Southgate News has a bit more on the Irish 8m beacon. In the article it says there are only 2 beacons operational. I thought this made 3 adding to the ones in England and Denmark. I have since found out that the UK beacon is not operational.
See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/may/additional-information-on-the-new-40-mhz-beacon-in-ireland.htm#.Xr0ITmjYq00
Certainly, there has been at least 1 cross-band QSO 8m-6m between EI and OE. This looks a bit like the early days on 6m.
I do hope 8m becomes more widely available. It is ideal for Es and MS research. Maybe a few more should apply for special access even on spot frequencies and with power limits on a non-interference basis? This may be the first baby steps we have to take? There has been at least one 8m QSO between EI and LY with the LY getting special permission.
A very good resource seems to be John EI7GL's blog at https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html.
14 May 2020
6m FT8 again
At 0825z, I again switched on my 6m FT8 gear. As usual, 10W to the V2000 omni vertical. Just 4 G spots so far with no evidence here of Es at this time. Best DX spot so far was by M0DEP (224km). On 6m FT8 RX just M6KOG (48km) spotted so far.
UPDATE 0857z: Best spot of me is by G4AMT (485km) on the tip of Cornwall. 7 spots of me so far today.
UPDATE 1512z: 49 spots of my 10W 6m FT8 so far today. Es seems to be favouring Scandinavia so far.
UPDATE 1850z: Now spotted by 57 stations today so far. Best DX spot was by an EA8.
UPDATE 2015z: 76 spots of my 10W 6m FT8 TX today. Every time I get my CQs answered my WSJT-X goes to RX only until I turn on "enable TX" again. Still nothing from "across the pond". More stations are spotting me than I am spotting. As most stations will be using quite a lot more ERP than me (more power, gainy yagis) I find this surprising. My 6m noise floor is low.
UPDATE 0857z: Best spot of me is by G4AMT (485km) on the tip of Cornwall. 7 spots of me so far today.
UPDATE 1512z: 49 spots of my 10W 6m FT8 so far today. Es seems to be favouring Scandinavia so far.
UPDATE 1850z: Now spotted by 57 stations today so far. Best DX spot was by an EA8.
UPDATE 2015z: 76 spots of my 10W 6m FT8 TX today. Every time I get my CQs answered my WSJT-X goes to RX only until I turn on "enable TX" again. Still nothing from "across the pond". More stations are spotting me than I am spotting. As most stations will be using quite a lot more ERP than me (more power, gainy yagis) I find this surprising. My 6m noise floor is low.
13 May 2020
ICOM IC-705 delayed?
OH8STN reports that the long awaited ICOM IC-705 SDR QRP transceiver has been delayed. Apparently he saw this in a post by ICOM.
Reach Port - NOT amateur radio
These days Reach Lode is used mostly by pleasure boats and fishermen. As far as I know, their is no commercial traffic.
OFCOM news
Gosh, I get so excited I must watch my heart! OFCOM has announced that Jonathan Oxley is standing down. Contain yourselves. Rush to the OFCOM website for more stunning news.
6m FT8
In the hope that some transatlantic DX might be spotted, I stayed on 6m FT8 overnight. Sadly, no DX from "across the pond" was spotted.
This morning, there is already evidence of Es on 6m with 27 stations already spotting my 10W to the vertical omni as well as 1 QSO. It is 0915z.
UPDATE 1101z: 37 spots of me so far, mostly Es.
UPDATE 1450z: Now 103 spots of my 10W FT8 so far today on 6m FT8. No signs here of DX from outside Europe.
UPDATE 2235z: I am now QRT, so 6m is likely to see the biggest transatlantic opening this century tonight!!!
This morning, there is already evidence of Es on 6m with 27 stations already spotting my 10W to the vertical omni as well as 1 QSO. It is 0915z.
UPDATE 1101z: 37 spots of me so far, mostly Es.
UPDATE 1450z: Now 103 spots of my 10W FT8 so far today on 6m FT8. No signs here of DX from outside Europe.
UPDATE 2235z: I am now QRT, so 6m is likely to see the biggest transatlantic opening this century tonight!!!
HF conditions
Although there is debate about exactly when solar minimum is, we can be sure of one thing: HF conditions on the higher bands are not great.
It never fails to amaze me how some bands spring into life when there is a contest. Quite often it is people thinking conditions are poor, when the problem is often a lack of activity. How often has the CB band been busy when 10m appears dead?
It looks like the next solar peak, about 2024 or 2025 will be similar to the last one. This is far lower than the peaks in the late 1950s. Nonetheless, 10m will once again emerge as a great DX band in daylight.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hfcondx
It never fails to amaze me how some bands spring into life when there is a contest. Quite often it is people thinking conditions are poor, when the problem is often a lack of activity. How often has the CB band been busy when 10m appears dead?
It looks like the next solar peak, about 2024 or 2025 will be similar to the last one. This is far lower than the peaks in the late 1950s. Nonetheless, 10m will once again emerge as a great DX band in daylight.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hfcondx
QRPguys DSB rigs for digital modes
This is a QRP transceiver producing the equivalent of 500mW at least of SSB. On digital modes like FT8, this is capable of worldwide QSOs.
Being DSB, half the power is wasted, but this makes the rig very simple. On WSPR it would be even better, although there are far more people using FT8 than WSPR.
See https://qrpguys.com/
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