More wintertime Es on 10m WSPR?

Late this morning my 500mW 10m WSPR was spotted by DK6UG (633km). This was probably wintertime Es. Only the one spot, and this just popped up and then was gone. The only other 10m spot was by G4KPX, who is local.

Wisbech - NOT amateur radio

As the weather was good today (I never believe the weather forecasts these days) we drove up to Wisbech and visited the gardens at Peckover House (NT). We also ate there.

Afterwards we went to the market and bought some sprouts. At one time this must have been a fine town with merchant's houses lining the river.  These days it looks a bit drab and run-down. It is a hub for immigrants from Eastern Europe who work in the agricultural  business. Good luck to them.

By the way, these sprouts cost us £1.  Pheasants were £2.99.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Jan 23rd 2016

Solar flux is 100 and sunspot number 50 (K=4). 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" again today.

472kHz WSPR - a new DX record for this season

Last night I was spotted by DH5RAE (995km). This beats by 2km (!!) my previous best on 472kHz TX record this season.  Not bad for 5mW ERP and an earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So who says you must have lots of power and big antennas on 472kHz?  I am sure with a larger antenna and ERP I'd get much further, but it shows you don't need this to get useful results. My grounds are about 12m (if that) apart. I need to work out how many stations have spotted my 472kHz WSPR this season. There have been 17 unique station spots of my 5mW ERP in the last 2 weeks.

472kHz WSPR - a new reporter (I think)

At 2034z I returned to 472kHz WSPR and had 3 spots on my first transmission at 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" including a spot by G0NNF (93km) who I am pretty sure is a new reporter.  M0LMH (223km) has spotted me a couple of times so far tonight. On RX DK7FC (669km) is a good signal as always without the preamp.

FT817 - a great radio

Because of my poor voice still, I tend to severely restrict the time I spend on speech modes. I can manage about 1 hour or less on SSB or FM as long as don't say too much.  Modes like WSPR , JT65 and JT9-1 suit me better currently. As you know, I much prefer QRP (2-2.5W) and for this the FT817 is ideal. So much so that my Lincoln President Mk II (mint) has virtually been unused. It has not been used for a QSO for almost a year! I may pack the Lincoln away.

FTSE recovery? - NOT amateur radio

At the moment the FTSE 100 share index has recovered about 2%, although some think a fall to 5200-5300 could happen. It certainly feels "wobbly".  If I was a betting man, I would expect heavy falls, but I am not a betting man. The markets don't like the slowdown in China, the general gloom around prospects in the world economy, and the rapidly falling oil price.

At some point, not too far away, the whole economy of the world has to change with a realisation that fairness is important and that resources are limited. Growth as a mantra for years will no longer be the watchword. Unabated growth and consumerism cannot be the way. We have finite resources and a finite world. Numerous surveys have shown that more money does not make us happier, in fact the opposite.

QSYed to 10m WSPR

As of a few minutes ago, I have now moved to 10m WSPR (TX 2W 20%, RX 80%) probably for the rest of the day. We have visitors due for lunch, so it is unlikely I can be in the shack for JT65 and JT9-1 2-way QSOs. I can monitor WSPR elsewhere in the house and pop into the shack if anything is amiss.

UPDATE 1156z:   So far this morning only G8VDQ (93km) has been spotted on 10m WSPR.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri Jan 22nd 2016

Solar flux is 103 and the sunspot number is 56 (K=3). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" today.

40m WSPR overnight

Although I spotted and was spotted in South America overnight, there were no USA stations logged on 40m WSPR overnight. Plenty of Europeans though. At the moment, I am still on 40m WSPR, but will soon QSY to 10m WSPR.