Showing posts with label f2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label f2. Show all posts

18 Aug 2023

HF, 8m and 6m

 Well, today was pathetic on 8m FT8 and 10m WSPR. 

The main Es season has now ended and the main F2 peak is a few months off. Most of my reports recently on 10m, 8m and 6m with QRP were via Es. 

These openings will occur, but not with the frequency we were used to in May, June and July. Probably 10m FT8 is worth a try as there is far more activity than WSPR. Also, the far shorter TX periods of just 15 seconds means that very short openings may be caught. FT8 is about 8dB worse than WSPR mind you.

22 May 2023

F2 disturbed?

It is interesting that not a single signal has been spotted today from outside Europe on 10m FT8.  At the same time, I have spotted plenty from Europe on 10m FT8, presumably by Es propagation.

I am no expert on HF propagation, but it would seem F2 propagation is upset by poor by solar conditions, but not Es. If Es does suffer, the effect is much smaller.

D2UY in Angola has been a good indicator of propagation. Not seen this station today on 10m FT8.

15 Jan 2023

6m F2?

It would appear that better stations are working into Africa by F2 on 6m. F2 is usually better on N-S paths than E-W. I know of at least 1 serious 6m operator that has 4 x 6 elements on 6m. That is seriously keen!

The sunspot number and solar flux are usually high most days, so the N-S MUF probably goes above 50 MHz briefly.

15 Sept 2022

HF conditions

It is rare for me to go lower than 28 MHz on HF. Certainly conditions on 10m seem good with loads of spots of my QRP 10m FT8 from the USA. I had to QSY, but when I left the band it was still good.  

I was hoping this was my first chance of F2 to/from the USA on 8m, but not this time. Whenever 10m F2 looks promising E-W, I shall try 8m FT8. Hopefully there will be other chances. 

Having worked the USA with QRP SSB handheld from the bedroom, I am in with a chance on 8m FT8.

13 Jun 2022

Propagation mode?

Both yesterday and the day before, I had over 70 reports of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. Today I have had just a few reports and these could be by F2. Es can be very localised with strong signals somewhere and nothing a few kilometres away.

On 8m I am frequently spotted by EI9KP (649km). This happens so often that I suspect some other form of propagation other than F2 or Es is involved such as random meteors or aircraft scatter. 

The period of FT8 makes me think random meteors or aircraft unlikely. It is far too far to EI9KP for tropo. 

Am I missing something? 

28 Nov 2020

F2 on 10m?

Even with my tiny loop indoors, I am spotting plenty of stations in Eastern Europe and the Canaries on 10m FT8. This looks like F2 propagation. In the last few days there has been propagation to the southern USA as well on 10m.

If things continue like this, 10m could again be a really good DX band certainly by next autumn.

2 Oct 2016

10m Es "out of season"

As if to prove a point, there has been some E layer propagation just about every day I have tried in recent weeks on 10m. 10m is certainly far from dead out of the Es seasonal months. My recommended mode is JT65 which can be used for 2-way QSOs or beaconing. WSPR should be better, but activity seems lower.

UPDATE 1544z: Plenty of Es on 10m JT65 today. I think the spots of Holland and Belgium were probably by aircraft reflection. No South Americans yet.

UPDATE 1705z: 2 South Americans (near Rio) have been copied on 10m JT65. Sunspots? Who needs them?

UPDATE 1826z:   12 South Americans spotted on 10m JT65 so far this evening (best DX Chile and Argentina), although no-one has spotted my 2W yet. Is this TEP?

UPDATE 1915z:  20 South Americans spotted on 10m JT65. This is very high, when the sunspot count is zero! Nothing today from the Caribbean or North America.

12 Sept 2016

Autumn Conditions on 10m?

We are already in autumn according to the UK Met Office, although I have yet to see any signs of autumn conditions on 10m JT65 or 10m WSPR. The best 10m conditions are usually later in the season but I remain hopeful of some USA openings on 10m this autumn. With solar conditions getting worse, this is probably the last chance many of us will see for USA stations on 10m by F2. Es occasionally allows 10m openings to the USA and Canada in the summer. The next peak is years away and may be poor.

I think the mantra is "wait and see". We live in hope! This is where WSPR and JT65 are particularly useful: there are usually plenty of people TXing and RXing all the time. If the 10m band opens even briefly, it will be noticed.

UPDATE 1938z: I am pleasantly surprised by the amount of Es on both 6m and 10m this late in the year. I have said many times that there is Es at all times of the year, although not at the same level as in the main Es "season".  WSPR and JT65 are ideal 10m modes when the band seems "dead". You'd be surprised!

UPDATE 2050z: PY2HH (9610km) in Southern Brazil has been spotted on 10m JT65 this evening.

17 Aug 2016

10m JT65 - no Es yet today

10m JT65 has been my focus again today. As yet, I have seen no Es but 4X1RF (3518km) spotted me a few minutes ago. I checked sync a few hours ago. Last evening both CE and LU were spotted on 10m JT65.

