Early 10m Es

At the moment I remain on 10m JT65 but may return to 10m WSPR and 6m JT65 tomorrow. This morning there was early Es on 10m with my signal spotted in Germany 4 hours ago.

UPDATE 1248z: No shortage of 10m Es spots today on JT65 with my QRP being widely copied across southern Europe.

GQRP SPRAT

As I have said many times before, if I had to give up every other amateur radio magazine I would leave GQRP SPRAT. At £6 for 4 issues a year it remains excellent. It is filled with constructional articles in every issue. If you are a member you can get all the back issues on a DVD at a very good price. It is almost worth joining GQRP just to buy this DVD. To non-members it is £12 plus postage. I can promise you will not be disappointed with GQRP Club membership.

See http://www.gqrp.com/sprat.htm .

Sunspots and 10m - Wed August 10th 2016

Solar flux is 94 today and sunspot number is 72. K=3. Yet again the 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

70cm UKAC contest

Last Tuesday I was away so I was unable to enter the 2m UKAC activity contest as usual. Tonight was the 70cm leg so I went on for a few minutes using 5W to the 2m halo. I only worked one station G4FEV in IO92RG. A few more stations were heard but not worked.

Swifts going? - NOT amateur radio

In May they arrive and for a few months the swifts are screaming in the skies above us. Then, you realise they are there no longer. I think they start to move this month.

I am sure there are swifts still around but there are fewer than a few weeks ago. Just weeks ago there were more than 20 overhead. Let us hope I see their return in the spring. To me, the screaming swifts are the making of an English spring and summer.

This year there were fewer swallows and house martins, but I saw plenty of swifts.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swift/  .

Spotted in Brazil and Paraguay on 10m JT65

My QRP 10m JT65 has been spotted in Paraguay and Brazil this evening. Last night I spotted S.America but tonight it was my turn to be copied. The most distant report was by ZP4KFX (10277km) some 90 minutes ago.

UPDATE 2012z:  Copied LU3VCC (12470km) in western Argentina as the best DX on 10m JT65 this evening.

UPDATE 2026z:  In all 9 South Americans were spotted on 10m JT65 this evening.

Back on 6m JT65 tomorrow?

There seems to be more JT65 on 6m than 10m. As there is still Es about, I may return to 6m tomorrow. I can operate on 10m WSPR and 6m JT65 at the same time but if I want to use 10m JT65 I have to use the FT817 and PC. For 10m WSPR I can use the stand-alone WSPR beacon leaving the FT817 and PC for 6m JT65 use.

Alibris - NOT amateur radio

Yet again, I had an offer from Alibris today. Every week , I usually get an offer of some kind, usually 10-20% off. This lot are a joke.

Early 10m Es

As you may recall, I moved from WSPR to JT65 on 10m yesterday for a change. This morning there was early Es with spots from France and Germany. In theory, JT65 is a little bit worse than WSPR but I think there are more people internationally than on WSPR. With the highish sunspot number it is possible I will be spotted in South America later.

UPDATE 0944z:  Just been spotted by EA3ZE (1189km) in NE Spain on 10m JT65.

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday August 9th 2016

Solar flux is 95 today and sunspot number is a respectable 91. K=3. Yet again the 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".