Still no great DX on 6m WSPR

July 13th 2015 and I was unable to get 6m on WSPR again. Looking at WSPRnet I see that only EU Es was being reported and less than 500km too. I am still waiting for some transatlantic DX but nothing yet.

6m Es

For a few days I have not been on 6m WSPR but I don't seem to have missed that much with most spots today being less than 500km.

Lunchboxes

Years ago I wanted a Heathkit Lunchbox HW30  rig for 2m AM. Although at the time I bought a manual I never did buy the rig as it was too much at the time. These days there is too little AM on the band and the RX would struggle at times.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/lunchbox .

Sunspots and 10m - Sun July 12th 2015

Sunspot number is 131 today again. K=1 so pretty undisturbed conditions. 10m is expected to remain "fair".

6m Es but no super-DX

Although there has been Es on 6m, there has been no evidence of super-DX on the band.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat July 11th 2015

My usual source of sunspot data has not updated his data since yesterday so I am unable to give new forecasts for today. The best hope at this time of year is 10m and 6m Es.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday July 10th 2015

Sunspot number is still 131 (K=1) and 10m is expected to remain "fair" .

2m SSB history

IC202

For me, 2m SSB began with the purchase of a 10W pep Belcom Liner 2, which opened up 2m SSB to the masses. Before then, people used homebrew transverters and HF rigs to get on VHF SSB.

After that I owned the IC202 from ICOM which had a very good VXO but less power (3W pep).  Later, the first digital synthesised rigs appeared and 2m SSB really took off.

In the last 20 years or so, certainly here in the UK, VHF/UHF SSB took a nosedive and what little VHF/UHF activity there is is mainly using FM. Here in the UK there is good SSB activity in contests and in good lifts, but little casual use of the SSB/CW modes, which is a pity. Ranges on SSB can be much greater than FM for similar power levels.

When I first used my Liner 2 I was amazed how far I could reach in flat conditions, even with 10W and a small indoor antenna.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/ic202 .

10m Es on WSPR - very quiet

Apart from an early morning WSPR spot from Italy, it has been quiet here on 10m WSPR with just spots from local G4IKZ (18km).  At the moment, 6m is getting more spots and from greater distances. No F2 DX seen on 10m WSPR here.

6m Es on WSPR

There was quite a bit of Es on 6m this morning with some even in the night.  We are at the height of the Es season in Europe now.