472kHz WSPR activity

Last night there were 70 active 472kHz WSPR stations showing on WSPRnet.  However, there were only 14 stations transmitting and at times I was the only UK station transmitting!! Although it was good to have this many people monitoring, we need more on TX.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Dec 26th 2015

Solar flux is 123 today. Sunspot number has climbed to 71 (K=2). The forecast for 10m propagation is "fair" again today. I am expecting 10m WSPR to be reasonable today. There have been 10m USA openings on most recent days.

472kHz TX in the last 2 weeks

472kHz unique spots in last 2 weeks of my 5mW ERP signal

These are the unique spots I have received for my 5mW ERP 472kHz WSPR signal in the last 2 weeks. At some point I must work out how many unique WSPR spots I have received this season.

Last winter my 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" was spotted over 1000km away.

High post reads? - NOT amateur radio

Probably because many readers are on Christmas/New Year holiday, but I have already had as many blog visits as in a normal whole day and it is not yet teatime.

USA again on 10m WSPR

Yet again 10m WSPR was open to the USA.  K9AN (6505km) first spotted my 500mW WSPR beacon at 1458z. Solar conditions seem better, or is it just the holidays meaning more activity?

UPDATE 1654z:   I have just re-synced and reset the 10m beacon, although it is probably too late for further USA 10m spots. I am currently active on 10m and 630m WSPR.

WSJT-X V1.6 decode sensitivity

For many months I had been using V4 of the dedicated WSPR software After about a day of use I do not think WSJT-X V1.6 has demonstrably better sensitivity.  On spots of EA5DOM and PA3ABK/2 the S/N of decodes seems very similar in S/N terms. It is possible this not widely release version decoded at a similar level to WSJT-X V1.6. Certainly the QSB makes making a clear picture far from easy. What I mean is the signals vary far more with fades than the difference in sensitivity between packages. At the moment I am not using the preamp.

Lighter evenings - NOT amateur radio

At long last, it is getting just a little lighter here in the evenings. For a week or so the mornings still get darker, but already the evenings are several minutes better. By the end of January the difference in the evening is almost an hour. Of course this means the year has turned again.

Christmas? Bah humbug

I think it is partly a result of my stroke, but I find Christmas very stressful these days. Every Christmas, things are expected to be calm and happy, yet I am sure that I am not alone in experiencing the opposite. Even eating the Christmas meal is a stress these days. Years ago at work I knew a couple who went camping in Scotland at Christmas. Just maybe they had the right idea?

Bah humbug!

For the little ones it is still a magical time.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri Dec 25th 2015

Solar flux is 131 and sunspot number 51 (K=3) today. 10m propagation is again expected to be "fair". There have been some medium range European 10m spots which are probably by wintertime Es.

WSJT-X - V1.6 works

I am currently using WSJT-X V1.6 on 472kHz WSPR.  It seems to work "right out of the tin" for me and I have both uploaded WSPR spots and been spotted on WSPRnet using the new software. As yet, because of family and Christmas, I have not yet tried it on JT65 or JT9-1 2-way modes. It is too early to tell how much better it is than the older WSPR packages, but others have reported better MF sensitivity with it.