10m FT8

For a change, I decided to go on 10m FT8 today. A quick FT8 CQ brought a reply from DL2MEL (871km) but no other spots.

On 10m FT8 TX I use 2.5W which should be widely copied in Europe by Es. Initial conclusions are that there are far fewer on 10m FT8 than 6m FT8 or that my 10m antenna is quite poor. Of course, it could be conditions on 10m Es are not as good as yesterday when I was widely spotted on 10m WSPR with the same antenna and 500mW.

At this time of year I would have expected 10m FT8 to be quite busy.  Anyway, I shall stick with 10m FT8 today and see what happens.

UPDATE 0945z: Did I speak too soon? Now spotted 12 different stations on 10m FT8 RX all over Europe and the Canary Isles.

UPDATE 1336z: At the moment I am spotting a similar number of stations to those spotted on 6m FT8 yesterday. Most of these look like Es.

UPDATE 1928z: Seven South Americans spotted on 10m FT8 today so far. Time to go QRT now.

2m UKAC contest last week

Results for this evening activity contest (held a week ago) have now been published.  Because of my poor voice I only stay on for a short period.

From the results it shows I've climbed to 67th out of 153 in the low power section. Conditions were good last week and a German near Hamburg was worked which is not bad for 5W and a big wheel.

Although very far from a "real" contester, this and the 70cm UKAC contests are friendly and enjoyable: they are good for my voice and often get me a few new squares.

Met Office weather app feedback - NOT amateur radio

The Met Office asked me for feedback on their app, so I sent some.  Sadly, I got back a computer generated reply.

Last night at 9.40pm it said, "60% chance of rain at 10pm and 80% chance of rain at 11pm". Rain? What rain? At 10pm it had changed to a 10% chance at 10pm and 11pm.

Despite very expensive super computers they appear to have not a clue. OK, I know UK weather is complex but unless we have a period of long hot weather looking at forecasts is a joke.

60m (5MHz) in Slovenia

Southgate News reports that class A licencees will have access to the WRC band. When will the UK get this band? OK, it is only a secondary allocation and only 15kHz wide, yet becoming widely available.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/july/60m-band-allocation-for-slovenia.htm#.W02-cPZFzIU .

6m FT8 RX

This morning, I am exclusively monitoring 6m FT8 RX. Lots of southern European Es, but nothing outside Europe as yet.

UPDATE 1000z: Canary Islands spotted (Es?) - EA8ACW (2988km). Lots of Es from Europe. So far, 51 different stations in 13 countries spotted on 6m FT8 RX this morning.

UPDATE 1507z: Over 100 different stations in 25 countries and 2 continents spotted on 6m FT8 RX so far today. Certainly for European Es on 6m, today has been a good day.

UPDATE 1940z: Best DX today spotted on 6m FT8 RX is FM5AN (6792km) on Martinique in the Caribbean. This station was widely spotted in the USA and Europe, so I am pretty sure it is genuine.

10m WSPR TX (500mW)

My WSPR beacon has been on since just after breakfast with lots of Es spots already.  Yet again (could well be Es) the best DX is from EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Isles who has spotted me 17 times today already by 0950z.

UPDATE 1512z: Although there has been plenty of Es about I have received spots from only 3 different stations in 10m WSPR today. I might try 10m FT8 tomorrow. Certainly on 6m FT8 seems more popular.

UPDATE 2044z: 16 different stations spotted my 10m WSPR 500mW beacon today.

Sunspots - Tuesday July 17th 2018

Yet again, the sunspot number is zero. We can expect days without sunspots in the next few years as we approach the solar minimum. Next winter could be dire with little Es to liven things up. Solar flux is 72. A=9 and K=3.

Another good Es day?

With early spots on both 10m and 6m, today promises another good day on Es. We will see!

Which planet? - NOT amateur radio

So, the US president has met the Russian leader and, allegedly, blamed the FBI rather than Russia for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Now, I have no wish to interfere in US politics, but to those of us in the rest of the world his judgement seems "bizarre". This is being charitable.

With BREXIT, one could argue who am I to judge? Just my opinion, but shared by many.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44852812 .

PSK reporter maps - changes

PSKreporter is used often here to see what is being spotted on 6m FT8. Today I went on and there appears to be some changes to the maps. For now, I am reserving judgment. I quite liked the "old" style, but perhaps I am just a boring old man! Some would be ruder!

I have not tried the maps with other modes. Usually I choose "FT8" from the drop down menu.

See https://www.pskreporter.info/pskmap.html