F2 DX on 10m WSPR

4X1RF (3519km) has spotted my little 500mW 10m WSPR beacon several times this morning. This is a hopeful sign as I think it means we could see more F2 later. I am assuming this was F2.  OZ7IT (853km) has spotted me several times too in the early hours on 10m WSPR.

South America on 10m WSPR

KD0VWO (7412km) monitoring in Brazil has copied my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon again today. This is not the best DX today, but good to see my signal getting to South America. The question is will there be any North American 10m WSPR spots tonight?

UPDATE 2014z:  No signs of any North American spots on 10m WSPR. I shall be going QRT on 10m shortly. Below are the unique stations spotting me on 10m WSPR today. Note that the KD0 is actually monitoring in Brazil and not the USA.

Unique spots of my 10m WSPR beacon today

UPDATE 2042z:  Now QRT on 10m WSPR but will be monitoring 630m RX only overnight.

First North American 10m WSPR spot this autumn

VE1YY (4597km) was the first in North America to spot my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon this autumn.  He has spotted me a couple of times this afternoon. They are back!  At -19dB S/N this not too bad a report either. It suggests he may well of copied me if I was using 50mW as long as his noise level was low.

No doubt we'll get USA and Canadian spots on 10m now until the spring by F2.

UPDATE 1920z:   Have now gone QRT on 10m WSPR until the morning, and now looking on 630m rather than 6m. Will be on 630m RX overnight.

10m F2

Already my 10m 500mW WSPR has been spotted in Brazil by KD0VWO (7412km). So far, this is the only DX seen on 10m WSPR today. I remain hopeful that I may be spotted in the USA later today on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1415z:  KD0VWO (in Brazil) has copied me several times on 10m WSPR, but 6m WSPR has drawn a total blank so far today with no spots given and none received on that band. I am ever the optimist and will stick on both 10m WSPR and 6m WSPR until this evening. Around 1900z I shall switch to 472kHz WSPR RX.

10m WSPR comes to life

With 4 spots from 4X1RF (3519km) and one from KD0VWO (7412km) looking in Brazil, 10m WSPR has sprung into life. I think both of these are F2 propagation. I am pretty sure there will be further reports later. WSPR

I am also on 472kHz RX but nothing copied on MF, as yet, this evening.

UPDATE 2000z:  Plenty of stations being copied on MF WSPR. All DX seems to have stopped hours ago on 10m so I shall close down until breakfast on 10m, but I shall be monitoring 630m WSPR overnight again.

Good Es on 10m WSPR today

This afternoon there has been some decent Es on 10m. Others, using other modes, have seen some decent F2 DX as well. My 500mW WSPR was obviously not enough or there was low activity on WSPR. I have no idea if 6m WSPR was good for Es as I have not been on that band today. The moral is never give up on 10m Es. It is still there at any time of the year, but not as common as in the peak Es months.

Unique 10m WSPR spots of my 500mW beacon today.

Forecasts?

Like the weather forecasts, it is sometimes a good idea to ignore solar forecasts!

Unique 10m WSPR spots today so far

Today has been pretty good so far with FR1GZ (9724km) copying my 500mW 10m WSPR signal for the first time this season. K=7 would have suggested to me that this was unlikely. Like 6m, 10m can give us nice surprises.

UPDATE 1338z:  So far just tropo/aircraft reflection on 6m WSPR. 10m is definitely better than I expected though. As I think the KD0 is actually monitoring in Brazil, I am still waiting for some F2 propagation to the USA this season.

10m F2 this afternoon

Well, 10m has sprung into life on WSPR. I am pretty sure KD0VWO (7412km) is actually monitoring in Brazil judging by the QTH locator. 

As far as I can tell, there is no Es about here on 10m. This looks like F2 propagation. I remain hopeful for the rest of the day. I use 500mW on WSPR and a very average, low 3 band end-fed wire antenna on 10m.

10m WSPR results this afternoon

UPDATE 1530z:  Nothing at all given or received on 6m WSPR since G8VDQ (93km) was spotted at 1602z yesterday.  So far, no further F2 on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1840z:  Still no further 10m WSPR DX by F2 or Es here.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs Sept 17th 2015

Sunspot number today is 67 (not bad) and K=3 suggesting  conditions are a little disturbed. 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor". So far this morning just spots from local G4IKZ (18km) on 10m WSPR, but I remain hopeful that we'll see some F2 later. I am also on 6m WSPR (20% TX 30dBm ERP , 80% RX).

