10m OZ opening

Leaving 10m WSPR (500mW) running overnight I was spotted in Denmark a few times around 0300z.  I suspect this was winter Es.

10m DX with 500mW WSPR

Today amongst  the tinsel and turkey of Christmas I have been WSPRing on MF and 10m. Best DX today was ZS5J (9529km) on 10m.

Sunspots - Christmas Day

At present, my feed showing sunspot number and 10m conditions is still showing Dec 24th! I'll update later if I get the data.

UPDATE 2045z: Sunspot number was only 86 today and 10m conditions "good"

Sunspots - Dec 24th

Sunspot number today is 128 and 10m propagation "fair".

Christmas

We have family here from Dec 24th until Dec 26th so blog updates will be infrequent during this period. May I wish all readers a very happy Christmas whether with family or alone. For some this can be a difficult time. It is the season of love and kindness. My hope is you find love and kindness whatever your situation.

10m WSPR - first and last USA spots

The first spot of my 10m 500mW WSPR signal was by WG2Z (5600km) at 1230z.  The last spot was at 1816z by K3EA (5657km). Since then, just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me.

10m - real DX

10m is a truly surprising band.  Although the solar forecast for 10m is just "fair" I see that VK5MR (16144km) spotted my 500mW WSPR at 1148z this morning.

First USA spot of my 500mW WSPR beacon today was by WG2Z (5600km) at 1230z.

Sunspots and 10m - Dec 23rd 2014

Today is my 66th birthday.  There were times in the last year or so when I thought I would never see this day or this Christmas, but slowly my body is recovering.

Sunspot number today is 113 and 10m propagation "fair". Today, 10m conditions are anyone's guess.

Longwave AM TX closing in Germany

Stefan DK7FC recently posted this to the RSGB LF group:

Hi LF,

Obviously there was a decision that DLF (Deutschlandfunk) will go QRT on LF 153 kHz on 31:12.2014!

Here is a German article about this decision: http://www.radiomuseum.org/forum/dlf_stellt_langwelle_ein.html

This makes me a bit sad on one side since i like the good old AM radio stuff. But on the other side, i know that i'm getting QRM from that transmitter which runs 500kW on a 350m high vertical antenna in 40 km distance. Probably there is a significant noise spectrum beeing radiated which i can see in that short distance. I can see it just a second before 20 o clock in the evening, when they switch from 500 kW to 250 kW. For 1...2 seconds, the AM carrier is off air, which lowers the noise background significantly. So maybe LF reception will be much better next year, i hope.

So maybe it is worth for some to listen for the last minutes of DLF LF transmissions on 31.12. this year :-(

73, Stefan/DK7FC

10m first and last USA WSPR spots today

The first station in the USA to copy my 10m 500mW WSPR signal today was WG2Z (5600km) at 1224z.

At present, the latest USA spot is by K9AN (6505km) at 1654z, although I expect to be spotted in the USA again later this evening.

Local G8KNN has been active on 10m WSPR today.  Interesting that stations in the USA copy me better than a local 12km away! I think Jon must have a week off work at Christmas.

UPDATE 2010z:   The last USA station to spot my 500mW on 10m WSPR was W3CSW at 1824z.