Kazakhstan (again) on 6m JT65

UN7TW (5214km) was spotted on 6m JT65 this afternoon. This is a very long way on VHF. Although the considered view is this is multi-hop Es, I think some sort of chordal-Es is more probable.

UPDATE 1702z:  Still UN7TW as the best 6m DX.

6m JT65 spots

Rally in the Reading area

Sunday 17 JULY : McMICHAEL RADIO RALLY
Reading Rugby Football Club, Holme Park Farm Lane, Sonning Lane (B4446), Sonning on Thames, Reading RG4 6ST. The venue has free car parking and a talk-in station will be on air. Doors open at 9.30am and admission is £2. There will be trade stands, a car boot area and special interest groups. Catering and a licensed bar are available on site. A raffle will take place on the day. Details from Min Standen, 0771 577 1665. www.mcmichaelrally.org.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

I get sent these notifications and reproduce them in good faith.  It is worth contacting the organisers before travelling any distance to check the data is correct.

Nice, France - NOT amateur radio

My heart goes out to the people of France who suffered another nasty terrorist attack last night. This was an act of pure evil. There is no way that those who carry out such acts will be rewarded in an after-life.

The people who are encouraged to carry out such attacks on innocent men,women and children may have genuine grievances, but acts of evil are evil. Losing ones life to carry out acts of evil cannot be rewarded.

2m UKAC Results

See http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=144MHz%20UKAC&year=2016 .

It was gratifying to see I am more than half way up the AL section at 73rd out of 162, despite just using 5W, a small omni-antenna and only being active for about 40% of the time because of my poor voice. There are multipliers I know I could have worked, but did not. As you can tell, I only enter a few contests a year and go on the air because of the activity, not to seriously enter contests. I am definitely a "fair weather" contester. I am the same with my bird watching!

Re-sync

6m JT65 spots in last 12hrs (1W ERP)

At about 0655z I re-synced my PC to internet time. I also rebooted and re-synced my 10m WSPR beacon. So, I should be perfectly set up both on 10m WSPR and 6m JT65 for the rest of the day. It could be a while before my 10m WSPR beacon settles: this can take up to 20 minutes.

UPDATE 1000z:  So far this morning all the 6m JT65 spots have been from G stations with the best DX 219km. No Es seen here as yet on 6m. At this distance this is either tropo or aircraft reflection. On 10m just one Es spot so far at 0938z by EA1FAQ (1249km) in northern Spain.

UPDATE 1208z:  Plenty of Es about now on 6m and 10m.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday July 15th 2016

Solar flux is 95 today. Sunspot number is 54 (K=3) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation is yet again "poor".

Despite this, my 10m 500mW WSPR has been spotted over 10000km on 2 days recently.

Even when 10m seems "poor" it is often a lack of activity rather than poor conditions. Just check the CB bands just LF of 10m: if these are "humming" the chances are 10m could be too. Try a few long CQs or use a digital mode like PSK31, JT65, JT9-1 or WSPR. You could well get a nice surprise.

ZP4KFX copies me again on 10m WSPR

Just one spot by ZP4KFX (10277km) in Paraguay earlier this evening of my 500mW WSPR on 10m. Again, I am unsure of the propagation mode, but it was possibly a combination of F2 (or spread F) and Es. This is the second day he has copied me on 10m recently.

IC7300 Reviews

Both PW and the August RadCom have reviews of the ICOM IC7300. RadCom's is by Peter Hart and is the more "heavyweight" review.  Both rave it with Peter Hart saying it is "a superb radio" and "outstanding value" at £1050.

Rally reminder (2017)

14-16 JULY 2017: HAMTRONIC SHOW, FRIEDRICHSHAFEN
Messe, Friedrichshafen, Germany Trade stands, special interest groups and IARU Member Society's all have stands in the main hall. Large flea market. Lectures take place each day, some in English. There will be a large RSGB book stall. www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

This is a big event. Some have compared it with Dayton in the USA.Get it in your diaries well in advance!

See www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/  for details in English.

Mr Bean sacked - NOT amateur radio

The man, allegedly, who stabbed Boris Johnson - a possible UK Prime Minister candidate - in the back (metaphorically) has been sacked from the new UK Cabinet. I for one, although not a Conservative, agree with this. There is no place in the UK government for such people. I am told Mr Gove was a bright man. His recent behaviour has left me speechless.