Sunspots and 10m - Sat Nov 21st 2015

Sunspot number is 52 (K=1) and 10m conditions remain "poor" according to the forecasts. Solar flux is a respectable 111. Often I find I get good 10m WSPR spots when conditions are supposed to be "poor".  Not sure why this is!

UPDATE 1204z:  So far, just spots from Russia and nearby areas on 10m WSPR. No great DX on 10m WSPR as yet. All quiet on 6m WSPR.

In praise of Jay W5OLF's WSPR beacon

I received this email from Jay W5OLF:

"Hi Roger,

I was catching up on your blog and saw the comment about how much you like the 10M beacon. That warms the heart.  We all try and make a contribution to the hobby and guess I at least made one.

Cheers, Jay, W5OLF"

W5OLF WSPR beacon

To which I replied, with great pleasure:

"Hi Jay,

I can honestly say I have had more fun from your 10m WSPR beacon than from ANYTHING in all my time in amateur radio. Thank you!

73s
Roger G3XBM"

I was an SWL in 1961 and had a licence since 1966. The beacon needs no PC and is totally self contained. As a routine I reset to internet time every day but you could use a radio for this and once a day is probably far more frequently than necessary.  As you can see, it is very small. The last time I looked there were 1W beacons for 30m and 20m and a 0.5W one on 10m. If you enjoy this mode, I can recommend these. It never fails to amaze me how something so small to a small, low, wire antenna regularly gets spotted around the planet.

See http://w5olf.com/2014/12/18/new-wspr-axe-cw-beacon/ .

Late QSY

Much later than usual, I have closed down on 630m (472kHz) WSPR and am now active on 10m and 6m WSPR for the day. I did the QSY at around 1040z, which is much later than normal. Overnight I was on 472kHz RX only with the preamp in circuit. 472kHz is definitely suffering this autumn from a lack of transmitting stations in Europe. The is no shortage of stations on receive. Tonight I shall be on 472kHz TX again. Last night I copied all the usual 472kHz WSPR stations in range. We could do with some new stations!

472kHz WSPR - now RX only with preamp

Since 1954z, I have gone RX only on 472kHz WSPR with the preamp in circuit, so the FT817 is running at maximum sensitivity. This will be on overnight all being well.

Sunshine - NOT amateur radio

Even if it is very quiet so far on the amateur radio front, at least the sun is shining. We have friends joining us for lunch. The wind is turning and it is definitely getting colder. Not that I have much faith in the weather forecasts, but there is an outside chance of snow this weekend here.

All quiet on 10m and 6m WSPR here so far today

As yet, not a single spot on 10m or 6m WSPR here. By now, I would have expected to have got some spots. Solar conditions don't look bad. Patience!

There are regular, strong, traces on the 6m WSPR screen, but these have too much Doppler to decode. I suspect this is G8VDQ (93km). If there was a WSPR mode with 1 min TX period, I suspect he would decode. JT65 or JT9-1 would probably work.

UPDATE 1715z:  There were USA 10m WSPR spots this afternoon. The last USA spot was at 1600z.

UPDATE 1720z:  G8VDQ (93km) was decoded on 6m a couple of times around lunch, presumably aided by aircraft reflection.

UPDATE 1725z: I have gone QRT on 10m and 6m WSPR and am now QRV on 630m (472kHz) with 5mW ERP again (20% TX, 80% RX, no preamp,earth-electrodes). M0LMH (223km) has copied me on 472kHz WSPR and DK7FC (669km) has been spotted.

Terrorist attacks - NOT amateur radio

The FTSE 100 is recovering but it would only take a successful terrorist attack in the UK or USA to send both the FTSE 100 and the Dow into downward spirals.

Back on 10m and 6m WSPR. QRT on 630m (472kHz) WSPR.

As is my normal routine these days, I have QSYed from 630m to 6m WSPR and turned on my 10m WSPR beacon and synced it to internet time.

UPDATE 1015z:  No spots on 10m or 6m as yet.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri Nov 20th 2015

Sunspot number has risen to 51 (K=3) but 10m propagation remains "poor" according to the forecast.  Solar flux is 107 which is still respectable.  Yesterday was another day without USA spots of my 10m WSPR beacon.

QSY to 472kHz (630m) WSPR

10m and 6m WSPR were closed down at 2030 and I have now moved to 630m (5mW ERP 20% and RX 80% without the preamp). Still using the earth-electrodes.

UPDATE 2205z:  All the usual 472kHz "suspects", i.e. the active stations in western Europe, are being copied including lots of spots of EA5DOM (1525km) on the barefoot FT817 without the preamp. I think I'd spot him more often and at better S/N with the preamp in use.