Grandson's birthday - NOT amateur radio

We have been to London today for our grandson's 8th birthday party, with his English cousins. The day went well. We drove there and back and managed to get back just before dark.

472kHz WSPR overnight

EA5DOM (1525km) was spotted 16 times overnight on 472kHz WSPR.  I think he must have a pretty good set-up there in Spain. When he is active on WSPR I seem to copy him on the earth-electrode "antenna".

Sunspots and 10m - Sun Nov 15th 2015

Sunspot numbers are rising and stand at 48 today (K=3). 10m propagation is again expected to remain "poor".

QRT on 10m and 6m WSPR, active on 630m WSPR

I have now swapped to 472kHz (630m) WSPR. The last 10m WSPR spot was just after 1600z. On 6m WSPR G8VDQ (93km) was copied several times until I QSYed.

UPDATE 2133z:  No-one has yet spotted my 5mW ERP on 472kHz and best DX so far on RX is a DL at 983km. The night is young though!

10m and 6m WSPR today

After single hop F2 reports from Eastern Europe including Russia, I got my first report on 10m from Brazil at 1200z. I think it is probable that I'll get USA spots on 10m this afternoon.

UPDATE 1322z:  The first spots from the USA were from N2NOM (5581km) at 1312z.

UPDATE 1455z:  Several USA stations now spotting my 10m WSPR.  On 6m WSPR I have again spotted G8VDQ (93km) a couple of times, but nothing further.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Nov 14th 2015

Sunspot number has recovered to 50 (K=2) and the 10m propagation forecast remains "poor" today.

QSYed from 6m to 630m

At 1846z I QSYed from 6m to 630m for the evening and night. I am still also on 10m WSPR at present, but will probably go QRT on 10m in the next few hours. On 6m today a few spots of G8VDQ (93km) but nothing further.

UPDATE 2100z:  I see that G0KTN (210km) has spotted my 5mW ERP for the first time this autumn at 2028z on 472kHz WSPR.

UPDATE 2105z:  So far this evening just 6 unique stations spotted here on 472kHz WSPR.  I expect this number will increase overnight.

UPDATE 2300z: I find it hard to believe but there are only 6 TXing 472kHz WSPR stations in the whole of Europe shown on WSPRnet and I appear to be the only UK TXing station currently! Just copied OZ0IL (788km). This is the first OZ I have seen on 472kHz WSPR this autumn. I am still using the barefoot FT817 with no preamp and the earth-electrode "antenna". As EA5DOM appears not to be on tonight, my best this evening is DH5RAE (995km) on 472kHz WSPR RX.

10m WSPR spots today so far

So far today, my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon has been spotted by 7 different USA stations as well as by one more American who is actually located in Brazil. Despite the "poor" 10m forecast, this seems quite a decent day on 10m WSPR with me. I often find this.

I expect there will be more unique stations spotting me from the USA as the day progresses. It is likely I'll remain on 10m until well after dark here. My 630m WSPR station will be active again this evening and overnight.

UPDATE 1540z:  On 6m I spotted G8VDQ (93km) but this was the only spot. No-one has spotted me on 6m today.

UPDATE 1748z: 11 unique stations spotting me from the USA so far today on 10m WSPR.

UK weather - NOT amateur radio

The UK weather is fickle. We had rain this morning, despite a forecast a few hours earlier that it would be dry, and now there is blue sky and bright sunshine. The only reliable forecast is looking out of the window!

Rally

Sunday 15 NOVEMBER : PLYMOUTH RADIO CLUB RALLY
Harewood House, The Ridgeway, Plympton, Plymouth PL7 2AS. CP, TI, OT 10am, £2, TS, C. Sheila Hart, 2E0YSH, 07815 542 477, sheo@fsmail.net.

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