Sunspots and 10m - Sat June 25th 2016

Solar flux is little changed at 76. Sunspot number is again zero (K=2) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor". Hopefully Es will liven up both 10m and 6m again today.

Amsterdam - NOT amateur radio

The last few days we were in Amsterdam, Holland. We traveled there by train, through the Channel Tunnel on Eurostar. Our journey took us through France, Belgium (Brussels) and Holland. My wife and I have "divisions" in cities, with Amsterdam in our top division - we have been there 6 times now. Having had a stroke nearly 3 years ago, I found negotiating the cobbled streets and bikes made me very dizzy. Despite this we had a great few days. Now that I'm back you can expect blog updates most days.

BREXIT the reality - NOT amateur radio

So the referendum has taken place and the UK people have chosen to leave the EU. All of my close family voted to remain IN. The future of the UK is unknown. Indeed, the future of the EU may now be very different. All I hope is that we remain friends with our neighbours in Europe. We have always wanted the EU trade, but we have never sought closer political ties.  The future is ours to forge and we must chose a good future that unites its people not divides them.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri June 24th 2016

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot number is zero (K=2) and the forecast for 10m propagation is "poor".  As there is thunder about I shall return to 10m WSPR and 6m JT65 tomorrow.

Been away

As you will have noticed, I was away for a few days so there were no blog entries for the last few days. I have now returned home, so normal service should be resumed. We all need breaks!

QRP and QRP Club

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
This week visitors: UA1ADF, UR7VT, UR0ET, R1OA, RU6UR, UA1CEG, UA4NU, UR5EFD, OH6NPV, RU3NJC, DL2KI, US3EN, ON6KZ, DL8LN, PA0XAW, HB9WG, F6HFX
See full report and comments on the blog page   - http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
See all Visitors and Frequenters lists also "72 QRP Rendez-Vous" round table schedule on the Club 72 web page - www.club72.su
Warning!  If you logged even one QRP QSO in the World QRP Day of June 17  fill  the declaration form on the "W QRP Day" page of the Club 72 site, please. See all last years results on the same page.
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Sunspots and 10m - Monday June 20th 2016

Solar flux is 82 today. Sunspot number is 48 (K=1) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation is "poor" yet again.

IN, OUT shake it all about!

If we vote to leave the EU I shall not be too surprised.

The REMAIN campaign has been very negative and focused on the harm to the UK if we vote to leave and not the benefits of being "in the club".  A vote to leave will probably mean that Scotland will want another referendum and lead to the break-up of the UK. If we leave the EU then I think others will follow and the Euro will collapse.

It is entirely possible we could vote to remain in the EU. One thing is certain: the outcome is too close to call. It is possible David Cameron will continue as UK Prime Minister for years to come. On the other hand we could see Boris as PM as early as November. What is certain is that politics is changing. If we leave I suspect a lurch to the right politically will occur. This is happening in many EU nations and this is dangerous.

Although my XYL and I voted IN (remain) the outcome could go either way. The EU cannot continue as a weak protectionist club. It has to change or it will fall apart.

6m JT65 versus 6m WSPR

Although WSPR is better able to dig signals out of the noise I find JT65 far more effective on 6m than WSPR. I think there are 2 factors:

1. Activity levels on 6m JT65 far exceed those on 6m WSPR so openings get noticed.
2. The 1 minute transmit cycle probably means that short burst openings get detected. WSPR needs nearly 2 minutes.

In all, I like 6m JT65. Also, JT65 is in the main a 2-way mode although I tend to use it as a 1-way beaconing mode because of my poor health, looking on PSKreporter to see where I was copied and where I am spotting.

To yesterday mid-afternoon I had received 108 reports in 18 countries in the last 24 hours on 6m JT65 with 1W ERP.

Continued success on 6m JT65

It is now 1900z and I am still on 10m WSPR and 6m JT65. On 10m WSPR there are Es spots from across Europe, but 6m JT65 seems to be giving me lots of spots from across Europe too by Es. There is no doubt in my mind that JT65 is a much better mode on 6m because of the much higher activity levels.