10m USA WSPR spots

It is currently 1944z and so far not a single spot from the USA yet again.  Best DX today is a 10m WSPR spot by FR4OZ (9733km) in the South Indian Ocean.

UPDATE 2030z:  Still no spots from the USA on 10m today. I think there will be no USA opening today. Soon be time to go QRT on 10m and probably on 6m too.

Churches Blog - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we visited the oldest building in Cambridge. This is St Bene't's Church (opposite the famous Eagle Pub where Crick and Watson cracked the secrets of DNA).

The church dates back to 1000AD. I have updated  our East Anglian Churches Blog accordingly.

6m WSPR overnight

I stayed on 6m WSPR overnight.  M0EMM (192km) was spotted a few times, but otherwise quiet, as would be expected.

Sunspots and 10m - April 10th 2015

Sunspot number has risen to 68 and 10m propagation is expected to be "fair". 

10m USA spots today

In summary, at least until now at 2030z, there have been no spots at all of my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon in the USA.  Yet again EA8BVP has been spotting me all day, in all 88 times today.

It looks like we can definitely not count on those daily 10m openings to the USA.  Yesterday the 10m band opened quite well, but not today.

UPDATE 2120z:  No sign of USA spots today. Now going QRT on 10m until the morning, but will remain on 6m overnight and check everything is synced to internet time.

6m overnight and first thing this morning.

No DX stations, but 3 different G stations spotting me G6AVK, G4FGJ and G8XWR last night and today. I am sticking on 6m now as the Es season approaches. I expect to spot some DX (outside G) soon.

Sunspots and 10m - April 9th 2015

Sunspot number is much the same at 40 (K=3) and 10m propagation remains "poor".  I left 10m on TX overnight and G4CUI (172km), in IO93fi, copied my 500mW beacon several times.  Drift was low, so this was probably pure tropo rather than aircraft reflections, although it could have been both.

UPDATE 1150z:  EA8BVP (2986km) has been consistently spotting me this morning. No Eastern Europeans and no Israel today again. EA1FAQ (1249km) spotted me once at 1118z. As this is quite short I wonder if this was Es?

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

You may have noticed that I was late updating the blog today. The reason is we have 2 of our 4 grandchildren staying with us (on their own) and they take priority. This afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt in the garden. Lovely, but tiring!

6m - not a bad day again

I was again active on 6m WSPR running 1W ERP from a V2000 vertical. No European or further DX, but some decent GDX again (126 and 150km). I am definitely have more luck than when I last came on the band.

6m WSPR spots today (to 2036z)

Even lower cost Pixie kits!

Steve, G1KQH has pointed me to a link with 40m Pixie kits at incredible prices. At these prices there is no way the parts could be bought for less than the kit. The version I bought for $10 looks identical. All you need is a morse key, battery 40m antenna and walkman type headphones and you have a credible 40m CW transceiver. It really works.

Yoohoo Roger,

Now I back in front of the Pixie bargain game hunt, after finding the the best price!!!
http://www.banggood.com/DIY-Radio-40M-CW-Shortwave-Transmitter-Kit-Receiver-7_023-7_026MHz-p-973111.html
£2.89!!!!!!!
and if you buy more than 2 it gets cheaper!!

Not forgetting this includes free shipping. Unbelievable.