Return to 630m WSPR

After a disappointing session on 6m FT8, I have returned to 630m WSPR (10mW ERP, 20%) for the evening and overnight.

UPDATE 1706z: M0NKA (154km), G4ETG (44km) and G4FGJ (44km) have copied my 10mW ERP.

UPDATE 1756z: Now PA0RDT (243km) has spotted me.

Fuel prices upwards? - NOT amateur radio

Looking at commodity prices, it looks like the wholesale price of oil is moving upwards. At the moment prices are well below prices a few years ago, but the trend seems to be upwards. Expect higher pump prices in 2018.

630m WSPR overnight

My 10mW ERP WSPR reached LA3EQ (769km) again last night, but overall it was disappointing as only 4 stations spotted me and I only spotted 10 uniques.

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.