Solar flux is 121 and the SSN 69. A=10 and K=3.
24 Jun 2022
23 Jun 2022
Salcombe in the mist - NOT amateur radio
Salcombe, Devon is where I grew up as a child. The photo shows the harbour in the mist.
10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)
Already at 0836z, today is far more promising than yesterday. 3 stations already spotting my 500mW QRP WSPR beacon.
UPDATE 1118z: Spotted by 6 unique stations today widely across Europe. Far better than yesterday.
8m experiment (Thursday)
My QRP TX has been on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 TX since just after 0800z. Already spotted by HC02 in southern Portugal.
UPDATE 1121z: 3 spots of my QRP FT8 so far today. Currently QRT as rig cools. Hope to be back on FT8 TX at 1130z.
22 Jun 2022
Poor Es day?
Certainly here, today was a very poor Es day, with no spots of me at all on 10m WSPR or 8m FT8.
As the season progresses, I guess we will get more poor Es days. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, although with sporadic-E (Es) things are "sporadic".
I have seen 6m Es QRP SSB as late as September. The main season is May, June and July.
10m QRP WSPR TX
Although I have had my 500mW beacon on most of the afternoon, nobody has yet spotted me. It almost feels as those long days of Es are coming to a close. Es will still be around, but we have to expect days when it will be absent.
In my experience, I have worked 6m SSB QRP DX as late as September.
Oscar 100 activity
Every few weeks, I give an update on activity on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. The last time I checked was early evening in Europe on Wednesday. Activity is still low.
As an example, 3B8GL was calling CQ on SSB with a decent signal for ages with no takers!
See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .
8m experiment (Wednesday)
Later, I hope to be on 8m TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 (first). It is now 1243z.
UPDATE 1439z: Now on 8m FT8 TX. Intensely frustrated that in the UK we have to pay for access to 8m, when OFCOM could have allocated 40.680-40.685 MHs (just 5 kHz), by NoV, to the amateur service, narrow digital only, no speech, to encourage self training and research. Frankly I find the OFCOM and RSGB position totally and unbelievably bizarre! No, totally STUPID!!!
Accessing DMR via your PC for free ?
There are great opportunities with DMR. However, like many, I have no wish to get a DMR portable or external to the PC unit to act as a bridge.
What I am wondering is is it possible to access DMR via the PC alone using some kind of gateway? If you know of a way, please let me know.
21 Jun 2022
OFCOM consultation
OFCOM is consulting on extentions to the Ku band spectrum available to satellites. See the OFCOM website for details.
10m QRP WSPR TX
My QRP (500mW) beacon was turned on at 0808z. No spots yet of me. Yesterday, I only had spots from the Canary Isles on 10m. These could have been F2.
UPDATE 0824z: One spot from Denmark.
UPDATE 1326z: 11 stations have spotted my QRP WSPR today. These look like Es.
8m experiment (Tuesday)
My QRP TX was turned on at 0807z on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8.
UPDATE 0815z: No spots.
UPDATE 1257z: 3 stations have spotted me so far on 8m FT8.
UPDATE 1932z: This will probably not happen with my low ERP, but I still hope for an FT8 spot by a station in the USA. I live in hope!!
East Anglian skies - NOT amateur radio
East Anglia is famous for not having hills. Well, there are some!
However, we have some great skies as the photo shows.
Super DX at VHF, UHF and microwaves?
On my website there is a page about super DX on VHF and UHF. Most, or every, summer there are 6m openings from Western Europe to the Far East. These are thought to be linked to noctilucent clouds in the mesosphere. It is possible these openings may occur at far higher frequencies. I am surprised nobody seems to be trying as there could be new records galore.
I am not sure how FT8 works with noctilucent clouds, although I have certainly copied Japanese stations on 6m FT8 by this mechanism with a very poor setup.
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