Sunspots and 10m - Sun Oct 4th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen again. It is 47 today. K=4 so conditions are disturbed and 10m propagation remains "poor" today. So far just locals G4KPX (14km) and G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 10m WSPR. I have decided not to try 6m today.

UPDATE 1210z:  All very quiet on 10m WSPR so far with just local spots.

South Creake - NOT amateur radio

South Creake church

Yesterday we visited light and airy South Creake church in north Norfolk. I have updated the East Anglian Churches blog to include this. South Creake is a few miles south of the north Norfolk coast and not too far from Burnham Market. The church has been important in the village for over 1000 years.

Soon be time to QSY to 472kHz WSPR

6m WSPR has produced better results (so far) today than 10m, but only with spots of G stations. Tonight I shall leave 10m WSPR running, but QSY to 630m (472kHz) transmit (20%) and receive (80%).

Unfortunately I shall not be able to use the RX preamp, so this will really be a test for others looking for my 5mW ERP signal.  Copying a weak signal on a sometimes noisy band demands a very good RX system, so all credit to those who manage it.  In past DX seasons this has been detected on WSPR at more than 1000km.

I shall go QRT on 10m later this evening, but will probably run MF WSPR through the night.

UPDATE 1710z:  Although there was a weak carrier on 6m about 10 minutes ago, I have QSYed to MF now for the evening and overnight

UPDATE 1935z:  I realised at 1900z that I had not been reporting my ERP correctly as I forgot to reset this when I QSYed to 630m from 6m. This has now been corrected to 5mW ERP.  For the record, my 630m ERP has been 5mW all evening and not 1W.

UPDATE 2152z:  Just about to go QRT on 10m WSPR, but will stay on 630m WSPR overnight.

Football: Plymouth Argyle - NOT amateur radio

A few years ago this would be the stuff of dreams but this evening Plymouth Argyle are top of League Division 2.  Keep this up and they could even be promoted at the end of the season. Lots of games to go and a lot can happen, but how fortunes are transformed!

It is years since I last saw them play live, but at one time they were my local club. I wish them well. My second cousin has a season ticket. Peter Horn must be a happy man today. So different from a few years ago!

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/plymouth-argyle .

All quiet (again) on 10m WSPR, pretty quiet on 6m WSPR

Although I have been getting decent reports on 10m from local G4KPX (14km) all day, not a single DX report has been received so far today. No G stations even at any range! Low WSPR activity levels on 10m do not help. Perhaps conditions were to disturbed, although I find this unlikely.

On 6m WSPR I have spotted a couple of G stations: G0LUJ (278km) and M0ICR (90km), but no-one has copied my 1W ERP vertical today on 6m WSPR.

Where is the IC7300?

Today, through the post, I got my November 2015 copy of Practical Wireless. Suspiciously I could find no pictures or mention of the ICOM IC7300 transceiver in any advert at all. It is almost as if all the dealers have been told in no uncertain terms to sell the current products and, on pain of death, do not under any circumstances mention the IC7300. I am not saying this as fact, but it is all rather odd. A month ago everyone was full of the news and products were expected to ship by the year end. Perhaps ICOM have had second thoughts or were losing sales of current products?

There were plenty of adverts for the Yaesu FT991, although even the best published prices have since been bettered. No, I am very suspicious about why there is no mention of the IC7300. Just one dealer OK, this I could believe, but all of them tight-lipped???

ICOM what is behind this? Is there a story we are not being told?

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Oct 3rd 2015

Sunspot number has fallen again and is 58 today.  K=4 so conditions are quite disturbed. 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" and I am not exactly hopeful of decent 10m results today. We will see!

So far just spots from local G4KPX (14km) on 10m. As yet, nothing at all to report on 6m WSPR.  #

2m/70cm conditions were marginally up earlier when we had some early morning fog. I usually look for GB3VHF and beacons in Holland and Belgium. GB3LEU on 70cm is also audible. I use a 2m big-wheel horizontal omni antenna with RG213 feeder on both 2m and 70cm. The big-wheel seems to work well on 70cm. I hope to be active in the 2m UKAC session on Tuesday evening for as long as my voice holds out.

QSYed to 472kHz (630m) MF

About a minute ago I QSYed from 6m to 630m (RX only). 6m is rarely good at night but, especially with the preamp, MF is quite productive in the evening and overnight. First spot was of DF6NM (824km) at -20dB S/N.

472kHz (630m) WSPR RX so far this evening

UPDATE 2021z:  DF6NM has already been spotted a couple of times followed by F1AFJ (607km), followed by DJ0ABR (983km). I wonder if this evening and night will see any new stations spotted?

More UK Rallies

I  have been notified of the following upcoming UK rallies:

Sunday 4 OCTOBER : BRITISH VINTAGE WIRELESS SOCIETY AUTO JUMBLE
The Angel Leisure Centre, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1SF. OT 10.30am to 4.30pm. Stalls £30, admission £5, early admission from 9.30am £10. Bookings/enquiries 01892 540 022 (8pm to 9pm only). www.audiojumble.co.uk.

Sunday 4 OCTOBER:  BLACKWOOD ARS RALLY
Rougemount School, Newport NP20 8QB. TI 145.550MHz, CP free, OT 10am, TS, CBS, B&B, SIG, C, LEC. Andy, 01495 220 687, andy@mw0mwz.co.uk.

Sunday 4 OCTOBER:  HORNSEA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB RALLY
Floral Hall, 7 The Esplanade, Hornsea, East Yorks HU18 1NQ. OT 10am, CP, TS, B&B, SIG, RSGB, RAFARS, LB, C, DF, WIN. Details from Rick, M0CZR, 01964 533 712, R106221@aol.com. www.hornseaarc.co.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Best 6m inter-G DX

G3XHB (271km) in IO94 square was spotted on 6m WSPR this afternoon. He is using 5W and a 6m beam, which I assume is horizontal. I think this was tropo and aircraft. This is my best inter-G DX spot on 6m WSPR. His QTH is Richmond on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.

So far, 10m WSPR has been remarkably quiet with my little 500mW 10m WSPR beacon being spotted by no-one so far this afternoon. It was so quiet that I did a resync and had to check it was working OK. It was.

UPDATE 1745z:   M0ICR (90km) was spotted on 6m WSPR this afternoon. Judging by the Doppler, I think this was tropo and aircraft reflection.