Sunspots and 10m - Sunday September 11th 2016

Solar flux is 90 today and the sunspot number 66. With K=0 we could be in for reasonable 10m F layer propagation later. The 10m F2 forecast remains "poor" however.

6m JT65 and 10m WSPR this morning

As I tend to get better results on 6m JT65 (in the UK) than on 10m, I decided on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR today, at least until this afternoon. 4 UK spots of my 2W ERP already on 6m JT65 plus a couple of UK 6m spots of others. Nothing yet on 10m WSPR apart from an early spot by G4KPX (14km) who I think must have changed bands or gone QRT. No Es as yet and no F2.

UPDATE 1006z: I see that LB5JE (1152km) was spotted on 6m JT65 at 0934z. This must have been Es. Sept 11th but still seeing some Es on 6m.

UPDATE 1240z: 5 UK spots of my 6m QRP JT65 before I QSYed to 10m.

Late 10m Es

It is now well after dark but as recently as 40 minutes ago I was being spotted on 10m JT65 in Germany. This is late in the year for Es and late in the day. WSPR and JT65 are ideal for "smoking out" such openings. Personally I find beaconing with JT65 more productive on 10m than WSPR even though it is not as good theoretically. This is because there is more activity.

Small cycle 25 peak?

See http://www.arrl.org/news/view/higher-bands-will-pick-up-this-fall-data-suggest-smaller-solar-cycles-lie-ahead?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

The next QST will see some "navel gazing" on the small matter of, "what size will the next solar peak be?".

In truth, no-one is quite sure, but the science points to a minimum around 2020 and a small next peak. This was reported in Amateur Radio Weekly. We can be pretty sure the large peaks seen in my youth will never be repeated in my lifetime. Sad, but that's life and we have to make the best of it.

Time to change modes and band

With very good Es on both 10m WSPR and 6m JT65, I think it is time to move over to 10m JT65 just in case there is some F layer DX about. I am off to go QRT on 10m WSPR and start up 10m JT65 and do a manual re-sync to internet time "just in case".

UPDATE 1735z:  Now QRT on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR and active (2W) on 10m JT65. There are several South Americans active on 10m JT65 so we'll have to see if there is any propagation.

UPDATE 2006z: Just EU7KBB (1931km) in Belarus spotted on 10m JT65. No South Americans. It is still not too late, but I think South American 10m JT65 spots are unlikely today.

Renovation - NOT amateur radio

For over 40 years there has been a grade 2 listed former farmhouse empty in our village. Slowly it was going to ruin.  Over the last 2 years it has been extensively renovated and is now for sale. Today was an "open house" so we went to have a look around. Someone will like it and buy it. It is on the market for just under £1M. It would make a good Bed & Breakfast house or large family home. It is just across the road from the church. This picture shows the view from one of the bedrooms.

10m WSPR and 6m JT65

Since before breakfast I have been beaconing on 10m WSPR (TX only) and active on 6m JT65 (RX and TX). So far just G4KPX (14km) spotting me on 10m WSPR. G4VXE (136km) is the only station spotted on 6m JT65 so far. No Es on either band.

UPDATE 1034z: There is now Es evident on both 10m and 6m with spots of my signals from Austria, Finland, Denmark and Germany.

UPDATE 1050z:  Loads of Es 6m JT65 spots of my QRP now. The latest are a couple of spots from Poland.

UPDATE 1222z:  Best RX DX on 6m JT65 so far is UX4UA in Ukraine and OH6XG (Finland). On 10m WSPR I have been widely copied in Scandinavia with my 500mW.

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday September 10th 2016

Solar flux is 91 today and the sunspot number 65. K=2. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation is (yes you guessed!) "poor".

Waters and Stanton taking orders for IC-R8600 receiver

See http://hamradiostore.co.uk/ic-r8600-wideband-base-station-receiver.html

I see that Waters and Stanton is taking £25 deposits to secure this new wideband RX covering 10kHz to 3GHz. It is based on the IC-7300 transceiver but can receive a number of digital modes. I'd like to show a picture, but copyright prevents this. It looks a very interesting RX.

It would be good to know the cash price.

There is at least one YouTube video of this RX.

From the W&S site:

"The IC-R8600 replaces the IC-R8500 wideband receiver and will feature the technology incorporated into Icom’s best selling IC-7300. The IC-R8600 will be able to receive a wide frequency range from 0.01-3000MHz frequency in analogue and various digital modes (D-STAR, P25, NXDN and dPMR). The IC-R8600 will feature a larger 4.3 inch touch screen display which will feature fast moving spectrum scope and waterfall display"

Amateur Radio Blog

See http://www.amateurradio.com/.

There is usually something of interest on this blog, so I take a look most days.