10m WSPR

As the 10m antenna was not being used, I have been on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) since just after breakfast. OZ9QV (864km) is the only spot so far. This was at 1322z.

630m WSPR - not convinced of improvements

Overnight, I was on 630m WSPR (10mW ERP). In all, I gave out spots to 12 unique stations and received spots from 6 unique stations. I am not convinced that adding my 2 radials across the lawn and an additional earth near the shack has made any improvements. This suggests my mains ground is actually quite good.

6m FT8 RX

Since breakfast, I have been in 6m FT8 RX again. No spots as yet. Yesterday surprised me with several UK spots plus a German on 6m.

UPDATE 1542z: No 6m spots all day.

Sunspots - Wednesday October 18th 2017

Solar flux is 72 today and the sunspot number again zero. A=6 and K=2.

Back on 630m WSPR

About 5 minutes ago I returned to 630m WSPR. My ERP is about 10mW. I am interested to know if my extra earth and radials help. Last night was inconclusive.

UPDATE 2122z: Well, things are still inconclusive! I am getting a similar number of spots of my 630m WSPR signal as I am giving out. What does that tell me?

10m WSPR TX (500mW)

About 30 minutes ago I turned on the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. As yet, no spots.

UPDATE 1304z: Still no spots.

6m FT8

A few minutes ago, I switched to 6m FT8. As the 10m antenna is unused, I may go on 10m WSPR TX at the same time.

UPDATE 1002z: No spots.

UPDATE 1300z: 3 UK spots so far on 6m FT8.  Best DX is MW0LGE (229km) in South Wales. By the way, this is with WSJT-X V1.8.0 rc2 and a V2000 vertical omni.

UPDATE 1750z: Best 6m FT8 DX today is DK1QG (645km) near the Danish border.

Sunspots - Tuesday October 17th 2017

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number remains 12.  A=9 and K=2.

10m FT8 RX and FT8 rc3

As usual, I switched to 10m FT8 RX at breakfast. No spots as yet. Apparently WSJT-X v1.8.0 rc2 has been out for a month and now rc3 is available. There may be a proper release of V1.8 as early as next week. K1JT has been busy with neutron stars!

I may try 6m FT8 RX later. 10m FT8 seems to work a dream.

Last night on 630m WSPR

Overnight I was keen to see if the addition of 2 radials and an additional ground outside the shack improved my results on 630m WSPR. Well, I am not sure. Overall I got spots from 10 unique stations (my highest yet) and I spotted 10 unique stations. Clearly some new stations copied me, but I am not sure if this is my system or just that they have recently returned to 630m. Certainly my reports of "regulars" on RX seem no better. At the moment, I am doubtful of any improvement, although it needs a few more nights to get a better picture.