Gone QRT

There are thunderstorms moving up the country. At the moment these are tracking west of Cambridge but I have disconnected everything for now. I'll re-assess the risks later.

Before closing down I spotted 4 different UK stations and was spotted by 2 UK stations on 6m JT65. Up to now, I have seen no 6m Es today. When I reconnect things I'll probably come back on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1240z:  It looks like the storms are passing well west of us and we will miss them. It is just starting to spit the odd rain spot. I'll give it an hour then re-assess things.

UPDATE 1252z:  Presently, the storm is over March up in the Fens and moving away and nowhere near us.

UPDATE 1402z:  We seem to have missed this one. See http://www.convectiveweather.co.uk/forecast.php?date=2016-08-27 .

UPDATE 1408z:  Instead of amateur radio we went picking blackberries, plums, apples and runner beans in the orchard next door. The owner is away and said, "help yourselves".

Now QRT - storm risk

With the possibility of storms overnight I have decided to go QRT and disconnect antennas, PC and plugs. Tomorrow I shall re-assess the risks.

Low storm risk

According to my maps, the nearest lightning is off the coast of Yorkshire and in the Bay of Biscay, so no risk hereabouts at present. I'll stay on 10m JT65 for now but keep an eye on the storm map, ready to disconnect things if the need should arise.

UPDATE 2204z: The lightning maps show storms coming in our general direction, but still some way off. They may miss us, but I shall disconnect everything just in case.

UPDATE 2212z:  Everything is now off and disconnected, but I found the PC mains was not on so the PC went to sleep and had turned itseld and the WSJT-X software off! So the lack of Es may have been me, due to the PC not being on! Doh! Sometimes me thinks I have a very small brain. Anyway, assuming there is no storm risk tomorrow, I shall be on 10m JT65 at breakfast time.

Back on 10m JT65 shortly

The danger from storms seems to have gone for now, so I intend to return to 10m JT65 shortly, although I shall watch and go QRT if the danger returns.

Last night the storms were very near but they seem to have moved away to the North Sea, for now.

UPDATE 0905z: The PC, antenna and rig went back on the air at about 0900z on 10m JT65. There is Es about as Italy and Belarus have already been seen on 10m JT65. This is early, so a good sign.

UPDATE 0912z:  DO2MPS (912km) has spotted me in southern Germany, in JN58 square, already.

UPDATE 1020z:  No further Es spots on PSKreporter map as yet apart from this German. We are definitely at the back end of the Es season. There are still openings. but not on the scale of the peak months.

UPDATE 1306z: Not a single Es spot seen on PSKreporter on 10m JT65 since that German when I first switched on. My PC had gone to sleep! I am unsure if I was uploading spots or indeed if I was actually on JT65 at all! I have now "woken it up" and checked internet time is spot on. Let's see if I get any Es spots now on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1344z: Well certainly no spots since I checked sync and that the PC was awake, so I guess the 10m Es is "marginal" today.

Thunder, so QRT

With thunder clearly audible and now rain, I have decided to go QRT and disconnect all antennas, rigs and PC including unplugging the power plugs. I shall stay off the air until all danger has passed. I do not like storms! Thankfully we do not get many.

UPDATE 2152z:  Storm has passed through, but remaining off-air overnight. The rain will do the garden some good!

Thunderstorms?

Although we are having a spell of warm, dry, days (31deg C yesterday) and the grass is starting to turn brown in places, we have thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow.  A radio silence with rigs, antennas and PC disconnected will be needed. I do not like storms nearby. Once the danger has passed, I shall be active again.

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

Storms force QRT

Well, having cut my lawn, it decided to rain, with hail and thunder. The worse seems to have moved east but it forced me to turn off all rigs, the PC and disconnect all antennas.

www.lightningmaps.org

UPDATE 1900z: Since the storm passed,humidity levels have really dropped and it is a lovely, sunny, pleasant evening now. I shall go back on the air tomorrow.

Rain, hail, thunder - will we ever see the sun?

At the moment it is hailing here. I will probably disconnect all antennas, PC and rigs until the storm has passed over and moved away. We had a few settled days last week. Maybe that was our summer? We usually see thunder and lightning in late July and August. June is rare.

See www.lightningmaps.org .

UPDATE 1500z:  The storm seems to be moving away now, although I can still hear thunder. I shall wait until all danger is well gone before reconnecting antennas, rigs and PC.

Storms - gone QRT for now

We have just had a second hail storm and thunder, so I have disconnected all my amateur radio gear for now. The photo was taken through the window. It feels more like February than nearly May! According to the map, the storms are passing right over us.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .

UPDATE 1513z: The storms seem to be moving away, but I shall probably stay off the air for a few hours, then return to 472kHz WSPR.

UPDATE 1534z:  An internet friend has reported 5cm of snow in Vermont, USA.  I should stop moaning about the UK weather. :-)

QRT - hail!

As there is a hailstorm currently, I decided to go QRT on all bands and disconnect antennas and PSUs. I am probably being over-cautious, but I can go on 10m WSPR another day. In the last few hours it has just been locals and no DX on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1700z: See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en. At the moment the maps show thunderstorms to the north of here. I may go on MF later.

UPDATE 1848z:  As the nearest storm is in the Leicester area, I think it is safe to resume MF WSPR transmissions.

