Sunspots - Monday December 18th 2017

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number zero. A=24 and K=4. Not promising on higher HF.

6m FT8

After a brief try on 6m MSK144, I am now on 6m FT8 RX for the day. As yet, no spots.

UPDATE 1302z:  Just M0HUI (122km) spotted so far today.

UPDATE  1600z: A very quiet day. ON5LGS (264km) is the only other 6m spot today. I assume this is aircraft reflection rather than tropo.

Ultra tiny mobile phones

Years ago I visited someone in prison and the searches on the way in were very thorough. Apparently there is a real issue with drugs and smuggled mobile phones. So, there is a ready market for mobiles phones that cannot be detected when hidden within the body.

Imagine my surprise when I could easily find such phones sold via Amazon! OK, I am sure some users just want a really tiny phone, but these are aimed, allegedly, at the illegal market in phones to be smuggled into prisons. Should these be banned?

See https://www.amazon.co.uk/J8-World-Smallest-Mobile-changer/dp/B00O586YB2/ref=pd_sim_107_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0HQM62NG9CBSKACSHZMN

Back on 630m WSPR (10mW ERP, 20%)

After a few days and nights Geminids MS hunting on 6m MSK144, I have returned to 630m WSPR. Spots out to 154km so far.

UPDATE 2240z: Just 2 stations have copied my 10mW ERP so far tonight. EA5DOM (1525km) is the best DX copied on RX so far.

Heavy frost - NOT amateur radio

This morning we awoke to a very heavy frost. It was quite late before it became milder.

This photo was taken last week and shows the windmill "next door" on a cold and frosty morning.

Most snow has now gone with just the remnants of snowmen. Already this is a much colder winter than we have seen for several years.

Es DX

As mentioned yesterday, Es DX can be spectacular at times. I am not a great believer that these really long paths are multi-hop Es. Far more likely are some kind of chordal-hop DX paths.

At this time of year Es is best in the southern hemisphere in places like South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. As well as the usual 1 and 2-hop Es keep a watchful eye out for real DX.

Last season, JT65 was useful on 6m. FT8 is not as good on weak signals, so I am not sure what mode to try next summer here in Europe.  I have had little success on 6m WSPR.

Last summer I copied loads of continents on 6m JT65 with just a simple vertical omni antenna by Es. There was one morning when a whole stack of JAs were copied "over the pole".  No wonder they call this the magic band. At any point in the solar cycle it can surprise us. Often there is just white noise, then something special appears.

Sunspots - Sunday December 17th 2017

Time is really racing!

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot number (you guessed!) zero again.  A=4 and K=5. HF conditions look distinctly unpromising today.

6m MSK144

At the moment, I am still monitoring 50.280MHz MSK144 RX. In the last 12 hours 5 unique stations have been received in 3 countries with best DX OZ4VV (772km) in northern Denmark. These could be random MS or aircraft reflections. Either way it just shows that 6m DX can be worked at any time of the year. In the last day 12 uniques in 6 countries.

UPDATE 1515z: 8 uniques in 4 countries on 6m MSK144 in the last 12 hours.

UPDATE 1712z: 9 uniques in 5 countries now in last 12 hours on 6m MSK144.

Amateur radio when driving

My son's brother-in-law was killed by a distracted driver. My view is DO NOT do anything that will distract you when driving. Even fiddling with the car radio is a distraction. Operating amateur radio gear on the move, even hands-free, is a no-no in my view.

In a split second a life can be changed for ever or ended. The knock-on impacts the family, friends and the driver FOR EVER. Amateur radio is just a hobby. Pull over to operate /M. It can wait.

Cycle 25

We are approaching the next solar minimum. Opinions vary on the next peak, but most seem to agree it will not be great. Thank goodness for digital modes which allow us to make the best of poor conditions. Es, which peaks in May, June and July in the northern hemisphere, is often as good or better when F layer propagation is poor.  Es DX can be spectacular.

See http://spaceweather.com/