10m WSPR - interesting short skip

This morning and lunchtime I've been running 5W WSPR on 28MHz. There was some Es propagation but the most interesting reports were from Holland with two reports at around 450kms. Now this is usually too short for Es propagation, so I wonder if this was tropo?

Back on the air and 10m Es

This evening I finished repainting the bedroom shack and got all the radio gear back in place. Connecting the antennas I noticed sporadic-E on 10m this evening with a CN8 audible on SSB: the Es season's started, so I'll be looking out for some QRP DX on both 10m and 6m. As mentioned before, I'll be using WSPR on 6m when not active but in the house.

WSPR and 6m transatlantic testing

In a few months time 6m will start to open reliably for multi-hop sporadic-E propagation. This year, we have a new tool to help investigate really long distance openings across the Atlantic - WSPR. With enough WSPR stations both in UK and Europe and across the pond in W/VE and the Caribbean, we will have an excellent means of tracking transient openings at any time of the day or night. I for one plan to run my WSPR station almost 24/7 when not actually working live on 6m SSB and CW. I hope many others will join in the experiments.

DXTV - 1938 style!

There is a fascinating clip on YouTube of 405 line BBC TV being received in New York (from London) presumably by F2 or multi-hop sporadic-E propagation in 1938. This is the only example of a pre-WW2 live 405 line BBC TV transmission known to be recorded. The image shown left is of the female TV announcer. The signal comes and goes as the QSB takes the signal out of sync. Totally fascinating.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SniB0JEDGs

Sporadic-E ....is it getting better year on year?

Since the 1960s I've enjoyed hearing and working DX via sporadic-E openings in the summer months. For me, it all started with DXTV reception on Band 1, much to the annoyance of my parents when I retuned the TV trying to find weak Italian and Spanish TV stations.

But have sporadic-E openings changed and become far more intense in recent years? Looking at the reports of summer 6m DX now and you will see DX as far as S.America, The Congo, Japan and Texas to name but a few. Now is this because there are more stations, DX clusters and the like or is the E layer now doing things it wasn't doing (at least not as often) 40 years or more ago? Indeed, are these super so-called multi-hop Es openings really sporadic-E as we understand it? Or is the E layer now more intensely ionised more often?

Incidentally, with WSPR I seem to find 10m open to Europe almost all the time, day and night.

Transatlantic 6m summer super DX - what mode?

The usual assumption for the super-DX across the Atlantic from Europe to the Caribbean and S.America is multi-hop sporadic-E. Certainly the contact to K1TOL that I made a few years ago was by this mode.

But, with the recent questioning of the mode for the Europe to JA path on 6m in summertime, I am wondering if mesospheric cloud reflection is a possiblity for other extremely long paths too? YV and other places on the north of South America is some 8000kms away from here, yet people seem to work such distances every summer on 6m.

I'd welcome your comments and views.

QRP 6m multi-hop Es SSB QSO

Just switched on the FT817 at 0820z and worked EA8CQS (Canary Is) on 6m SSB with 5W to the vertical. DX was 3010kms. He was quite weak so surprised he got me so well.

Japan worked from Europe on 6m

Right on schedule the path across the pole from Europe to Japan has opened up on 6m again this late spring, at least for well equipped high powered 6m operators. The distances are amazing (around 10,000kms) yet this path opens up most (every?) year at this time. Whether or not this is really multi-hop Es is very debatable. Once again it proves there is still much we do not understand about HF/VHF propagation. Amateur radio is continuing to add to scientific knowledge.

Now, wouldn't I like to work JA on 6m with my vertical and a few watts!

Antennas for 6m DXing?

Dave ON8WW sent me an email asking me about what antenna to use for 6m DXing. I replied saying that all I had on the band was a triband vertical colinear (the Diamond V2000) but this has allowed me to work over 50 countries on the band with QRP SSB/CW (best DX >5000kms). It is mounted just above the guttering at about 7m above ground level.

