Solar activity

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

Looking at the data on this excellent page, it now looks pretty certain that we have started on the downwards part of the current cycle. This does NOT mean an end to decent HF conditions. For several years to come there will be good days and 15,12 and 10m will still support DX but far less easily than around the sunspot maximum years.

Even in the depths of the last minimum N-S DX was still there to be worked on QRP SSB, so expect some decent openings. This is really where regular WSPR operation will help, by seeing just how often 10m opens up.  As I have said before, operating on the weaker parts of the solar cycle are, in many ways, more challenging and interesting. When 10m is wide open it becomes too easy.

Also, don't forget Es (sporadic-E) which can produce some spectacular DX at the right time of the year - in the northern hemisphere this is usually May, Jun, July and August but Es can occur (more fleetingly) at other times times of the year. This is why regular WSPR operation will help.

6m - storms stop play

Just as things on 6m Es were hotting up, I can hear distant thunder and an approaching storm. Currently the storm is tracking to the west of Cambridge and may miss us, but as a precaution I have disconnected antennas, PSU and rigs. If the storm moves further away I will reconnect things. Darn! 6m was great today and I fear I may miss some good DX.

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .

UPDATE 1912z:  Looking at WSPRnet.org it appears I am not missing any great super-DX from across the Atlantic on 6m. All I can see are decent Es paths around Europe. For now,the antennas and rigs will remain disconnected just in case the storms reappear. For now, the storms seem to have moved away east.

6m WSPR Es

In the last few minutes IK1WVQ (1084km) has been spotted a few times at up to -5dB S/N (strong) and HB9FGQ (804km) at -12dB S/N (pretty strong). There is still plenty of Es around on 6m.

Most spots were by local G4IKZ (18km) though.

6m WSPR spots this afternoon (so far)

UPDATE 1605z:  IK6HIR (1312km) has just spotted my 1W 6m ERP at an amazing +11dB S/N - stronger than if he was local. Phenomenal conditions.

UPDATE 1615z:  Strong signals on 6m now from OK1DX and OH7AI. This opening seems Europe wide.

UPDATE 1630z:  In terms of the spread and intensity, today here is one of the best days on 6m this season.  It would be nice to round off a great EU Es day with a transatlantic 6m opening.

10m WSPR - unique spots this morning

10m WSPR - unique reports this morning

As already mentioned, the 10m Es reports have been good this morning. The above shows the unique spots (repeats are not shown) on 10m Es today. G0LRD (25km) is a local. I am running about 2W out.

I am now going to QSY to 6m WSPR.  On 6m my ERP is lower because of cable losses - around 1W ERP maximum on 6m.

Doppler on local and GDX 10m and 6m signals

G0LRD has already shown that what I have described as Doppler on 6m is, sometimes, the drift as my FT817 goes from TX to RX and cools down. Certainly some WSPR signals are affected by aircraft reflections, evidenced by multiple traces. It is an open question whether or not some signals are only propagated at decent GDX distances as a result of aircraft or whether it is just the tropo signal that is decoded. My strong suspicion is that at least some GDX is only possible when planes are in the right orientation and Doppler shift is low enough to allow a successful decode.

Notice the (additional), aircraft reflected, signal from G0LRD ((above 100) earlier. Clearly the decode was on the flat trace coming directly and not that coming via a plane. Sometimes I have seen as many as 6 aircraft reflections. The traces lower in frequency did not decode as the Doppler was too great. Doppler on 6m is worse.

10m Es - Sunday morning

This morning I was late starting 10m WSPR, but already it has been very good with WSPR spots sent and received from across Europe already (S51, EA, DL, SM , OZ, LB, I etc). I would describe Es conditions as "wide open" on 10m. I may QSY up to 6m shortly.

Sunspot count today is 27 and 20-30MHz conditions described as "fair". I shall be lucky to see any 10m F2 propagation today.

What next for the autumn?

My thoughts are starting to turn towards amateur radio this autumn.

Unlike in previous years, I cannot imagine being fully fit by then. So, I shall be on the lookout for some new challenges that don't involve driving, don't involve building and probably don't require much, if any, antenna work. Also, it would be helpful if actual talking is kept to a minimum as I find talking very tiring.

I suspect JT65 and JT9-1 will be on the list as I can use (some of) these modes on 630m, 40m, 20m, 10m, 6m, 2m and 70cm with existing antennas.  I may ask for some help to improve my earth electrode antenna for 630m. With luck I may be able to drive again later this year. This means I might be able to restart some field work again.

