Just as things on 6m Es were hotting up, I can hear distant thunder and an approaching storm. Currently the storm is tracking to the west of Cambridge and may miss us, but as a precaution I have disconnected antennas, PSU and rigs. If the storm moves further away I will reconnect things. Darn! 6m was great today and I fear I may miss some good DX.
See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .
UPDATE 1912z: Looking at WSPRnet.org it appears I am not missing any great super-DX from across the Atlantic on 6m. All I can see are decent Es paths around Europe. For now,the antennas and rigs will remain disconnected just in case the storms reappear. For now, the storms seem to have moved away east.
20 Jul 2014
6m WSPR Es
In the last few minutes IK1WVQ (1084km) has been spotted a few times at up to -5dB S/N (strong) and HB9FGQ (804km) at -12dB S/N (pretty strong). There is still plenty of Es around on 6m.
Most spots were by local G4IKZ (18km) though.
UPDATE 1605z: IK6HIR (1312km) has just spotted my 1W 6m ERP at an amazing +11dB S/N - stronger than if he was local. Phenomenal conditions.
UPDATE 1615z: Strong signals on 6m now from OK1DX and OH7AI. This opening seems Europe wide.
UPDATE 1630z: In terms of the spread and intensity, today here is one of the best days on 6m this season. It would be nice to round off a great EU Es day with a transatlantic 6m opening.
Most spots were by local G4IKZ (18km) though.
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| 6m WSPR spots this afternoon (so far) |
UPDATE 1615z: Strong signals on 6m now from OK1DX and OH7AI. This opening seems Europe wide.
UPDATE 1630z: In terms of the spread and intensity, today here is one of the best days on 6m this season. It would be nice to round off a great EU Es day with a transatlantic 6m opening.
10m WSPR - unique spots this morning
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| 10m WSPR - unique reports this morning |
I am now going to QSY to 6m WSPR. On 6m my ERP is lower because of cable losses - around 1W ERP maximum on 6m.
Doppler on local and GDX 10m and 6m signals
G0LRD has already shown that what I have described as Doppler on 6m is, sometimes, the drift as my FT817 goes from TX to RX and cools down. Certainly some WSPR signals are affected by aircraft reflections, evidenced by multiple traces. It is an open question whether or not some signals are only propagated at decent GDX distances as a result of aircraft or whether it is just the tropo signal that is decoded. My strong suspicion is that at least some GDX is only possible when planes are in the right orientation and Doppler shift is low enough to allow a successful decode.
Notice the (additional), aircraft reflected, signal from G0LRD ((above 100) earlier. Clearly the decode was on the flat trace coming directly and not that coming via a plane. Sometimes I have seen as many as 6 aircraft reflections. The traces lower in frequency did not decode as the Doppler was too great. Doppler on 6m is worse.
10m Es - Sunday morning
This morning I was late starting 10m WSPR, but already it has been very good with WSPR spots sent and received from across Europe already (S51, EA, DL, SM , OZ, LB, I etc). I would describe Es conditions as "wide open" on 10m. I may QSY up to 6m shortly.
Sunspot count today is 27 and 20-30MHz conditions described as "fair". I shall be lucky to see any 10m F2 propagation today.
Sunspot count today is 27 and 20-30MHz conditions described as "fair". I shall be lucky to see any 10m F2 propagation today.
19 Jul 2014
What next for the autumn?
My thoughts are starting to turn towards amateur radio this autumn.
Unlike in previous years, I cannot imagine being fully fit by then. So, I shall be on the lookout for some new challenges that don't involve driving, don't involve building and probably don't require much, if any, antenna work. Also, it would be helpful if actual talking is kept to a minimum as I find talking very tiring.
I suspect JT65 and JT9-1 will be on the list as I can use (some of) these modes on 630m, 40m, 20m, 10m, 6m, 2m and 70cm with existing antennas. I may ask for some help to improve my earth electrode antenna for 630m. With luck I may be able to drive again later this year. This means I might be able to restart some field work again.
If you have any suggestions let me know.
Maybe I should try for QRP DXCC on JT65/JT9-1? No talking, use existing antennas and rigs, and a new challenge.
