Sunset - NOT amateur radio

We are at the "pits" end of the year as far as sunlight is concerned, but the evenings start to get lighter from mid December even though the mornings get darker for a few weeks more. By the end of January the evenings are getting better light-wise by almost an hour. February is a short month. It is good to think the nights will soon be getting lighter again. It may be a little different where you live.

See http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/cambridge?month=12&year=2015 .

Family weekend - NOT amateur radio

This weekend we had our "London" grandchildren here with their mum and dad. As you can see, our grandson, aged 8 years old,  decided to play dead on the rug.  They left quite late in the afternoon.

472kHz WSPR - same stations

It is now 1800z and I am still spotting the same stations as previously and the same stations are spotting me. I enjoy 472kHz WSPR but we do need more new stations.

It is not hard to get on the band and, as I have proved, large antennas and high ERP are not needed for WSPR. My approach using a simple transverter and FT817 will get you going.

UPDATE 1900z:  I see Ive been spotted by G0HWW (29km). Not too far, but a new station.

Quiet day on 10m WSPR

I was late getting on 10m WSPR today, but I was on early enough to catch any USA openings. There were none today.  

FR1GZ (9724km) spotted me at 1500z and, apart from this, all was quiet. CQWW CW was in full swing so this may have reduced WSPR activity, but the main reason was poor conditions.

Daylight 472kHz WSPR

It was more convenient to stay on 630m (472kHz) WSPR today. I have only just turned on my 10m WSPR beacon. I was quite surprised to see LA3EQ (769km) being spotted in daylight.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun Nov 30th 2015

Solar flux is 96. Sunspot number is just 36 (this will be much lower this time next year) and K=2. 10m propagation is again expected to be "poor".

UPDATE 1123z:   I am still on 630m WSPR (I was on 630m WSPR overnight) as we have family here.  I shall QSY to 10m and 6m later.

UPDATE 1130z:   The best DX on 630m (472kHz) WSPR RX was DH5RAE and the best DX on 472kHz WSPR TX (5mW ERP) was DL-SWL at 701km.

472kHz WSPR - odd behaviour explained

Although I was being spotted by several stations, I was puzzled why I was apparently not spotting others. A quick check the PC showed "no internet access" on the wi-fi symbol: I was receiving many stations but these were not being uploaded to WSPRnet. I turned off the PC and rebooted it .  All is now fine again. LA and DK were soon being spotted and uploaded.

UPDATE 2324z:  Plenty of MF stations in Western Europe spotted and uploading to WSPRnet.  All these are stations I have seen before though.  EA5DOM is active although I have not copied him yet. My best DX is DL-SWL (701km) on TX and  DH5RAE (995km) on RX. Still using 5mW ERP and earth-electrode "antenna".

Very early daffodils - NOT amateur radio

This evening we went to nearby Anglesey Abbey, a National Trust property near Cambridge, to see the winter lights. To our utter surprise there were a couple of daffodils already out. This is only Nov 28th!! This particular clump is always early, but November is just odd.

6m WSPR spot and all quiet on 10m WSPR

G4APB (88km) spotted me on 6m WSPR at 1340z. The high drift (-3Hz) suggests aircraft involvement, although this could be his station stabilising. So far again today, no DX on 6m outside the UK.

UPDATE 1418z:  All very quiet on 10m WSPR with nothing stateside so far this afternoon.  I guess this is a mix of not brilliant conditions and the CQWW CW contest this weekend.

UPDATE 1440z:   FR1GZ (9724km) has spotted me on 10m WSPR at 1438z. Still no USA spots today.

UPDATE 1515z:  FR1GZ has spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR 4 times so far today, but still no signs of the USA on 10m WSPR here.

UPDATE 2115z:  No USA stations spotted me today on 10m WSPR.  I would have thought one might have.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Nov 28th 2015

Solar flux has dipped below the magic 100 level to 98. Sunspot number has dropped to 48.  K=1. Forecast for 10m propagation is again "poor". Somehow I feel this is going to be a less good day on 10m WSPR, but only time will tell.

UPDATE 1018z:  Quiet so far on both 10m and 6m WSPR. Maybe CQWW CW has got to everyone? This big CW contest runs all weekend.

UPDATE 1148z:  Russians (only) spotting me on 10m WSPR out to 2401km. All still quiet on 6m WSPR.