6m is an odd band in that there is not a lot of local SSB traffic (I think) and when the band does open up for either Es or F2 propagation the polarisation probably doesn't matter. Certainly I am able to work (at least) as much DX with the vertical on 6m as I used to work with a rotatable horizontal dipole. The antenna works very well for local (and DX) QSOs on 6m, 2m and 70cms FM of course.

OK, if you want to work marginal propagation modes (e.g. MS using JT6m) or tropo DX then a beam would help. But, if you are prepared to go DX hunting when the band is open, then I think a simple vertical is all you need.

10m/6m Sporadic-E update

It usually happens about now: after the first few weeks of frantic Es activity on 10m and 6m working around Europe (after months of silence), activity starts to drop off. The band is open to somewhere but people are less interested in working you unless you are a new country.

The next excitement is looking for more distant Es openings - into the Middle East, North & South America and the Caribbean. So far this year I've yet to hear a transatlantic opening on either 10m or 6m, but it is still quite early, so I remain hopeful.

7X, EA8 and CT3 on 10m QRP SSB

Sporadic E was good today on 10m allowing QRP SSB QSOs with 7X4AN, EA8CEQ and CT3FQ with the halo antenna. 32 countries worked so far on 10m QRP this year, although there are quite a few "easy" countries still missing, so the total should climb somewhat further before the summer ends. By the autumn the sunspot count should be climbing, so we may get some transatlantic F2 layer propagation this year.

10m very short skip

Just worked EI7JN in Dublin on 10m SSB. He gave me a 59 report. When the skip is this short on 10m it usually suggests the Es MUF is getting very high, so expect 2m to open shortly if not already open for Es DX.

ZB2FK on 10m and 6m

In the course of a week I've managed to work ZB2FK on both 10m and 6m QRP. No great distance, but I don't recall working Gibraltar before, apart from ZB2VHF on 4m when I was at Liverpool University (G3OUL) in the late 1960s when running 4W AM!

Cyprus on 10m

WPX CW contest and 10m CW quite lively. Just worked C4I (Cyprus) at 599 with QRP no problem.

Multi-hop Es or Es+F2?

Last night, around 2100z, 10m was open to South America by what I assume was multi-hop sporadic-E or possibly Es linked to F2 at lower latitudes. There was strong Es to Spain/Portugal at the time so the latter may be more probable. Stations heard but not worked included YP4DYP, YV5EAH and YV4DYJ all on SSB. Distance is around 8000kms - which is some distance for Es alone.

6m Es

A good opening on 6m his evening with lots of 59+ signals from southern Spain and Portugal coming through. There are supposed to be some CN8 and EA8 stations on too but not heard or worked any yet.

Some Es statistics (2008)

Check out http://www.vhfdx.net/states2008.html which has some fascinating data about the extent of Es openings in Europe in the 2008 season. At times, the MUF for Es reached 250MHz. The VHF.net has a great deal of other useful data and is well worth a regular visit.

Several stations worked by Es today - LA5AKA, SM4EXP, I0KNQ and YO2QC.

GMs on 10m (Es)

Two nice 10m QSOs today with 10W SSB and halo: GM8LFB and GM4JYB (in IO88HP). Usually I have to wait until later in the summer to work GMs on 10m. I was very happy when GM4JYB found me first in a minor pileup! At times the GMs were 59+20dB and would have been audible with 100mW, or even less, given a clear frequency.

DXing - realtime maps

This is a useful resource from VHFDX.net to track openings on 10m and upwards into the VHF bands. A mapping system that plots recently reported QSOs. Thanks to G4ILO for pointing this out to me.

See http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php

Poor Es so far?

Is it just me or is this Es season well below par so far? Very little heard on 6m so far and even on 10m the openings have been short and signal strengths not exceptional. Most stations I hear I can work, even with my wire halo and 5-10W, but there don't seem to be that many on! Tonight for example, 2 EAs and 1 CT1 heard and worked, but that's all. Later I worked SM3EAE with 5W CW.