6 Jun 2017
Another pirate on 6m JT65?
A station in Georgia (nr Russia) was recently spotted on 6m JT65. This had a very odd call, so this was, I think, either a false decode or a pirate.
10m WSPR TX
13 unique WSPR spots of my 500mW beacon on 10m so far, all European and presumably Es.
UPDATE 1838z: Best DX report today on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) is by FY5KE (7110km) in French Guiana, South America. Es?
UPDATE 1838z: Best DX report today on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) is by FY5KE (7110km) in French Guiana, South America. Es?
First JAs this season on 6m JT65
Copied a couple of Japanese stations early this morning on 6m JT65, first this season - JA5FFJ (9453km) and JG3QZN (9388km). Openings on 6m to Japan from Europe happen at this time of year. One possibility is E layer ionisation by mesospheric clouds which form high up at this time of year in the north. See my web page on this at https://sites.google.com/
I am sure there is more JT65 activity these days. It is better than CW. With PSK reporter maps (you need to check you WSJT-X v1.7 settings) you can see where you are reaching and the stations you are receiving.
A spot of a South American earlier on 6m JT65 was probably a pirate (unusual time), although it is just possible by Es.
I am sure there is more JT65 activity these days. It is better than CW. With PSK reporter maps (you need to check you WSJT-X v1.7 settings) you can see where you are reaching and the stations you are receiving.
A spot of a South American earlier on 6m JT65 was probably a pirate (unusual time), although it is just possible by Es.
5 Jun 2017
IC7300 and a slow death?
Recently, Rob Sherwood gave an interesting video presentation on disruptive technology in our hobby. In it he quoted the number of ICOM IC7300 transceivers sold in the first year. If I recall correctly, 11000 (ish) were sold in year one. Apparently, this is good. If the IC7300 SDR based radio sold this number, I'd guess Yaesu and Kenwood sold far fewer of their units.
Incidentally, when I was involved in radio pager design in the late 1990s, we made this number in one day!
As we get older, we can expect the numbers to fall away. People die and fewer new rigs get sold. In the end the Japanese manufacturers will decide it is just not worth their while as the profit margins are too small. Expect progressively fewer new models as the years go forward.
OK, in some countries there are younger people entering the hobby, but certainly here in the UK amateur radio is an old mans hobby and in 20-30 years we'll be gone.
One thing we'll see is cost cutting. There will be a move to SDR technology, as this will allow good performance for less money.
Expect dealers to dwindle and there to be fewer radio magazines. The hobby will be quite different in 2040.
Once again, I am grateful to Southgate News for this link.
See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/june/disruptive-technologies.htm#.WTVAW7pFzIU .
Incidentally, when I was involved in radio pager design in the late 1990s, we made this number in one day!
As we get older, we can expect the numbers to fall away. People die and fewer new rigs get sold. In the end the Japanese manufacturers will decide it is just not worth their while as the profit margins are too small. Expect progressively fewer new models as the years go forward.
OK, in some countries there are younger people entering the hobby, but certainly here in the UK amateur radio is an old mans hobby and in 20-30 years we'll be gone.
One thing we'll see is cost cutting. There will be a move to SDR technology, as this will allow good performance for less money.
Expect dealers to dwindle and there to be fewer radio magazines. The hobby will be quite different in 2040.
Once again, I am grateful to Southgate News for this link.
See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/june/disruptive-technologies.htm#.WTVAW7pFzIU .
New microwave records
Southgate News reports on new microwave distance records in the UK on high microwave bands.
See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/june/new-122ghz-and-24ghz-uk-distance-records.htm#.WTUZ5LpFzIU .
See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/june/new-122ghz-and-24ghz-uk-distance-records.htm#.WTUZ5LpFzIU .
Sunspots and 10m - Monday June 5th 2017
Solar flux is 77 today and the sunspot number 23. A=3 and K=2. Plenty of Es about on 10m and 6m.
10m WSPR TX and 6m JT65 transceive
As usual, I am on 10m WSPR TX (500mW, 100%) and 6m JT65 transceiver (1W ERP). There is Es on both bands.
UPDATE 1015z: Best DX so far on 6m JT65 RX is EA8DBM (3015km).
UPDATE 1625z: Best DX on 10m WSPR TX is SM2BYC (2015km). On 6m JT65 I have supposedly received my 3rd Indonesian, 7A7YYZ (13582km), although I am a bit suspicious of these spots. They seem a very long way.
UPDATE 1956z: Although not showing up on my PSK reporter map, maybe I lost internet connectivity (?) but WP2B was copied around 30 minutes ago. I think this is the Virgin Is in the Caribbean.
UPDATE 1015z: Best DX so far on 6m JT65 RX is EA8DBM (3015km).
UPDATE 1625z: Best DX on 10m WSPR TX is SM2BYC (2015km). On 6m JT65 I have supposedly received my 3rd Indonesian, 7A7YYZ (13582km), although I am a bit suspicious of these spots. They seem a very long way.
UPDATE 1956z: Although not showing up on my PSK reporter map, maybe I lost internet connectivity (?) but WP2B was copied around 30 minutes ago. I think this is the Virgin Is in the Caribbean.
CQ Japan on 6m JT65
It is that time of year when 6m opens from Europe to Japan on 6m. This morning I see that Spanish stations are calling JA on 6m JT65. This path opens every year on 6m around this time. The conventional view is this is multi-hop Es. Sorry, but I don't go for this. It may have something to do with E layer ionisation as a result of noctilucent clouds?
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .
4 Jun 2017
20m? No, 6m!!
The photo shows the results so far on 6m JT65. It looks more like 20m, but this was 6m VHF today. Quite amazing conditions. And my antenna is a humble V2000 omni vertical fed with lossy CB coax.
UPDATE 2018z: WA1EAZ (5274km) in the USA was the first USA station spotted on the band here this year.
10m WSPR TX
The 500mW WSPR beacon has been running all day. Lots of European Es spots (see photo of the unique stations so far), although no reports from further afield.
UPDATE 1702z: So far, 20 unique stations spotting me on 10m WSPR with best DX 1734km
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
