JT9-1 on 20m and 10m

As 10m and 6m were doing nothing much, I had another outing on JT9-1 on 20m QRP.  There were several stations active.  A look on PSK reporter showed that my CQ signals were crossing Europe (see map), but sadly no-one wanted a QSO. With QRP, I think the best strategy is to call others calling CQ. There seems plenty of space on JT9-1 on 20m.

A CQ call on 10m JT9-1 was not successful, although I have used this mode on 10m in the past. Unlike WSPR, JT9-1 is a true 2-way digital mode, with QSOs taking about 6 minutes to complete. WSPR works with weaker signals but needs 2 minute periods, whereas JT9-1 overs are just 1 minute.

Hate and the internet - NOT amateur radio

There is no doubt that the internet is a powerful force for good and evil. It allows people to connect, whether fit or disabled and irrespective of class, creed, or sexual orientation. However there is also a dark side. People can use it to spread hate and violence. There is a fine line between openness and censorship. I am a believer that what a person does in private is his or her affair as long as no-one else is hurt. What is acceptable to one person may not be to someone else. However, I believe it is right to take down anything that is hateful or incites others to act in a hateful way. As long as all the people involved are consenting it matters not what happens in private. A line is crossed when hate is incited. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and ISPs should remove all material likely to incite hate.

Disappointing day so far on 10m and 6m WSPR

It has been disappointing on 10m with very little Es seen here so far. On 6m, it has been even worse with just G spots given and received.

If things continue to be poor I may try some JT9-1 on a lower band.

Sunspots and 10m - June 29th 2015

Sunspot number is a little up on yesterday at 39 (K=2), but 10m is expected to remain "poor" today.  I have already been spotted by EA8BVP (2986km) on 10m WSPR,which is hopeful, but this may have been Es.

JT9-1 (20m) and a change on 10m

For a complete change I went on JT9-1 on 20m for a little while (worked LZ5QZ) then returned to 10m WSPR using the FT817 so I could receive as well as transmit. I am running about 2W and see that EA8BVP (2986km) has yet again spotted me on 10m.  I am spotting G4IKZ (18km).

Hard reset time

As part of my recovery I usually do a short 5 minute walk morning and night.  When out this evening I did a "hard" reset of my 10m and 6m WSPR stations.  All power was removed, the PC (used with the FT817 on 6m) was turned off for the duration of the walk. Now home again both the 6m and 10m WSPR kits were turned on again and the whole lot sync'd to Internet time.

I hope to stay on both bands overnight, although, so far, I have not managed to catch any transatlantic Es openings. I remain hopeful. Because of the high thunder risk later in the week I may have to go QRT though, which will be a pity. Hopefully this will be a short break only.

Heatwave? - NOT amateur radio

So the Met Office (our weather bureau) is forecasting a heatwave. Many is the time I have said they should buy new seaweed as their forecasts are so wrong so often despite their investment in multi-million  pound supercomputers.

Currently we have rain here!

Yesterday, next Saturday (we have grandchildren here) was forecast to be a good sunny day. Now the forecast is rain. The best forecast is to see what is expected by the Met Office and assume the exact opposite. Unless we have a great big high pressure system over us their forecasts are useless. The week before this, when we went to Jersey for a week, (June 13-20th)  the weather was (at best) expected to be "mixed". We had glorious sunshine most days all day long. Sorry, but I am not impressed. I hear the many excuses for poor forecasts, but give us a "confidence reading" for the forecast if you don't know. A poor forecast is no use at all!

Met Office? - pathetic. 3/10 "could do better".

The best forecasts seem to be to stick your head out the window and look.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun June 28th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen again to just 25 (K=3) and 10m propagation (F2) is expected to be "poor".  We should not expect much on 10m F2 today, although Es is already livening things up on 6m WSPR. I wonder if EA8BVP will spot me (as usual) on 10m WSPR.  This I suspect is single hop N-S F2 although this is certainly possible by Es. At the moment I have seen no 10m Es spots yet  for my little 5000mW beacon. Others may be more fortunate.

Early 6m Es today? - CN8LI again

CN8LI (2113km) was spotted at -13dB S/N at 0816z this morning on 6m WSPR. I assume this is Es. This is promising so early in the day.

His ERP is probably 10dB more than mine. Drift was high, which could be his rig stabilising, Es patches moving or even aircraft reflections at his end or mine.

I guess this could even be single hop F2?  2113km is F2 range.

CN8LI tends to be right at the bottom of the WSPR sub-band. I may miss some spots of him as he may be out of band (to me) sometimes?

UPDATE 1100z:  CN8LI has been spotted strongly (-10dB S/N) on 6m WSPR by 4X1RF (3860km). Multi-hop Es? It is a very long way across the Med.

10m DT way off - now reset

I had an anonymous comment to tell me that my 10m beacon's DT (timing error) was over 3 seconds out. I have had this before. The cure last time was a hard reset and I have done this again, removing all power for 10 minutes and resyncing to internet time. I was still getting decodes but you must reach a point when the receiver's software cannot cope and just gives up. Hopefully this will do the trick.

By using the FT817 and PC, I can check my 10m DT myself. This means going QRT on 6m for a few minutes. I'll do this now.

UPDATE 1618z:  10m DT checked after hard reset. Now DT = -0.3secs, which is good.