BBQ weather? - NOT amateur radio

Sunset

Last evening we went to some friends for a BBQ. In all, there were 8 people there. This was the sunset over their back garden. It stayed dry, but like the rest of our summer here in the UK, the weather was mixed. Although the BBQ was cooked outside, we ate indoors.

Early Es

Both on 10m WSPR and 6m JT65, I am seeing evidence of early Es. This is a good sign. It is good to see I am being spotted already in Spain and Portugal on 6m JT65 and in northern Spain on 10m WSPR.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun July 10th 2016

Solar flux is 92 and sunspot number 63 (K=2). The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor". Despite the forecast this is an improving solar situation in the short-term. Overall, things are still sliding, but we are seeing improving short-term conditions due to the sun's rotation bringing more active regions into view.

QRP and QRP Club

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
72 QRP Net (Rendez-Vous) weekly report (July 4 to July 10, 2016)
Visitors of the week: R1OA, UT8NR, UF6V/RX3PR, RV3GM, UA1ADF, RA1M/mm, US3EN, UR5EFD, UR0ET, Z35M, UA1CEG, LA8BGA, UR7VT, RX3DIT, RU3NJC, US5ERQ
RX3DIT entered in the Honor Frequenters list
see full Visitors and Frequenters lists - www.club72.su
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Stroke - NOT amateur radio

Every now and then, I like to update readers on the after-effects of my stroke. After nearly 3 years I seem to be on a plateau now feeling giddy most of the time, my voice is poor, getting tired very quickly and feeling sick (slightly) nearly all the time. Drinking liquids is still hard. On the positive side, most things work and I can drive. Life carries on.

After all this time, I was expecting to be better. Sadly, I now have to learn to accept these disabilities are permanent. Things may still improve, but progress is likely to be very slow.

PA0RDT mini-whip

Several people use this very compact antenna on LF and MF for RX. It is an active antenna for receive only. I am thinking of buying one. There was an interesting article on http://www.amateurradio.com/ about optimum height mounting.

6m JT65 and 10m WSPR early today

There were several spots by OZ7IT (853km) on 10m WSPR late last night and one German spot, but so far today (Saturday) both 10m and 6m have been quiet with just a couple of Gs spotting me on 6m JT65. I hope things improve later.

UPDATE 1046z:  OK, it is early I know, but there is no early Es about here.  In past seasons I have noticed more northerly stations later in the Es season. This pattern seems to be there again on 10m and 6m.

Declining solar conditions

We have yet more evidence of the slide in solar conditions. We have had several days without any sunspots in recent days.  Next autumn when the Es is rare and 10m propagation depends on F2 propagation, we will see E-W propagation more rarely than last year on 10m.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

BREXIT again - NOT amateur radio

We voted in a referendum to leave the EU. Although the pound has fallen, the UK stock markets (FTSE 100 and FTSE 250) seem to have shrugged it off.

There is bound to be a period of uncertainty, but I think the EU is worried about its very survival. In the end the UK will be OK, although the "European Project" i.e. the move to a federal Europe is in grave danger. As I have said before, we want a common market but not a federal Europe. We want peace in Europe, but disagree on how best to keep the peace.

In summary, I think BREXIT is more about the future of the EU than the future of the UK.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat July 9th 2016

Solar flux is 86 today. Sunspot number is 55 (K=2) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".