Sunspots and 10m Thurs Oct 22nd 2015

Sunspot number is 73 today (K=2) and 10m is expected to be "fair" again. 10m propagation should mean my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon will be copied in the USA again. A sunspot number of 73 and K=2 implies reasonably settled conditions.

The Search for Life in the Universe - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon I have my U3AC course on the above subject. We have a great variety of courses in Cambridge. We are very lucky having many ex-university people with a wish to share their vast knowledge.

Someone turned the switch on!

Although the locals are not active or they have their beams away from me, I can see clear evidence of F2 spots on 10m WSPR appearing. EA8/LA3JJ (2870km) and LZ1OI (2153km) have both spotted me lots of times today already on 10m WSPR this morning. It bodes well for the day.

UPDATE 1635z:  Plenty of USA 10m WSPR spots now. This is the 4th day in a row that I've had 10m WSPR spots from the USA.

CQWW Contest

Although I am not a great contest fan - although I do like the VHF and UHF RSGB UKAC contests on Tuesday evenings - I usually go on 10m SSB for the CQWW SSB contest. The SSB leg is this coming weekend. Last year I forgot it (doh!) and the year before I was in hospital. Although we have visitors for some of the time, I hope to be on Sunday PM and occasionally beforehand. It is a good chance to work lots of stations.

Even in quiet sunspot years CQWW usually brings out the stations.  It is a good contest although I have never used much power or actually submitted a score. See you there?

Next autumn will be very interesting: sunspot numbers will have fallen but I bet CQWW will prove 10m is open despite this. Often lack of activity on 10m makes a band seem "closed". All it needs is a bit of activity to prove this. This is where 10m WSPR should prove its worth.

See http://www.cqww.com/ .

Sunspots and 10m - Wed Oct 21st 2015

Sunspot number has fallen slightly to 77 (K=3) but 10m propagation is again expected to be "fair". We have seen USA 10m spots now for several days in a row and I expect this to continue, except on very disturbed days, until the spring.

Clocks go back in the UK this weekend! Dark evenings. CQWW SSB this weekend.

Back on 10m WSPR and 6m WSPR

After a temporary glitch with the PC (internet time sync failed) I am now back on both 10m and 6m WSPR. It takes about 15-20 minutes for the 10m beacon to stabilise. Anyway, back on both bands.

QRT on all bands

A few minutes ago I turned off the 10m and 6m rigs until after breakfast tomorrow. Quite late in the day I spotted M0ICR (90km) on 6m WSPR. This is the only spot on 6m in several days of trying. Tomorrow I may only go on 10m.

Tony Benn - NOT amateur radio

Currently, I am reading the diaries of Tony Benn, lent to me by a friend. Tony Benn was very much on the left politically. He was well respected as an honest man even by those who were on the opposite side of the UK political divide.

In the UK we have a very right wing media (papers etc.) and Tony Benn was often the person they liked to ridicule and misquote. He always "stuck to his guns" and talked much good sense.

He died aged 88 of a stroke in 2014 after a long political career.  He is a UK politician many loved to hate.  Personally I think he deserves to be better understood and seen as "his own man" and not the man hated by the right wing press. Someone said, "he was a principled politician". We have very few of these today.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Benn .

ON4KST Chat

Many VHF, UHF and microwave enthusiasts use  http://www.on4kst.com/chat/start.php to arrange skeds, certainly here in Europe. There are also chats for EME and for the LF and MF bands.

To use the facility you need a user name and password.

F2 on 10m WSPR

I see that lots of far Europeans and near Asians are spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon including LZ, YO, RA3 and 4X. Nothing further yet. I think these are all single hop F2.

Still very quiet on 6m with no spots given or received on that band. I am still active on 6m, ever hopeful.

On 6m 30dBm 20% TX, 80% RX and on 10m 27dBm 100% TX with randomised TX frequency.

UPDATE 1500z:  Not a single spot from North or South America today on 10m so far. I am surprised as F2 conditions on 10m looked so promising. Things may change, although I would have expected spots from these areas by now. 10m is indeed fickle with a mind of its own!

UPDATE 1528z:  Eventually a 10m WSPR spot by K9AN (6505km) at 1518z. There have been other USA spots since. Not sure why 10m opened later today than yesterday?

UPDATE 1915z:  It looks as if 10m USA openings will be most days now. These are the unique stations that spotted me on 10m WSPR today:

10m WSPR unique spots today