S/N, I am still waiting for him to spot me. I shall be on 10m acnnd 6m WSPR at least until late tonight assuming there is no thunder around.

UPDATE 1536z:  Still just the 2 spots of CN8LI on 6m WSPR but no spots by him of me so far today.

UPDATE 1632z:  Mostly Gs on 6m with a little bit of Es earlier this afternoon including spots exchanged with CT1PT (1685km).

CN8LI - 6m WSPR

So far (it is now 1425z)  CN8LI (2113km) and I have exchanged WSPR spots all morning since I first went on 6m. We have exchanged spots 14 times already. Es conditions between us are perfect. My TX is on about 16% of the time only.

Unless the storms get a lot closer - currently most are north of Norwich  - I shall stick with 6m all day. I can hear thunder, but it is very distant and moving further away currently.

UPDATE 1530z: The "pipe" to CN8LI has been disconnected since lunchtime. I wonder if it will come back at teatime? Es often has a second peak at teatime.

http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en

6m - CN8LI pipe again

CN8LI (2113km) WSPR spots of my 1W ERP today

The 6m "pipe" to Morocco seems to be open again this evening with plenty of good propagation both ways.  Above are just the spots of my 1W ERP signal in Morocco to 1922z.  Plenty in the other direction too.

UPDATE 2030z:  Now 8 reports this evening from CN8LI.

UPDATE 2040z:  In addition to the Es today, there is plenty of GDX around.

Spots by me of CN8LI this evening (so far) - 10 spots!

6m - CN8LI still spotting me on WSPR

CN8LI (2113km) regularly spots my 1W ERP on 6m WSPR and is still copying me at 2028z.  I have the feeling this will not be the last spot today. Yet again my report from him was excellent at -13dB S/N. I continue to be surprised how regular these spots are and how strong. Usual strengths suggest much lower power would still be copyable.

In totally the other direction OH7AI (2000km) is also spotting my 1W ERP signal at a much weaker -23dB S/N.

UPDATE 2055z:   CN8LI is still spotting me at 2052z.  G0OQK (98km) is also spotting me at -24dB S/N at the same time.

6m - CN8LI copied on WSPR

At 1646z I copied CN8LI (2113km) on 6m WSPR for the first time today at a strong -9dB S/N. I think we are seeing the teatime peak in Es. He was also copied again at 1754z at a strong -9dB S/N. No other Es seen today (yet). He copied me again strongly at 1806z.

UPDATE 1844z:   CN8LI has (so far) been seen 5 times this evening. He was a remarkably strong +4dB S/N at 1826z.  Just like a real local!  So far, he has spotted me 6 times already today. The "pipe" to Morocco is in place again today!

UPDATE 1945z:  CN8LI has copied me loads of times today so far:

CN8LI's 6m WSPR spots of my 1W ERP so far so far today

UPDATE 2242z:  My last 6m spot of CN8LI seems to have been at 2008z.

6m - CN8LI has spotted me 11 times today so far!

CN8LI (2113km) has been spotting me on 6m WSPR again today, this morning and this evening. His reports tonight seem to be getting stronger too. so I think there will be further reports before we're done today. It is now 1905z. I have been spotting him too, but only once so far today.

CN8LI's spots of my 1W ERP on 6m today so far

6m is an amazing band. There is good local coverage, interesting GDX mainly via aircraft scatter or reflection and then amazing DX by Es. I have still to catch super DX by Es. Of course, in a few months most of the Es openings will be ended although the band does have some Es at all times of the year. With dedicated WSPRers active we might find out how common "out of season" 6m Es really is.

UPDATE 1930z: more spots from CN8LI at 1900z and 1918z.

6m Es teatime - CN8LI (Morocco) right on time!

1642z and CN8LI (2113km) has just spotted my 1W ERP again on 6m WSPR via Es. This is the teatime peak in Es - right on cue.

UPDATE 1736:  CN8LI has spotted me 5 times (so far) this teatime at up to -14dB S/N. That makes 7 times so far today. When the propagation is there, signals are often strong.  Doppler was -2Hz on his strongest report - moving Es clouds?  G8JNJ/A was spotting me (184km) at 1724z.

UPDATE 1940z:  CN8LI has been gone now since 1708z.  I think the Es has gone and just GDX currently. G0OQK is a new GDX spotter (I think) at 98km at 1846z. There have been so many GDX reports that I am forgetting which stations are new ones.

Spotted by CN8LI (2113km) twice on 6m WSPR

CN8LI (2113km, Morocco) spotted my 1W ERP twice around 1200z today on 6m. This is the first real DX (Es presumably) today.

G4HBA (189km) is the best GDX so far today. He was spotted at -27dB S/N at 1138z when running 10W with 2Hz Doppler, so maybe some aircraft reflection?

Recent 6m WSPR spots today

6m GDX

There is clearly Es around on 6m WSPR this evening, but there is also some GDX.  G8JNJ/A (184km) spotted my 1W ERP WSPR signal at 1910z at -25dB S/N and again at 2028z and 2046z.

CN8LI was last spotting me (still) at 1920z. at -18dB S/N presumably on Es.

UPDATE 2150z:   No GDX or Es now.  I am leaving 6m WSPR on overnight - ever hopeful!