UPDATE 0925z:  Still just local G4IKZ (18km) on 10m WSPR and nothing at all on 6m WSPR given or received.

UPDATE 1725z:   All quiet on 10m and 6m WSPR still.

First 10m WSPR spots from the USA this season?

So, they are back (or are they?)! KD0VWO (7412km) in GI95rg square is the very first USA station to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon this autumn. He copied me this evening at 2024z, which is quite late.   Decent F2 DX is back on 10m!

As the days go onwards into autumn, winter and spring it is strangely reassuring to be copied in the USA (or maybe not?) on 10m WSPR again. It is a bit like the returning summer bird migrants: all is well with the world! As I have said before, I think the USA on 10m will be OK this season but a lot more doubtful next autumn. We may still be lucky as the slide to the minimum is slower than the climb to the next peak, however small this may be. This season could be the last time in my lifetime that I see decent conditions on 10m. Now that is a sobering thought.

Also copying me was EA8BVP (2986km). I have the feeling this will be an almost daily thing now.

UPDATE 2146z:   Maybe I am being premature as the QTH locator is in Brazil. Perhaps this is a USA station on holiday and not in the USA at all?  The proof will be if I start to get spots from more USA 10m WSPR stations in the days ahead.

No Es or F2 on 10m WSPR today, so far

Things have been very quiet on 10m WSPR today so far with just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me. I am hopeful of some F2 later, but I have seen no Es today on the band here.

UPDATE 1522z:  No signs, here at least, of any Es or F2 propagation on 10m WSPR so far today.

UPDATE 1650z:  Still no signs of Es or F2 propagation here so far today on 10m WSPR.  Meanwhile, 6m remains a total dead loss with no 6m WSPR spots given or received all day.

10m F2?

EA8BVP (2986km) spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon this evening several times. I think this may be the first F2 propagation seen here on 10m this season. There was no Es around at the time and the distance is right for F2.  Last winter and spring this station copied my beacon just about every day for months on 10m.

No Es on 10m WSPR or 6m WSPR here today, so far

Both the higher bands have been without Es here today on WSPR. Others, in different locations and using busier modes, may have been luckier.  Still no F2 propagation seen yet on 10m WSPR although I expect this will change in September. In September 2014 we were seeing F2 propagation to the USA. With falling solar conditions it may be later this autumn. I think it very unlikely we'll see any 6m transatlantic openings this autumn and winter, but a sudden burst of solar activity could suddenly change that.

EA8BVP - Es or F2 on 10m?

EA8BVP (2986km) is again spotting my 500mW WSPR on 10m.  He spotted me at 1228z and, so far by 1332z,  7 times already today.  This could be by F2 or Es as there is a lot of Es about on 10m today, including stations in northern Spain around the half way point.  Last week, when I was away from home on holiday, I missed this station: he has been a regular 10m WSPR spotter most days for months. It was good to see him in the logs today again. In the past, I am pretty sure he was copied by single-hop F2, but today may well have been Es.

I am still hopeful of far more distant 10m (and 6m) WSPR spots well outside Europe by Es. In past years North America has been reachable by Es as has the Caribbean or even South America. So far, at least on WSPR, it has been Europeans and Israel only for me, the latter on 6m!

When conditions are good, people tend to leave WSPR and go to 10m SSB or CW or even AM or FM. This is understandable, but a pity as WSPR is most useful "sniffing out"  fleeting openings. You are far more likely to see a short (2 mins or even less) opening with WSPR as signal levels needed are low and there are usually plenty of people monitoring via WSPRnet.

UPDATE 1310z:   Just got a 10m WSPR report from DK6UG of  +11dB S/N. This is classic Es with enormous signals, much stronger than reports from locals. Es can be like this some days: just hugely strong signals. The implication is he would still have copied me even if I was using much less than 1mW.

