Sunspots and 10m - Wed May 11th 2016

Solar flux is 90 today. Sunspot number is 70 (K=2) and the forecast for 10m remains "poor" yet again. We might see a little N-S 10m F2 propagation. We live in hope.

At 0910z I switched from 630m WSPR to 10m WSPR.

70cm UKAC tonight

I very briefly listened on 70cm in the 70cm leg of the RSGB's activity contest - the UKAC that runs for 2.5 hours on Tuesday nights. Very few stations were heard, so I've given this one a miss. Really I have no suitable antennas for 70cm at the moment. On the last 70cm UKAC I just used my 2m halo.

Corsican wind? - NOT amateur radio

Years ago we spent a couple of great holidays on Corsica.

My wife is trying to do a quiz in the newspaper and is stuck on a wind in north east Corsica with the second letter "i" and the last letter "t". She is adamant these letters are right. I tried Googling to no avail. I thought I knew this, but obviously I don't.

Any thoughts?

The quiz was in yesterday's Daily Telegraph which we got free with our shopping.  I try to vary the paper and sometimes get The Guardian or The Times. I only get them as they cost us nothing - well some will (rightly) argue we pay through Waitrose's high prices. Aldi is certainly less expensive, but our local store is some way away.

American hotels and breakfast - NOT amateur radio

One of my first surprises on trips to the USA was that few (no?) hotels offer breakfast. They expect you to get this down the road. Most have places to eat very nearby, but if you are not used to this it comes as a surprise. I have an old work colleague who is in Indiana for a conference and he was caught out. The hotel and conference centre was a place to meet and sleep, but little else.

Once, in eastern Canada, we stopped for breakfast at a roadside cafe. There were 6 fried eggs and lots more on the plate. It was huge. We did not go hungry!

Arecibo EME in 1964?

Way back in my youth, I recall that USA amateurs got access to the huge 1000 foot dish at Arecibo in Puerto Rico for early EME (moonbounce) tests. This was extensively reported in QST and the RSGB Bulletin at the time. I think this was 1964 or 1965.  As the dish was huge, it gave smaller stations a chance with EME. EME started soon after WW2 I believe but for many this was their first chance.

In more recent times there have been other activations. EME takes real dedication but recent advances in digital techniques have made EME more accessible to smaller stations. It still needs a lot more power and antenna gain than I have!  Some of these activations are on YouTube.  See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1agnioRKJw .

Rain - NOT amateur radio

Well, perhaps we have had the good weather for the year!  Our nice dry and warm spell came to an end after dark last night with rain. The big high we had has slipped away and we are now (once again) in a stream of wet and windy weather dominated by low pressure systems. It is not that cold but several degrees lower than the highs we saw in the last few days. The sun has gone.

Part of the rear garden yesterday

Returned to 10m WSPR

About 20 minutes ago I returned to 10m WSPR (2W TX 20%, 80% RX) hopeful of some Es or even F2 propagation on the 10m band.  As yet, no 10m spots given or received.

Just G8LCO (58km) was spotting me on 630m WSPR. I have now gone QRT on MF (630m). It is doubtful I shall bother with this band again now until the autumn in better conditions with a lot more active stations.

UPDATE 1056z:  Still no spots on 10m WSPR, although it remains early in the day.

UPDATE 1115z:   Still no spots on 10m WSPR. If there is to be any Es on 10m today, then I would expect it soon.

UPDATE 1348z:  OH5XO (1943km) spotted a few times around lunch on 10m WSPR, so some Es today again. No F2 seen here today. No Es since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1922z:  EA1FAQ (1249km) spotted me very strongly on 10m WSPR at teatime. Es definitely. Against my better judgement I have returned to 630m WSPR (QRT on 10m now) and am being spotted on 630m WSPR by M1GEO (65km) and G8LCO (58km). I think M1GEO is a new reporter.

472kHz overnight

Last night I went on 472kHz WSPR again overnight. Unlike earlier in the year when I spotted lots of stations and lots spotted me, I only spotted one station last night (a German) and just one station spotted me. At this time of year and through the summer I think I am wasting my time. Maybe I should chose a different band for WSPR overnight now?

Sunspots and 10m - Tues May 10th 2016

Solar flux is 88 today and the sunspot number 68 (K=4). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor", although there was F2 propagation on 10m WSPR yesterday.

Life on Mars? - NOT amateur radio

See http://www.theworldweekly.com/reader/view/magazine/2014-12-18/there-may-be-life-on-mars-after-all/2909 .

It is just possible there is life on Mars.