Return to 6m

Just after midday local time I returned to 6m having switched off last night. So far, only G4IKZ (18km) is spotting me on WSPR and at excellent strength (+10/+11 dB S/N despite cross-polarisaton). No Es (yet) and no GDX (yet) but there is a lot of time today still to come.

UPDATE 1542z:  Just spots all afternoon from G4IKZ and no-one else so far.

UPDATE 1800z:   CN8LI (2113km) and I have exchanged WSPR spots 7 times since 1604z, many at great strength again. Es I assume although this propagation is almost predictable! No EAs active on WSPR so if multi-hop Es I shall never know.

Again there is a distinct lack of east coast USA stations, so any E-W multi-hop Es events across the Atlantic will go unnoticed on 6m WSPR today. A crying shame. East coast USA WSPR stations - where are you? We need YOU on and active!

UPDATE 1808z:  First Es in the other direction today - OH5MD (1757km) has spotted my 1W ERP at 1800z.

6m - CN8LI lots of times today

6m has been good with lots of spots both ways of CN8LI (2113km) during the day. So far, he has spotted me ten times (see below)  and I have spotted him 5 times by 1435z. The common wisdom is this is Es but he is the ONLY DX spot so far and this is long distance for single hop. There is no sign of stations half way if this is double hop Es. Could it be F2-layer 1 hop? He has spotted me twice since (by 1525z).

Spots of my 1W ERP 6m WSPR signal by CN8LI (2113km)

Es on 6m at last - CN8LI

It was a long time coming today, but at 1648 CN8LI (2113km) spotted my 1W ERP 6m WSPR signal at -16dB S/N. This was the first Es report here in 2 days. It is teatime and Es tends to have a second peak at this time. Es is pretty reliable at this time of year, but the last 2 days have been unusually quiet.  I see I am copying him now on 6m.

6m unique WSPR spots so far today

UPDATE 1950z:  All quiet on the Es front here since 1702z. Just locals and G4VXE (136km) GDX. The locals are G4IKZ (18km) and G0LRD (25km) both of whom are using horizontal beams I think.  Not sure what antenna Tim G4VXE is using.

UPDATE 2045z:   G6AVK (78km) exchanging spots with me now. Signals around -24dB S/N  with considerable Doppler, so probably aircraft assisted GDX.

UPDATE 2115z:  I think the chances of more Es is receding. One drawback of WSPR is you can only copy the stations with WSPR capability. Sometimes there are few active WSPR equipped stations in a particular area. With CW/SSB stronger signals are needed but there are more active stations. It would be useful if there were more active WSPR stations on 6m in Africa and North and South America.

CN8LI - 6m

Reports from CN8LI have been coming in consistently all afternoon. I assume the propagation is Es but this very non-sporadic! I suppose it is just conceivably single hop F-layer, but I think Es is more probable. Now if only someone another 1000-2000km further south was on too so multi-hop Es into Africa was a possibility. Later in the Es season, multi-hop Es becomes more likely into S.America, the Caribbean and N.America.

At 1806z CN8LI is still spotting me well (-1dB S/N).

UPDATE 2125z: CN8LI's last 6m spot of me was at 1854z (+6dB S/N) and this appears to be the last today. Just G4IKZ spotting me now, lot of times!

UPDATE 2200z:  finally closed down at  2145z with just G4IKZ spotting me all evening.

6m - Tuesday May 20th - some lunchtime Es

A very uneventful morning so far on 6m WSPR with just the usual strong reports from Nick G4IKZ (18km) on the far side of Cambridge. No Es yet, although it is early in the day. At  the moment, 6m is very slow going with LOTS of WSPRing during the day for (maybe) a fleeting opening. At least with WSPR you can do something else whilst monitoring and TXing.

Maybe the 6m band will open up later?  Sunspot count is 130 and 20-30MHz forecast to be "normal". Again, 10m propagation will be whatever. 6m will remain "sporadic" with lots of white noise. It would be good to hit a period of 6m Es that lasts all day. It is early in the season I guess. On 6m I'd be very lucky to see any real long distance DX.

UPDATE 1435z: Well patiently 6m WSPRing paid off with spots from Morocco by CN8LI (2113km) late lunchtime today (best -5dB S/N at 1404z).  With that report, he would have copied me if my ERP was just a few mW, given a quiet RX environment his end.  This is a problem nowadays: often the RX noise floor can be quite bad, especially in towns and cities with so much RF noise pollution.   CN8LI was also spotting me (more weakly) at teatime (1612z) - see table above. 1W ERP seems plenty for Es.

UPDATE 1930z: No further Es in evidence here since CN8LI at 1612z. Think that is it for today?

Morocco on 6m

Just when about to give up (for now) I see my 1W ERP on 6m WSPR has been spotted in Morocco by CN8LI at a remarkable +2dB S/N at 1252z.. Distance is 2113km. I shall leave the 6m gear running! Propagation will have been Es.  For Es, a V2000 vertical is an effective omni antenna. Mine is fed by a length of  RG58 cable, not exactly low loss too! The FT817 is on the "3 blobs" setting as on 10m which is about 2.5W into the feeder.

CN8LI's 6m spot of me today at 1252z