10mW?

 As a keen QRP FT8 operator on 10m, 8m and 6m this thought occurred to me.

If you are copied with a plus value S/N (say at 1W, or even 5W) there is a very good chance you would still be copied at 10mW. Of course, this will depend on the noise floor at the RX and finding a clear frequency.

Many have been surprised that licence free 8m 10mW ERP FT8 has been copied right across Europe. It does not surprise me at all. 

What does surprise me is how few have tried this especially in the Es season. Just think, no licence, make up a callsign that WSJT-X and PSKreporter can work with and have fun. 

Remember operating under ISM rules is not amateur radio.

PSKreporter

When I go on FT8, I usually check PSKreporter maps to see if anyone has received me. Some people report spotting, but these sometimes do not appear on PSKreporter. There can be a number of reasons.

PSKreporter might be down, the internet link from the reporter to PSKreporter may be down, PSKreporter may have a delay. There may be other reasons too.

All I am saying is PSKreporter is not infallible. Just because you are not reported does not mean you are not being received far away.

PSKreporter issues?

Usually, I use PSKreporter to see who is spotting my 8m QRP FT8. A few moments ago (about 1315z) briefly a spot showed up of me from the USA and the Canaries. I have not seen these since. So I am puzzled. Did I reach there or not? 

UPDATE 1640z: Mystery solved:  it was reporting my 10m WSPR. No PSKreporter issue. So no, I did not reach the USA today on 8m FT8. Ah well, you win some, you lose some. There will be another day.

PSKreporter - sick or overloaded?

At times, PSKreporter seems not to work. Sometimes there is a great delay adding spots and at other times it seems unresponsive. I don't think this is an issue with my end. I think it is at the PSKreporter end. 

Sadly, this makes it a far less useful site as you sometimes have to wait hours before you know if you have been spotted.

I am currently looking for 8m FT8 spots.

PSKreporter maps

This is a resource I find really useful.  Although I use it mostly with FT8, it supports many modes. 

My WSJT-X automatically uploads what I receive here. It means I can see (on another PC in the lounge or bed!) in graphical form the stations I am spotting. 

When on FT8 TX I can see which stations are spotting me.

See https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html .

10m FT8 grabber

 One of the new features that is possible on the new Google Sites is embedding. Some browsers do not support this for fear of viruses or malware on the embedded sites. I have embedded PSKreporter maps on my new web pages  which normally points to what I see on 10m FT8 RX.  So you can see what I am spotting here.

Just occasionally I may be looking at something else.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-ft8-grabber  .

PSKreporter issue?

All morning nothing I received was being reported to PSKreporter maps. I restarted the PC and checked WSJT-X was working on 20m RX. Locally lots of EU stations are being received, but nothing is appearing on the maps. Time was just resynced and as far as I can tell my internet connection is working. I am beginning to wonder if there is a problem with PSKreporter getting reports.

UPDATE 1011z: All now working. Mystery.

OpenStreetMaps contributors and OpenMapTiles

Most of my maps showing FT8 results are cut down copies of PSKreporter maps. It goes without saying that the copyright is theirs.

6m FT8 and PSKreporter maps issues?

Since before breakfast I have been on 6m FT8 (RX and briefly TX) but nothing appears on PSKreporter. At first I suspected my internet connection but everything else seems fine. I even disconnected and reconnected yet still nothing. I stopped and restarted WSJT-X. I have spotted EA7 and I so I know 6m FT8 is good. Anyone else having issues?

UPDATE 1203z:  Up to now I was using WSJT-X V1.9 rc3. I have upgraded to the latest fully released version (v1.9.1) and all seems to be well. See comment from John below that my spots were appearing as 2m spots when I had selected 6m (50.313MHz FT8). Moral seems to be close the software and re-open if you change bands! Now getting Es spots from all over.

UPDATE 1424z: Everything is working now. My brief CQ calls (2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni) were copied widely in southern Europe and I worked several Balkan stations. A call to S01WS was not received, sadly.

PSK reporter maps - changes

PSKreporter is used often here to see what is being spotted on 6m FT8. Today I went on and there appears to be some changes to the maps. For now, I am reserving judgment. I quite liked the "old" style, but perhaps I am just a boring old man! Some would be ruder!

