Es - don't give up!

With another day with respectable Es on both 10m and 6m, the Es season is not yet over. OK there are probably fewer openings than a few months ago, but there are openings and when these bands are good for Es they are good. I recommend WSPR or JT65 as a way of detecting these openings. I find JT65 better on 6m as the levels of activity are greater. WSPR is theoretically able to work with even weaker signals. JT9-1 works on 10m and occupies far less bandwidth than JT65, which is already quite narrow and much better than CW.

UPDATE 1155z:  Quite a few Es spots from Europe on 6m JT65. I'll probably switch to 10m JT65 shortly.

UPDATE 1825z: 10m Es has returned. Just been spotted in Sweden.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday August 28th 2016

Solar flux is a respectable 84 today and the sunspot number is 52. K=1. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor". With promising Es, all is not lost.

Early Es on 10m and 6m

I stayed on 10m JT65 overnight but switched to 6m JT65 around 0800z. There has been early Es on both bands, which is encouraging.

Chile - best DX tonight on 10m JT65

https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html

Quite late tonight at 2116z I copied CA3LMO (11745km) in Chile on 10m JT65. This was way after dark too.  The rig is still on, so further DX is still possible.

UPDATE 2145z:  Lots of European Es now. This was very late but it is as good as any day this season now.

Storm risk gone - 6m JT65 in the morning (probably)

The storm risk has moved away over the Wash and into the North Sea. There are still storms in north Norfolk but they are moving away NE. So, I shall remain on 10m JT65 this evening.  I could stay on overnight, but I shall probably go QRT later and come back tomorrow breakfast time on 6m JT65. There are fewer DX opportunities on 6m than 10m but more Gs on 6m than 10m JT65.

10m - an amazing band!

OK, so the sun is less active now but 10m is still filled with surprises! After a fairly average day with a few Es spots on JT65 from Scandinavia I get spotted in Southern Brazil! Now the band is open to Latvia, Sweden, Finland and Belarus to name a few, presumably by Es.

Football - NOT amateur radio

My old "local" team, Plymouth Argyle, had a dreadful start to the football season but have now won the last 3 games and are currently in the play-off places. Mind you, it is very early days. My current "local" team, Cambridge United, is currently at the very bottom of the league. Unless they buck up they could lose their league place at the end of the season.

Brazil (again) on 10m JT65

Another theory bites the dust....

PU2POP (9582km) has copied my QRP 10m JT65 in the last 20 minutes. As there was very little 10m Es here, this suggests F layer only. I was not expecting to reach South America today, although I was hopeful.

UPDATE 1545z:  10m Es now to Sweden and Finland.

UPDATE 1608z:  The storms seem to have missed us, passing over Peterborough and Northampton. Mind you, I am still watching the maps with concern as I think there could be further risks later. New Es from Scandinavia in the last few minutes.

Back on air - 10m JT65

Whilst keeping one eye on the storm map, I have returned to JT65, this time on 10m, hoping to catch some DX to South America. Judging by the lack of Es in the right direction, I'd be quite surprised if my QRP 10m JT65 got that far today.

At the moment, the storms are giving us a miss, although things will get disconnected as soon as the risk increases. See http://www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=en .

UPDATE 1505z:  A few minutes ago I was spotted on 10m JT65 by SM5EPO (1347km). Es I assume.

Rally on Bank Holiday Monday

Monday 29 AUGUST : HUNTINGDONSHIRE ARS ANNUAL RALLY
Ernulf Academy, St. Neots PE19 2SH Further info from rally organiser Malcolm Hirst on 01480 214282 or by email to henry_hirst@hotmail.com

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

Remember to contact the organisers to check details if travelling any distance.