UPDATE 1340z:  Not seen any sign of 6m stations from Japan. Don't know if this path has been open for the better equipped stations, but this very long path seems to open nearly every year in early June, possibly as a result of reflections off noctilucent clouds in the mesosphere?

UPDATE 1434z: EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted me 23 times today so far.

UPDATE 2010z:    EA8BVP has spotted me 63 times so far today.  Could the recent spots be F2?

10m/6m F2 and Es today

EA8BVP (2986km) has yet again been spotting me on 10m by F2 propagation. I see some very recent evidence of Es with OE6PWD (1232km) spotting me a little while ago.

UPDATE 2146z: EA8BVP has spotted me 36 times today so far.

UPDATE 2148z:  Again, no evidence of 6m Es here today.

10m F2

EA8BVP (2986km) was spotting me on 10m WSPR yet again at 1552z.  He has spotted me now for months on end, sometimes until very late in the evening.  So far, this is the only longish distance DX to be heard. With the poor sunspot conditions I suspect this will be the best DX on 10m today.

UPDATE 1936z:  At 1916z SA0CAM (1352km) was spotting my 500mW WSPR beacon on 10m by Es. This was the first Es report since this morning here on 10m.

10m Es?

SA5SDR (1358km) has spotted me several times today. I suspect, at this distance, this is Es propagation. Although I have been spotted in the USA today on 10m WSPR, conditions seem "on the edge" - this is not the best of days, although I am grateful the band opened at all.

EA8BVP on 10m

EA8BVP has spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon 114 times in the last 12 hours.  I think he has either now gone QRT or the path has closed.  Excellent all day long.  I assume this is single hop F2.

10m USA spots early today

KT5W (6314km) was spotting my 500mW WSPR beacon at 1324z, which is earlier than of late. I was expecting 10m to open to the USA, but this was much earlier than I was expecting.

UPDATE 1422z:  A few more USA stations have been spotting me. Already, more different stations are spotting me than yesterday.

UPDATE 1612z:   My 500mW WSPR beacon has been copied by PY3OL (10412km) as well as by lots of USA stations. So far, 12 different USA stations spotting me.

UPDATE 1946z:  PY3OL has spotted me 20 times so far today at up to -18dB S/N.  As the solar cycle declines I expect these N-S 10m openings will be far more common than E-W ones.  As I have mentioned before, I have worked LUs on 10m SSB when using QRP in the sunspot minimum before, so expect these N-S paths to still be there even with very low sunspot numbers. Often the maximum usable frequency (MUF) is much higher for paths over the equator, possibly as the F layer splits (equatorial spread-F) and the "bounce" over the equator occurs at a shallower angle than a normal F2 reflections - no ground reflection occurs over the equator.  Don't quote me on this as I am no propagation expert, but it is a fact that N-S paths over the equator "work" at much higher frequencies than paths in other directions. Of course, here I am referring to F layer propagation. Most years you may strike lucky and hear USA stations in the summer time by Es. Some Es paths are massive and it is not that uncommon for S.America,The Caribbean and N.America to be worked on 6m in the Es months.   In summer 2007 I worked a USA station on 6m CW when I was using real QRP to a vertical V2000 omni antenna. I have heard 6m DX from S.America, The Caribbean and N. America by Es many times. My best DX on RX by F2 (years ago) was the USA and South Africa.  I doubt I'll see these F2 conditions ever again in my lifetime.

UPDATE 2210z: KT5W (6314km) was spotting my 500mW WSPR beacon at 2100z.  I think this was the last spot from the USA today as it has been quiet now for over an hour.

Sunspots and 10m - Feb 28th

Sunspot number has risen slightly to 58 today and 10m propagation is set to be "fair". this is a better forecast than recent days.

Already, my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon has been copied in LZ, OH, SV9 and 4X1 this morning, but nothing from further afield, as yet.

UPDATE 1114z:  10m does seem livelier than of late. LZ1OI (2153km) has been spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR very well. This must be an optimum distance for single hop F2 propagation.   I've just been spotted in Malta (9H).

UPDATE 1126z:  First DX outside Europe today as when I was spotted  by PU2UIB (9524km) in Brazil at 1112z today.

UPDATE 1230z:  No North American stations copying my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon, as yet, but the first reports will probably be in the next hour.