Unlike in previous years, I cannot imagine being fully fit by then. So, I shall be on the lookout for some new challenges that don't involve driving, don't involve building and probably don't require much, if any, antenna work. Also, it would be helpful if actual talking is kept to a minimum as I find talking very tiring.
I suspect JT65 and JT9-1 will be on the list as I can use (some of) these modes on 630m, 40m, 20m, 10m, 6m, 2m and 70cm with existing antennas. I may ask for some help to improve my earth electrode antenna for 630m. With luck I may be able to drive again later this year. This means I might be able to restart some field work again.
If you have any suggestions let me know.
Maybe I should try for QRP DXCC on JT65/JT9-1? No talking, use existing antennas and rigs, and a new challenge.
Sprites and Es?
DK0SC (827km) spotted my 2W at 1938z this evening. I wonder if there is correllation between lightning and Es? There is intense lightning over (close to) the mid path. I seem to recall that the link relates to sprites rising upwards from lightning clouds but forget the details.
Currently the storm centre appears to be tracking up the North Sea.
Currently the storm centre appears to be tracking up the North Sea.
10m GDX
The 10m Es seems to have stopped at around 1806z, for now. I am still copying GDX from G8VDQ (93km). I shall be disconnecting the rigs and antennas shortly if the storms get closer, although the nearest storms seem to be moving further away. It certainly feels very close and stormy here.
Storms - missing us again?
See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .
Having just got back from my twice daily "constitutional" walk of 400m "around the block" (to help my balance post brain bleed), I noticed how close and thundery it feels this evening.
The nearest storms currently are about 70 miles west of here, but this could change. It certainly feels like we are in for a storm within hours, although there is no thunder audible locally at present. The lightning map is proving very useful and I have unplugged rigs, PSU and antennas when storms are on their way.
At present, the storms seem to be tracking well west of us. We'll see how the storms move in the next few hours.
Having just got back from my twice daily "constitutional" walk of 400m "around the block" (to help my balance post brain bleed), I noticed how close and thundery it feels this evening.
The nearest storms currently are about 70 miles west of here, but this could change. It certainly feels like we are in for a storm within hours, although there is no thunder audible locally at present. The lightning map is proving very useful and I have unplugged rigs, PSU and antennas when storms are on their way.
At present, the storms seem to be tracking well west of us. We'll see how the storms move in the next few hours.
10m WSPR unique reports today (so far)
Currently it is 1712z. These are the unique spots today, so far, on 10m. Repeat reports are not shown. It has been a decent day on 10m WSPR. I was late starting because of the risk of local storms this morning.
EA5CYA has been coming through for the last hour very well with good signals for 200mW.
Sunspot count is low today (29) and 20-30MHz propagation described only as "fair". No F2 DX seen here today as yet, and I am not expecting any.
UPDATE 1800z: The risk of storms locally seems to have subsided , at least for now. Overnight I'll still disconnect everything, just in case.
I wonder if there will be Es at some (low) level all year around on 10m? I suspect that if I leave WSPR running on 10m all year I'll find openings into Europe every week. At the moment, the "common wisdom" is Es is mainly a May, June July phenomenon in Europe with a smaller peak in January. This is probably correct as the peak months - the question is how common is it at other times of the year?
UPDATE 1810z: EA5CYA (1376km) has been spotted no less than 8 times since 1636z.
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| WSPR unique reports on 10m today, so far. |
Sunspot count is low today (29) and 20-30MHz propagation described only as "fair". No F2 DX seen here today as yet, and I am not expecting any.
UPDATE 1800z: The risk of storms locally seems to have subsided , at least for now. Overnight I'll still disconnect everything, just in case.
I wonder if there will be Es at some (low) level all year around on 10m? I suspect that if I leave WSPR running on 10m all year I'll find openings into Europe every week. At the moment, the "common wisdom" is Es is mainly a May, June July phenomenon in Europe with a smaller peak in January. This is probably correct as the peak months - the question is how common is it at other times of the year?
UPDATE 1810z: EA5CYA (1376km) has been spotted no less than 8 times since 1636z.
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