Thunder and lightning - NOT amateur radio

For the last 20 minutes we have had thunder and lightning here. According to the time between the lightning and thunder it was about 1 mile away. My radios and PC will remain disconnected. Looking at the map linked below it seems to be tracking NW the worst may now have passed. It remains very dark outside and we can still hear thunder.

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

UPDATE 1830z:  Although the storm risk seems to have passed today, more storms are possible tomorrow, so I may leave things disconnected. 

No storms here - yet

Well the weather is very hot for the UK and temperatures here are around 30 deg C again today. No sign of the promised thunderstorms, which are still a long way away.  According to the map, the nearest are in SE France and S Germany.

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

It certainly feels like we are due a storm. The weather has all the signs, although there are no thunder clouds building yet. Give it a few hours maybe? If feels close and muggy as if the air needs to be cleared. For now, I shall leave rigs and antennas connected to the 10m and 6m WSPR kit, but I shall be watching those maps carefully.

UPDATE 1548z:  At the moment all the storms are missing us.

No storms here

The thunder and lightning that got quite close earlier today seems to have abated, for now at least.   The lightning map now shows storms in the North Sea and Northern France, but not in the UK. This means I can leave 10m WSPR running this afternoon and probably early evening.

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .  Always worth keeping an eye on this for approaching storms. I find these maps fascinating. Although not perfect, they give a good indication of when antennas and rigs need to be made safer.

UPDATE 1341z:  It is raining here now. Storms seem plentiful on the continent, but not in the UK.

Storms and lightning

Although dry here at present, a look at the lightning map shows there are nasty storms not that far east of this QTH.  I shall have to watch the maps carefully and disconnect antennas, PSUs and PC if it gets close.  Currently, these are configured for 472kHz use.

UPDATE 2200z:  Storms are too close for comfort, so going QRT on 472kHz WSPR overnight and unplugging antennas and PSUs. Although I have spotted, and been spotted, by a wide variety of stations, not one is new.

5 miles and closing - QRT time!

With that storm just 5 miles away and hailstones now falling, I have decided to go QRT for now and disconnect everything radiowise. The storm may yet miss us though, but it is too close to be sure.

Only Es from Spain since FR1GZ at 1204z.

The storm epicentre does seem to be missing us. I may not be QRT for too long. Can hear distant thunder, but skies are clearing. Burwell is between Cambridge and Newmarket.

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

FR1GZ (F2 DX) and a storm coming?

1204z saw FR1GZ (9724km) in the log for my first F2 DX on 10m today.  I hope he spots me too although I am running less power (2W ERP) than his 5W. He was only -25dB S/N, not too strong.

Looking at the lightning map, there is a nasty storm currently coming our way. It is over Bedford as I write and moving ominously closer.  Much closer and I shall have to disconnect everything and go QRT until it has passed. Another 20 minutes should tell me if it is coming this way or will just miss us. There are other storms further south too. Today looks like our unlucky day. It is raining hard - not looking promising! Latest flash over St Neots. The storm coming our way from the Cotswolds may be tracking just NW of us and may miss us, again.

QSYed to 10m

Well, 472kHz WSPR ran overnight with absolutely no new reporters, just the same faithful few, so I am giving up on that band for now. I shall return in a while.

In the meantime, I QSYed to 10m where I was greeted with immediate success. Even before changing the settings on the FT817 to 2W I was being spotted in Portugal even when running 500mW out. Since then, I have switched to 2W ERP and am being spotted by DK6UG (633km), CT1JTQ (1843km) and I am spotting EA5CYA and SI9AM.   Plenty of Es about.

Sunspot count today is 111 (decent and stable) and 20-30MHz propagation is "normal" so there is a decent chance of F2 DX as long as I don't have to go QRT because of storms. We are getting highish winds and driving miserable rain, which are the left-overs from Hurricane Bertha, having crossed the Atlantic. I don't think we are seeing the worst of the weather in the UK; other parts are getting hit far harder. At he moment, the worst of the storms are tracking well to the east of us.  See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en.

Today our son is driving from Dunkirk to Brittany. I hope the weather over there is a little better! His forecast is rain, but not as bad as here.

UPDATE 1122z:  I think I need a new challenge on WSPR - perhaps I should try a totally new band? 10m is fun but again I am seeing just the same stations.

10m WSPR this morning - plenty of Es

"Normal service" later today.

After last night's thunder and lightning, I hope to resume "normal service" around lunchtime: we are otherwise busy until then. The weather today looks sunny and calm,before more storms on Sunday. Not sure what band I will use yet - probably 472kHz, but possibly 28MHz (10m).

Sunspot count today is 101 (pretty decent) and 20-30MHz propagation forecast to be "good" so a good day for N-S F2 propagation, as well as Es and GDX on 10m. On 6m only some Es and GDX likely.

Gone QRT - storms

As there is local thunder and lightning, I've had to abandon 472kHz operation. All antennas, rigs, PSU and the PC have been disconnected. Darn shame, but sometimes one has to be safer than sorry.

Storms to (just) miss us today?

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .   For now, the local thunder and lightning appears to be just avoiding us: it has tracked from Cambridge up into the Fens and seems to be moving NE. This is good news.

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

UPDATE 1600z:  There are new storms to the south of Newmarket and we can hear thunder in the distance now.  At the moment these are moving NE as well but I shall disconnect rigs, antennas and PC if they get too close.

UPDATE 1606z:  Lightning now just east of Newmarket and getting closer! Decision on going QRT will be taken in next few minutes.