10m WSPR TX (500mW)

At the moment I am on 10m WSPR TX and 6m FT8 RX. 

The W5OLF beacon is totally self contained (no PC needed) and about the size of a pack of cards. It is on 100%, but randomly changes frequency each slot. In the past it has been spotted in every continent with simple, wire antennas.

No spots yet at 1037z, although I have only just turned it on.

UPDATE 1137z: Just 4 WSPR 10m spots so far by F4CWN (969km).

UPDATE 1303z: 16 unique stations spotting me today.

UPDATE 1640z: 23 spots of me so far today.

First ever photograph of a person - NOT amateur radio

Photo from Wikipedia Commons

Recently I posted a photo of a man reported to be born in 1746. 

The first ever photo to capture a person is supposed to be a Daguerreotype taken in 1838. This is a street scene and shows a person having his shoes cleaned. This person had no idea he was making history that day! The photo was taken out of a window in Paris. The image here does not do it justice. The man having his shoes cleaned is in the bottom left.

Photography was invented (I believe) in the 1820s. Just imagine if we had had photography centuries earlier. Samuel Pepys would have been busy!

See https://medium.com/thinksheet/the-first-ever-photograph-of-a-person-56ab2142819b .

See also http://www.daguerreobase.org/en/knowledge-base/what-is-a-daguerreotype#:~:text=The%20daguerreotype%20was%20the%20first,on%20a%20silvered%20copper%20plate.&text=The%20daguerreotype%20is%20accurate%2C%20detailed%20and%20sharp.

6m FT8 humming

Quite a few stations are calling the Far East on 6m, suggesting there is propagation from Western Europe to the Far East on 6m. This regularly happens at this time of year. 

It seems linked to noctilucent clouds that form about now, although I am not clear about the mechanism. It looks like E layer propagation, although I think multi-hop Es idea is wrong in my view! There would have to be so many hops and this makes this so improbable. It would not surprise me if we discovered some new E layer mechanism in the next few years. 

There are quite a few incorrect myths about. Never believe all you are told!! Look at facts and make up your own mind.

UPDATE 0908z: 149 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX including 2 in South Korea and 1 in Japan, JA6SBW (9053km) being the furthermost. Although better equipped stations have been spotting and working the Far East, this is the first time I have spotted Japan on 6m since 2017. This is my first time I have spotted Japan on 6m FT8. I think my V2000 vertical omni needs signals to be strong to copy them although at -15dB S/N this station was quite strong here. On TX (2.5W) 37 spots, but no spots from the Far East unsurprisingly!

UPDATE 1112z:  50 spots of my 6m FT8 (2.5W) so far today.

UPDATE 1305z:  92 spots of me so far today on TX. 247 spots on RX plus several QSOs.

UPDATE 1644z:  133 stations have spotted me so far today on TX.  330 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX today.

Poppy - NOT amateur radio

This was on our patio. We have seen several wild poppies this year. This one self-seeded.

Sunspots - Monday July 5th 2021

Solar flux is 91 and the SSN 60.  A=3 and K=1.

10m WSPR TX (500mW)

When I am on 6m FT8, I keep forgetting that my 10m antenna is not in use!  So, I am on 6m FT8 (2.5W) and 10m WSPR with the 500mW W5OLF WSPR beacon. Much to my surprise I got 3 spots on my first transmission with the furthermost TF4X (1995km) on 10m WSPR.  I shall leave the 10m WSPR TX running to see what other reports come in.

UPDATE 1242z: Glad I went on! Now being spotted in South America with 500mW.

UPDATE 1337z: Plenty of WSPR spots on 10m today. 

UPDATE 1534z:  Spots today on 10m WSPR by 13 different stations with the furthermost FY5KE (7110km).

UPDATE 1737z:  32 different stations have spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon today so far. Did someone say everyone now uses FT8? If so, they are wrong!! I like FT8, but have been blown away by the WSPR spots.

UPDATE 2000z:  My 500mW WSPR on 10m spotted by 42 stations today. See table.

Still 7 - NOT amateur radio

We first saw these cygnets more than a week ago. Good to see there are still 7. This was at Anglesey Abbey. 

6m FT8 with 2.5W and the V2000 omni

As the antenna and coax were faulty, I had not been on 6m for some weeks until just now. The FT8 slot on 6m is filled with Es stations from Europe. I am on TX too. I wonder who I shall work? 

Within a very short time (a few minutes) I had been spotted across Europe by 25 stations and I have spotted 55.

UPDATE 1224z:  120 stations have spotted me and 2 QSOs.  225 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX. When open, 6m Es is every bit as good as 10m in my view.

UPDATE 1411z: 235 stations spotted today on 6m FT8 RX. 5T5PA (3791km) in Mauritania, West Africa, remains the best DX spotted on 6m FT8 RX although I see Caribbean and USA stations are being worked. As I said before on this blog, a decent beam antenna at a reasonable height could be worth 10dB over my station, which can be a big difference on some signals. It means signals that I cannot even detect become workable.

UPDATE 1542z: Furthermost spotted today on 6m FT8 is A71AM (5138km)

UPDATE 1744z:  412 stations spotted today on 6m FT8. 

Stations spotted today
on 6m FT8 RX

UPDATE 1922z:  530 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX with the furthermost PV8DX (7830km). On 6m TX FT8 (2.5W) I have been spotted by 212 stations with several QSOs around Europe.

238 stations
spotted my 2.5W
6m FT8 TX today 

UPDATE 2122z:  Spotted by 238 stations using 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. The furthermost was a YU on RX in Niger, south of the Sahara (4200km). I was going to go QRT, but 6m is still wide open.

Nice colours - NOT amateur radio

The herbaceous borders at nearby Anglesey Abbey are particularly good at the moment. I love the mix of these colours. 

Sporadic E (Es) and wet string

 At this time of year we get Es in the northern hemisphere. What amazes me is how strong signal can be. This is not always the case, but it is not uncommon to get S9+ signals with low power, even on FM. Es can be particularly effective on 10m and 6m. Often the season goes on into September. Very simple antennas can be effective. Yesterday I was happily decoding FT8 signals with my antenna wire on the ground on 10m. A dipole made of wire is perfectly adequate.