10m WSPR TX

Although I have been on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) since before breakfast, no spots so far.

Yesterday on 10m WSPR I was spotted 117 times by 12 unique stations, all Es around Europe.

UPDATE 1140z: Before going QRT about 30 minutes ago (storms) I had been spotted by no-one all day! Still thundering.

6m JT65 RX

At present, I am on 6m JT65 receive only. Best DX is Morocco. Storm risk may cause me to go QRT later.

Less 6m JT65 "beaconing"

As I have had a few comments about my 6m JT65 "beaconing" mode, I have decided to RX more and "beacon" less.  During the Es season, when just 1W ERP can span a very long way, occupying a JT65 channel (around 150Hz wide) can be seen as anti-social. When the band is quiet, I think sending "B G3XBM JO02" is fair, especially if well away from 50.286MHz but still within the JT65 window. PSK Reporter Maps show where my signal is being received.

For now, I shall continue with 10m WSPR TX (500mW) as this takes up far less bandwidth and the TX frequency is randomised within the 200Hz WSPR window.

Spotting pirates and false decodes on 6m JT65

When you are supposed to have received an exotic DX call on 6m JT65 it is worth looking to see who else copied the call and in what area. Some of the calls supposedly were seen only by me, suggesting false decodes. When several others spot the same DX call it is often a pirate nowhere near where the DX is supposed to be.

Some really long 6m JT65 DX is genuine: for example the 13 (thirteen) Japanese stations spotted a few weeks ago were genuine, but one has to be careful. Some exotic calls are actually pirates just down the road.

UK 60m band(s)

At present in the UK, we have a number of secondary bandlets at 60m, but not the WRC 15kHz wide allocation. Our primary user is the military who seem to be in no hurry to change things.

Purely personally, I'd like to see the WRC allocation available in the UK as I find multiple bandlets very confusing. I know we have more power and plenty of choice, but I am a QRPer and having a common allocation would be better in my personal view. I fully accept my views may not be widely accepted.

In the quiet years ahead the 60m band will become more and more important. I have said many times before, it would be good if CEPT countries allocated a wider 60m band. I think we are happy to be secondary users.

Sunspots - Wednesday July 5th 2017

Solar flux is 72 but the sunspot number zero again. A=4 and K=1.  Es on 6m, but nothing seen as yet on 10m WSPR, although I think this is my antenna largely.

6m JT65

I have been on 6m JT65 transceive (1W ERP) since before breakfast. Plenty of European Es spots.

10m WSPR

Since before breakfast, I have been on 10m WSPR TX (500mW). Although I have spotted Finnish stations on 6m JT65, there are no reports as yet of my 10m WSPR. As I have said before, my antenna is probably poorer on 10m, but also I think the 2 minute TX time causes some spots to be missed. It would be good to have a version of WSPR with 1 minute periods WSPR1? This would be an ideal mode for Es when signals can be strong but openings brief.

UPDATE 1728z:  9 unique spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR so far - all Europeans by Es. So far, just Denmark and Germany on 10m WSPR.

2m UKAC activity contest - July

Luckily I had an email reminding me of the 2m activity contest (UKAC) this evening. Best DX was the Isle of Wight at 213km. Not bad with 5W and an omni antenna in 45 minutes.

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