4 Jun 2016

No early Es on 10m today

Unlike yesterday, I was spotted by no-one early on 10m Es today. Es is sporadic so it is entirely possible 10m and 6m could open to somewhere later. F2 openings are unlikely although not impossible on N-S paths, especially if we see Es and F2 propagation combined.

UPDATE 1625z:  Just local G4KPX (14km) spotting me on 10m today. No sign of Es on either 10m or 6m WSPR here.

26 May 2016

Still no 6m WSPR spots

Although 10m WSPR is still very good for Es with spots received from all over the place (in Europe), 6m is still not producing any spots here. Maybe later?

I was also hoping for some brief N-S F2 DX on 10m WSPR, but it has just been Es so far. My 10m antenna is not the best, so others may fair better?

UPDATE 1905z:  Still no spots given or received on 6m WSPR, although 10m WSPR has been good with Es all day long. I shall probably QSY from 6m to MF later.

21 May 2016

10m Es and F2

This morning there is Es on 10m WSPR already and N-S F2 propagation. A promising start.

7 May 2016

10m F2 DX

PU3WSF (10416km) has been spotted on WSPR 2 times in recent minutes. I shall stay on 10m WSPR a bit longer in the hope that my own signal will reach S.America before the band dies out. Good to see some F2 DX on the band. At this time of year it is possible some of these openings are a combination of Es and F2 further to the south. There has been Es right across Europe all day on 10m.

UPDATE 2135z:  Nothing on 10m WSPR for over an hour now. I am staying on the band overnight, but think we have now seen the end of F2 and Es for the day.

6 May 2016

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

So far, there have been no spots on 10m WSPR or 6m WSPR. No F2 DX and no Es in evidence. This quite different from yesterday when on 10m there was a lot of Es about.

UPDATE 2116z:  EA1FAQ (1249km) was copied on 10m WSPR by Es earlier.  I have now QSYed to 630m (472kHz) WSPR for the night until after breakfast tomorrow.

15 Jan 2016

10m - magic band!

Many times before I have said 10m, like 6m, is a "magic band" that likes to surprise you. Today was no exception. Little did I expect to both give and receive WSPR spots with South America, but that is what the band turned up today. 4X1RF also spotted me in Israel on 10m. Magic band indeed!

UPDATE 1610z:  I now see that YL2GL (1747km) is being spotted. This is probably wintertime Es.

16 Dec 2015

SLOWLY declining solar activity

The slide down from a solar maximum is (usually) slower than the climb from the minimum to the maximum. Very gradually, the sun is going "off the boil" and solar activity is slowly falling away. With each year for several years to come things will get progressively harder on the higher bands. Some are predicting the next maximum may be a "damp squib", so enjoy the conditions while they last. It is quite possible that 10m will never be as good again in the lifetimes of many of us. Certainly 10m is already not as good as a year ago. Although Es is good at any part of the cycle in late spring and summer, F2 DX is best around the peak of solar activity. In the past 6m has supported worldwide DX at times, but I think those days are sadly over.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

8 Nov 2015

10m WSPR so far today

It seems that most of the spots of my little 500mW 10m beacon have been from nearer Europeans. This could be "out of season" Es or F-layer backscatter, but today there were far more than usual.

UPDATE 1600z:  No USA 10m WSPR spots today, well not so far. I am surprised as usually they would appear well before now.

UPDATE 1614:  Well, just to prove me wrong KK1D (5455km) has just spotted me on 10m WSPR. As they say, "one swallow does not make a summer", but at least I am being copied in the USA today on 10m.

UPDATE 1905z: KD0VWO (7412km) copied me at 1700z. Overall, this is has not been a good day for USA WSPR spots on 10m.

5 Nov 2015

10m F2 DX

Already I see that, as well as Russian, Spanish, Greek and Italian 10m WSPR spots, I am being spotted by FR1GZ (9724km), so there is decent multi-hop F2 propagation about on 10m. With all the nearer Europeans I wonder if this is F-layer backscatter or Es?

UPDATE 1154z:  On 6m WSPR  quite a few spots of G8VDQ (93km) but no signs of any Europeans, well not as yet.

25 Oct 2015

Early 10m F2

UB9OCQ (4859km) in MO95ek square is the best DX spot of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon so far today.  There have been plenty of WSPR spots from the far eastern edge of Europe too on 10m this morning.

So far today, 6m WSPR has remained very quiet.

17 Oct 2015

10m F2 DX

I see that KD0VWO (7412km) has been spotting my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon in Brazil today. I remain hopeful of some USA spots later today on 10m WSPR.

FR1GZ (9724km) has already spotted me too.

This looks like another good day on 10m WSPR, despite the "poor" forecast.

So far today nothing at all (given or received) on 6m WSPR.