I have not tried the maps with other modes. Usually I choose "FT8" from the drop down menu.

See https://www.pskreporter.info/pskmap.html

PSK Reporter Maps

Before I go on, I accept this could be my end and the internet connection playing up, but I am struggling to get a connection to PSK reporter maps at the moment. I use this regularly to see where I am spotting and who is spotting me on 10m JT65.

Doh!

At 2000z I went on 144.575MHz FM in the East Cambridgeshire net. At this time I noticed that I was not on 10m JT65 as the rig had turned off! I should have checked earlier as I may have been off much of the day. It was my fault for not checking sooner. I was looking at PSK Reporter Maps on a different PC.

I have now gone QRT.

2m JT65 again

It seems that 144.165MHz is being adopted as the 2m JT65B  frequency in Europe. This morning, starting shortly, I shall be beaconing sending on that frequency (USB dial). Any reports would be appreciated. Best to upload your spots to PSK  Reporter Maps. My actual transmission will, of course, be slightly HF of the dial setting.

UPDATE 1040z: Within minutes of starting I copied DL1BEC (487km) on 2m JT65B in Lower Saxony, Germany. This was totally unexpected! No spots of my 2W QRP as yet.

UPDATE 1904z: Several spots from G6AVK (77km) - thank you.

PSK Reporter Maps

This is a great resource and far far more than a PSK tool. It enables you to see where in the world you are getting on various bands and various modes. I use it every day I am at home to see where my JT65 is reaching and who is coming through. Of course you can view on a different computer. In my case, when JT65 beaconing, I look on a PC in the lounge, going into the shack (only seconds away) if need be.

See https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html .

PSK reporter not working?

Ever since I went on to JT65 on 10m or 6m I have used PSKreporter maps to see who I am spotting or who is spotting me. In the last hour when I look, I have been unable to connect. This may be just a blip, as I have never seen trouble before. By contrast, WSPRnet has been very unreliable at times, so much so that it has been totally unusable at times.

UPDATE 1158z:  PSKreporter seems to work on 6m. Maybe it is just that there are no active monitors and no spots on 10m? So, maybe it is me.

10m JT65

As mentioned yesterday, not everyone uploads spots to PSKreporter. Last night, quite late, there was a TF (Iceland) calling CQ, but station he was not shown on the PSKreporter map. I could only see this by looking at my PC screen.

UPDATE 1015z: Belarus and Italy spotted on 10m JT65 this morning, but neither station appear on PSKreporter. Maybe I lost internet connection at these times and they did not get uploaded? There is clearly some early Es around on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1232z: Several Es spots of my QRP JT65 now turning up on PSKreporter. We are late in the Es season, but there are still openings on 10m.

6m inter-G

It is interesting that so far this morning I have had 7 reports of my QRP JT65 6m signals from UK stations whereas when I tried the same mode on 10m a few days ago I got none.

There seems to be much more activity on 6m JT65 than 10m JT65. This is true of more distant stations too. I am sending "B G3XBM JO02" when not looking for 2-way QSOs. Spots get picked up and sent to PSKreporter which is where I check for spots of my signal and spots made by me of others. Of course, I check the shack regularly and look on the PC screen to check all is OK.

More JT65 on 6m

I am still on JT65 on 6m this morning and have been spotted by lots of Gs as well as in Spain and France by Es. I call CQ and try to get into the shack to answer calls. I have a couple of questions.

My questions are:

1. I really want to just beacon sometimes. What should I send that will appear on PSKreporter? Calling CQ when I am really beaconing seems wrong.

2. Is there a convention to call CQ in even (or odd) minutes?

Although I am WSPRing on 10m at the same time, surprisingly I have not been spotted yet on 10m.

On 6m I am now beaconing and sending "B G3XBM JO02" at 1W ERP. This seems to be being reported to PSKreporter.

PSK Reporter maps

See https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html.

This is a really useful resource when using modes like JT9-1 and JT65. Even if you get no replies, the map gives a good idea of where your signals are reaching. As an example, I recently transmitted JT65 on 20m and worked OE5DML. As the map shows, my signals were widely received including in the USA.

https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html