It is only now 0930z and already I have been spotted by 41 unique stations! Incredible Es conditions today.
UPDATE 1003z: Already an incredible 57 spots of my QRP 10m WSPR. At the moment, this looks like the best day this Es season.
UPDATE 1936z: An incredible 65 unique station spots of me. I think today I have received more spots on 10m than I can ever recall. QRT now.
Today alone, I have had several reports on 10m WSPR that suggest 10mW ERP at ranges around 3000km would be copied.
I am convinced following emails from OFCOM that, as long as ISM rules are carefully followed, a licence is NOT needed to run a beacon in the 40.66-40.70 MHz ISM band in the UK. This could well be true in other countries too. In the UK this means 10mW ERP. It is my firm belief that such beacons, would be received at great range. It is a great pity more people are not trying this.
This is NOT the Amateur Radio Service. It is ISM.
This works remarkably well and can be made very inexpensively, yet will bring in stations across the world most days. It may be built "dead bug" or, if you are really keen, as a simple PCB. As I have said before, it would make a great club project on a PCB. The circuit is simple, so a single sided PCB should be straightforward. It means the "big rig" is free yet 10m FT8 may be monitored.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10ft8r-rx .
Already I have had more than 3 times the number of visits to this site than yesterday. My posts are as boring as ever, so I think this must be bots probing.
Gear turned on about 0845z. At 0905z, no spots.
My gear on 40.680 MHz FT8 (TX 1st, DF about 1950Hz) was turned on about 0845z. Unsurprisingly, no spots at 0856z.
UPDATE 1426z: I am told by HC02 (1808km) that I appeared briefly in Southern Portugal but this did not appear on PSKreporter. On RX the only spot is of 9A3TN (1481km).
UPDATE 1750z: HC02 has spotted me again this evening. His report is now on PSKreporter. Also spotted (just!!) by SR4BBX (1217km) in Poland.
The impression I am getting is that Es is not as good as yesterday. My plans are 10m WSPR TX with the 500mW beacon and 8m FT8.
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/
On 10m with 500mW WSPR TX. So far (at 0848z) already 36 unique spots!
UPDATE 1340z: 56 unique station spots of me today!! Incredible.
After a brief outing on FT8, I have decided to try 8m QRP WSPR all day. HC02 (1808km) has spotted me on FT8 and WSPR.
On WSPR I am using 2W on 40.680 MHz (DF about 1550 Hz).
As my 10m antenna is free, I am on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon. At 1051z, spotted by 4 stations with plenty of Es.
Following a recent email from Hans it is clear they are concentrating on the 160m version first. The 630m version could be some time, as the toroids on the LPF will need lots of turns! Judging by the results of the higher band versions of the QDX, I have no doubt the 160m and 630m single band versions will be very good.
A few moments ago, I QSYed to 8m FT8 QRP. My thanks to Hugh HC02 (1808km) who has already spotted me in southern Portugal.
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| Stations spotting me today on 8m QRP FT8 |
At the moment (0824z) I am on 10m FT8 with the little QDX transceiver. I have yet to check conditions this morning! So far, just a couple of Europeans spotted, but nobody has spotted me yet.
UPDATE 09427z: 25 EU stations have already spotted my QRP 10m FT8 today, so I may QSY to 8m QRP FT8 and 10m WSPR with my 500mW WSPR beacon. On RX, stations as far as Western Australia have been copied on 10m FT8.
When this is available, I quite fancy one. My transverter produces about 10-12W of WSPR on this band. It would be good to try the QDX-M next winter, on 630m, if available. I think the output would be about 5W on the QDX-M.
At the moment I am trying 15m FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver. Conditions are better than 10m, but still pathetic compared with yesterday.
UPDATE 1513z: I have gone RX only after a brief period on TX.
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| Stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX today to 1518z |
As 8m seems quiet compared with yesterday, I am on 10m FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver. At most, it puts out 5W and it is probably nearer 4W. Conditions do not seem very great.
At the moment my furthermost report is from IM0LZK (1589km) on Sardinia. To be honest, conditions seem really poor on 10m. On 15m, I was spotted in the central USA, but I did not stop on very long.
This quote was in the Knowledge today. The Knowledge is a free email newsletter that condenses the news from various world sources. As far as I can tell, it is pretty neutral. I find it very good.
"Remember yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present."
The IC-705 is a great rig, although it did have noise issues when a USB cable was connected between the rig and a PC. This issue was overcome with a decent, filtered, cable, but this was a design fault that should have been fixed.
I am still surprised Yaesu seems to have dropped out of the HF QRP market when they were clear market leaders at one time.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/icom-ic-705 .
At about 0840z, I turned on my 500mW W5OLF 10m TX WSPR beacon. So far, just FR1GZ (9724km) spotting me.
For 10m WSPR, I usually sync time using my atomic clock in the shack. For 8m FT8 and WSPR, I usually sync to internet time using the built-in sync with Windows 10. For some reason (too busy?) this sync was not happening earlier. I shall try again later. As far as I can tell my PC clock error is just a few seconds at most, so I hope this is OK for now.
It produces 5W and is very small.
With the popularity of digital modes, this is all most people really need. It works extremely well. Hans makes some excellent pieces of kit.
Mine is regularly copied all across the world on a very basic antenna.
Although I rarely go to a football (soccer) match, I take an interest.
Coventry and Luton were at Wembley battling for a place in the Premier League. It was a hard fought match that Luton eventually won after extra time and a penalty shoot out.
This was very tense and your heart bleeds for Coventry man who missed his penalty. It was a very close fought match that both teams deserved to win.
The phone is essentially an Android smartphone, so it can run all sorts of apps too.
I'll be honest, I prefer "real" radio where the link is open to the variations of the ionosphere or troposphere. I can see they have their place where conventional RF radio is not possible such as in hotels or care homes, or where external antennas cannot be erected. At the depths of solar mimima, I can see them having a place too.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/network-radio .
Since about 0950z, I have been on 40.680 MHz FT8 (DF about 1950 Hz, TX first). It is now 1038z and no spots.
UPDATE 1153z: Spotted by S50F (1205km).
UPDATE 1402z: Now EI1CAH (690km) also spotting me.
UPDATE 1822z: 6 stations have spotted my 2.5W 8m FT8 to a low dipole today. There are some notable stations missing this year. G9PUV and EI9KP have not been seen on 8m TX this year. G3WCS appeared briefly earlier in the spring, although I have not spotted him recently. So far, today has been a good day with plenty of Es on 8m. 
Stations spotting my 2.5W to
a low dipole on 8m FT8 today
As the indications are that we could have a decent day in Europe with Es, my proposal is still to try 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz and 10m QRP WSPR with my 500mW beacon. I shall probably turn these on in the next 10 minutes. Later, I might try 8m WSPR on 40.680 (DF about 1550 Hz)
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/.
Today seems to have been the best Es day in Europe this season.
Even on 4m with an 8m dipole (tuned via an internal auto-ATU) I have been spotted widely in Europe and I have spotted 4m FT8 stations all over Europe.
So, assuming Es will be as good tomorrow, I hope to try 8m QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz. I may also try some 8m WSPR.
I am convinced that very low powered 8m stations operating on WSPR using ISM rules will be widely copied across Europe.
In many countries a licence is not needed for beacons on the 40.66-40.70 MHz ISM band as long as national rules are followed. In many countries this means 10mW ERP. On 10m WSPR just uWs have spanned Europe. We know from Australia that 5mW of 8m WSPR has spanned 5000km.
As my 10m antenna is free, I am on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW WSPR TX beacon. Already, a couple of Es spots.
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| Spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR today |
