PSK reporter not working?

Ever since I went on to JT65 on 10m or 6m I have used PSKreporter maps to see who I am spotting or who is spotting me. In the last hour when I look, I have been unable to connect. This may be just a blip, as I have never seen trouble before. By contrast, WSPRnet has been very unreliable at times, so much so that it has been totally unusable at times.

UPDATE 1158z:  PSKreporter seems to work on 6m. Maybe it is just that there are no active monitors and no spots on 10m? So, maybe it is me.

VLF Loading Coil

Joe VO1NA sent me a nice photo of his VLF loading coil (8.277kHz), which I have copied here. For those carrying out radiated tests at VLF you have to be able to wind big coils!  Sadly, the top coil arced in testing and had to be rewound.

10m JT65 today

At the moment I am on 10m JT65. There have been no spots so far. No Europeans by Es, no UK spots - nothing! I shall stick with it but without Es it could be a quiet day, HI.

 UPDATE 1026z: Still nothing RX or TX on 10m JT65 here.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday September 2nd 2016

Solar flux is 96 today and sunspot number is 66. K=3. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

Rally

Sunday 4 SEPTEMBER : TELFORD HAMFEST
Enginuity Technology Centre, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DU. Doors open at 10am. More information from Martyn, G3UKV on 01952 255 416. www.telfordhamfest.co.uk.

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

If going any distance it is worth contacting the organiser to check details.

End of main Es season?

It is now early September, which the UK Met Office calls the start of autumn. Nights are starting  to draw in and the days are shorter. With another day with no signs here of Es on 6m and 10m, I think we are definitely at the end of the Es season in the Northern Hemisphere. Yes there will still be some Es but nothing like the scale in the summer. Today, only UK spots on 10m WSPR and 6m JT65. Let us hope the F2 this autumn is not too bad on 10m. I think tomorrow I shall switch to 10m JT65.

JT65 - early success on 6m

Although there is no Es evident here yet, several UK stations have spotted me, and been spotted' on 6m JT65. Best DX spot is G1IDZ (182km).

UPDATE 0938z: On 10m WSPR nothing since M0DMC (15km) who was consistently spotting me until early this morning. I have checked that the 10m WSPR and 6m JT65 are synced to internet time.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday Sept 1st 2016

It is hard to believe it is already September! Solar flux is 95 and the sunspot number 91 which is much higher than we have seen lately. K=4. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

QST - thank you Rupert

Rupert G4XRV very kindly sent me a copy of September QST. Rupert reads my blog from time to time and saw that I had not seen the magazine in which my recent article appeared. This was very kind and much appreciated. Thank you Rupert.

Counting Sheep? - NOT amateur radio

This was one of my grandsons at our local farm shop and cafe. I wonder if he was counting sheep trying to get to sleep? He is eight, nearly nine.