Scarce 10m USA WSPR spots today

Although the 10m band has opened to the USA again today, the  number of stations spotting me is very small. I think 10m conditions E-W across the Atlantic have been very poor today.

UPDATE 1700z:  It is very noticeable just how few USA stations are spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today. On better days, there is an almost continuous flow of reports all afternoon and evening. The last USA report today was at 1612z.

UPDATE 1948z:  N1SQ (6251km) was the last USA station to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon at 1856z.

UPDATE 2034z:   Now QRT on 10m.

Concert in Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

This is advanced publicity for my wife's concert in Cambridge, UK in April. The West  Road Concert Hall is an excellent venue with superb acoustics, good seating, warmth, comfort and local parking.  If you can make it, it should be a good evening.

Sunspots and 10m propagation Sun Mar 15th 2015

Sunspot number is moderate at 56 but 10m is currently forecast to be "poor".

Despite the poor predictions for 10m, my tiny 500mW WSPR beacon has been widely spotted:  4X1RF, LZ1OI, 5B4AHL, 9H1US, G4IKZ and best DX this morning  3B8CW (9751km) at 1054z. Not a bad list for a morning with "poor" 10m conditions! Surprisingly often, days when 10m is supposed to be "fair" or "poor" I have my little 500mW WSPR beacon copied all over the place. Never ever take 10m for granted.

472kHz WSPR DX this evening

I see that both EI0CF (602km) and F59706 (560km) have spotted me this evening on 472kHz. I am still using 5mW ERP and the earth-electrode "antenna".

On 10m I turned off the beacon some while ago as I was only being spotted by G stations.

In the last 2 weeks I have been spotted by 27 unique stations on 472kHz WSPR.

UPDATE 2130z:  EI0CF (602km) has spotted me 4 times this evening so far on 472kHz WSPR.

Sand martins - NOT amateur radio

Spring has (almost) sprung! There have now been several sightings of 20+ sand martins in South Devon. These are among the first of the migrants to return. They are the smallest hirundine.

Sand martins have dark brown upper parts and they winter in Africa.  In recent years sand martin numbers have plummeted and they are now on the RSPB's "amber" list.  There are estimated to be 54,000-174,000 nests in the UK. This sounds a lot, but numbers are dropping because of droughts on their migration routes in some years.

Every year I remember my dad telling when he'd first seen them arrive.

By the month end we should have house martins and swallows back in Devon who will have flown 6000 miles to be here in the UK again. When the swallows return here in East Anglia you know all is still well with the world: they have been making this journey for many thousands , if not millions, of years. Most return to the very same nests they used last summer, if they can. I find the return of the martins, swallows and swifts a real joy. It makes me glad to be alive.

 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_martin .

10m USA WSPR spots today

The first USA station to receive my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon today was KZ8C (6290km) at 1302z.  At -17dB S/N this was a decent report for the power used.  At least 10m has opened across the Atlantic today.  I did think it might not have done so, although it has opened on most days now for many many months. The exceptions seem to have been when conditions were very disturbed. Even with low sunspot number, the 10m band has been OK across the North Atlantic, certainly for QRP WSPR.

UPDATE 1356z:  Quite a few different USA stations now spotting my 500mW 10m beacon. :

UPDATE 1912z:  The 10m opening to the USA is still in full swing.

UPDATE 2020z:  W3GXT (5840km) was the latest USA station to spot me at 2002z. Just local G4IKZ (18km) since then.

472kHz WSPR - the last 24 hours

In the last 24 hours (I stayed on overnight) the best report of my 5mW ERP WSPR signal from my earth-electrode "antenna" was by F59706 (560km) yesterday evening. 9 unique station reports received in the last 24 hours.

Unique spots of my 5mW ERP WSPR on 472kHz in last 24 hours

10m early F2

Despite the "fair" propagation forecast 4X1RF (3519km) was spotting me as early as 0824z this morning on 10m WSPR. It will be interesting to see who else spots my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today.

UPDATE 0845z:   Just after 0830z and 4X1RF has spotted me 4 times already on 10m.

UPDATE 1010z:    So far, 8 spots of my 500mW beacon from 4X1RF (3519km) but no reports from any other DX station so far today on 10m.

UPDATE 1032z:  I see LZ1OI (2153km) and  RK3ABW (2429km) have spotted me a few times now. No 10m DX, as yet, from outside Europe or near Asia.

UPDATE 1354z:  So far today I have been spotted 29 times by 4X1RF.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat March 14th 2015

Today should be interesting on 10m as propagation is expected to be "fair" despite sunspot number being up to 87. I am sure the earlier forecasts were poorer.

472kHz WSPR this evening

I shall probably go QRT on 28MHz (10m) in the next 20 minutes as I think the USA 10m opening has now ended for the day.

On 472kHz WSPR my best spot this evening is from PE1RKT (285km) although I have received from further afield. My intention is to stay on 472kHz WSPR overnight, as long as the PC does not decide to install updates at around 0300z as it did this morning when I was on 20m!