Morocco on 6m

Just when about to give up (for now) I see my 1W ERP on 6m WSPR has been spotted in Morocco by CN8LI at a remarkable +2dB S/N at 1252z.. Distance is 2113km. I shall leave the 6m gear running! Propagation will have been Es.  For Es, a V2000 vertical is an effective omni antenna. Mine is fed by a length of  RG58 cable, not exactly low loss too! The FT817 is on the "3 blobs" setting as on 10m which is about 2.5W into the feeder.

CN8LI's 6m spot of me today at 1252z

On 6m again this morning

Conditions (tropo) are up on 2m today with the Kent 2m beacon measuring strongly on the FT817ND's S-meter. Usually, the S-meter does not even move. I don't know if tropo has as great an impact on 6m (I think not) but so far today just the usual good reports from G4IKZ (18km). Later, I hope to catch some sporadic-E (Es) propagation or even some GDX by 6m tropo, or more distant "semi-locals".

G4IKZ's first report was at 0648z when I first turned the rig and PC on today.  Reports vary by about 6dB but this could be G4IKZ rotating his beam rather than propagation. I'd be surprised if propagation varied by 6dB over such a short path. The other explanation is my local noise floor is increasing as the day goes on and more local appliances are activated? Another explanation is aircraft reflections from small planes over Cambridge? Maybe there is more activity today. That could explain the Doppler on my signals too.

Otherwise all very quiet  here so far at 1000z. It is a bit early in the day for Es which usually peaks around lunch and teatime unless the band is really humming.

Currently, I am not monitoring 10m, but the sunspot count is 130 and 20-30MHz propagation forecast to be "good", so HF should be good.

6m update

I have been on 6m WSPR since lunch time and have received 52 reports from G4IKZ 18km west of here. So far, no GDX copied, no other spots by UK stations and no sign of Es reports. I'll leave the kit running for a short while but will then close until after breakfast tomorrow.  Maybe tomorrow will bring some more interesting reports?

The G4IKZ reports have been very useful -they prove I am getting out OK and on frequency - but it would be good to receive a few more stations and to be spotted a bit further afield.

Quadcopter drones controlled by wi-fi

On my other blog I mentioned the latest small drones produced by Parrot.

The prices don't seem to have fallen as I had expected. See http://www.pixmania.co.uk/high-tech-gadgets/parrot-ar-drone-2-0-elite-edition-sand/21869578-a.html?ectrans=1&ef_id=U2AUYQAABW1F-nsq%3A20140515154655%3As&gclid=CMvR8aajrr4CFckBwwod_CsA5A&merch=1&srcid=11270 as an example. Prices seem to be £230 upwards.

For me, this is still far too expensive to consider, even though being able to "drive" it from an iPad is fun, as are the on-board cameras which look forwards and downwards. It is like being a real pilot. I saw one in use at a BBQ a few years ago and it was great fun. Even that one got lodged in a tree as I recall.

At those sorts of prices, I'd be far too worried about it getting stuck on a roof or in a tree and that would ruin the fun. Also, apart from the very latest lightweight designs, you'd have to be very careful near people, pets and vehicles.

On the Argos website quadcopters are available for around £55, but I've got no idea about the functionality of these.

Lightning and solar activity

Dr Steve Collins of Sheffield University has pointed me to this fascinating link on the BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27406358 .   It shows  how solar activity and lightning are linked, possibly allowing a means of predicting future lightning activity.

6m WSPR

As it is the Es season, I have moved up to 6m WSPR, but so far only G4IKZ is spotting me at 18km.  I think Nick uses a 6m horizontal Moxon antenna yet, despite cross polarisation (I am using a V2000 tri-band vertical) he is giving me +4 to +7dB S/N.  I am hopeful of some Es and GDX later. As of 1540z 20 spots from G4IKZ, but nothing else seen. I have spotted no-one, near or far.

With the same antenna and feeder I have worked all over Europe, N Africa and even into the USA with real 6m QRP SSB or CW. With 1W ERP WSPR I should be able to reach all of these areas and more given WSPR activity and good Es conditions.

10m - less good today?

Yesterday 4X1RF had spotted me 14 times by this time whereas today he spotted me just once.It may be that he is concentrating on 6m instead or an indication of less good 10m propagation on 10m?  There is no other real DX around, at least not with me, so I think 10m propagation is poorer than on Wednesday.

Yesterday 4X1RF was spotting CN8LI at a distance of 3860km on 6m - a very good distance, probably multi-hop Es or even F2.

I may QSY to 6m later to pick up any Es around on that band. In previous years I've managed CN8LI on 6m with an ERP of around 1W..

10m long-path to Australia? Not here!

After monitoring 10m WSPR last evening/night for long-path propagation to Australia, I drew a blank. After the 10m band died to the USA mid-evening, only Europeans by Es and GDX copied here. No ZLs and no VKs copied. Others with better antennas may have been luckier. 4X1RF was spotting me at 0658z.

With a sunspot count of 162 and 20-30MHz forecast to be "normal" propagation today is anyone's guess!

Will 10m open long-path to Australia tonight?

I am carefully checking 10m WSPR this evening to see if the long-path to Australia (over the Pacific) opens, especially seeing how the band has been open to the USA and Canada for hours now.  My WSPR is running overnight, but if the band is to be open long-path I suspect it will be very soon. As I write this it is 2207z.

 UPDATE 2217z:   All quiet on 10m with my last USA spot at 2126z, nearly an hour ago. Being a band of surprises, anything can happen!

Optical article in June RadCom

June's RSGB RadCom carries my article, "Over the Horizon at 481THz" describing my non line-of-sight optical experiments last year. My poor health (stroke) has prevented me doing more with this in 2014. The article was written last year (2013) before my stroke.  Hopefully, a return to good health (by the autumn?) will allow me to continue this fascinating part of our hobby. At the moment I am just too clumsy.

Testing the optical RX

8.5km "over the horizon" NLOS by clear air scattering (in a cloudless night sky) was very straightforward with simple, low-cost optical gear that could be made for next to nothing.  Unlike microwaves, optical kit is very inexpensive and requires only very basic (audio frequency) test gear to set up. Optical alignment is critical and more stable tripods would have helped. 

What amazed me was that nothing was visible or audible at the RX yet the signal decoded and displayed perfectly with Spectran software on the PC.

If you get this magazine, I hope you enjoy the article.  Please let me have any feedback.