If you have any suggestions let me know.

Maybe I should try for QRP DXCC on JT65/JT9-1? No talking, use existing antennas and rigs, and a new challenge.

Sprites and Es?

DK0SC (827km) spotted my 2W at 1938z this evening. I wonder if there is correllation between lightning and Es? There is intense lightning over (close to) the mid path. I seem to recall that the link relates to sprites rising upwards from lightning clouds but forget the details.

Currently the storm centre appears to be tracking up the North Sea.

10m GDX

The 10m Es seems to have stopped at around 1806z, for now. I am still copying GDX from G8VDQ (93km). I shall be disconnecting the rigs and antennas shortly if the storms get closer, although the nearest storms seem to be moving further away.  It certainly feels very close and stormy here.

Storms - missing us again?

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en  .

Having just got back from my twice daily "constitutional" walk of 400m "around the block" (to help my balance post brain bleed), I noticed how close and thundery it feels this evening.

The nearest storms currently are about 70 miles west of here, but this could change. It certainly feels like we are in for a storm within hours, although there is no thunder audible locally at present. The lightning map is proving very useful and I have unplugged rigs, PSU and antennas when storms are on their way.

At present, the storms seem to be tracking well west of us. We'll see how the storms move in the next few hours.

10m WSPR unique reports today (so far)

Currently it is 1712z. These are the unique spots today, so far, on 10m.  Repeat reports are not shown. It has been a decent day on 10m WSPR. I was late starting because of the risk of local storms this morning.

WSPR unique reports on 10m today, so far.

EA5CYA has been coming through for the last hour very well with good signals for 200mW.

Sunspot count is low today (29) and 20-30MHz propagation described only as "fair".  No F2 DX seen here today as yet, and I am not expecting any.

UPDATE 1800z: The risk of storms locally seems to have subsided , at least for now. Overnight I'll still disconnect everything, just in case.

I wonder if there will be Es at some (low) level all year around on 10m?   I suspect that if I leave WSPR running on 10m all year I'll find openings into Europe every week. At the moment, the "common wisdom" is Es is mainly a May, June July phenomenon in Europe with a smaller peak in January. This is probably correct as the peak months  - the question is how common is it at other times of the year?

UPDATE 1810z:  EA5CYA (1376km) has been spotted no less than 8 times since 1636z.

10m WSPR after a brief foray on 6m

After the storm risk had passed, I ventured on to 6m but was only spotted by usual local G4IKZ (18km) so QSYed down to 10m WSPR where there is more happening.

Spots seen of G4MLA (53km) and G0LRD (25km) with lots of airplane Doppler on G4MLA. Later Es seen from SM, OZ and EA5.

Storm risk passed?

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en  .

About 3 hours ago there was thunder and lightning less than a mile away and very heavy rain, but all is now quiet here.  The nearest storm activity was at Wicken and Dullingham but these have subsided now. I suspect the main danger has now passed and I can safely reconnect rigs and antennas.

Will probably go on 6m WSPR later today.

Back to Par 3 band external antenna

Now the threat of storms has gone for the day I am going back on the external Par 10/20/40m end-fed wire antenna. This happened at 1515z.

Sunspot count today is zero (very low) with 20-30MHz propagation forecast to be just "fair". I shall be lucky to see F2 DX today on 10m. Es has been very good on the indoor loop.

UPDATE 1520z:   First 10m WSPR spot back on the external Par antenna was from SM6WZI (1007km)  at -1dB S/N for my 2W. This is a very good report. Again, the Es seems to be favouring more northern latitudes.

10m WSPR spots since going back to the Par wire antenna outdoors

UPDATE 1727z:  Still just the mix of EU Es stations since going back to the Par antenna.

UPDATE 1830z:  Just G8JNJ/A (184km) being spotted currently. All Es seems to have disappeared.

UPDATE 1940z:  Out of the blue pops OK2SAM (1283km) just detectable on 10m WSPR at -32dB S/N. So there is still ES about on 10m.

UPDATE 2140z:   Plenty of 10m Es this evening including spots from 3VSWL in Tunisia and DK0SC . I spotted I and EA.  As thunder storms may build overnight I shall be going QRT and disconnecting rig and antennas.

10m WSPR with Wander Wand Compact Loop

Averaging all the signals over the day so far on the Wander Wand Compact Loop indoors on 10m and comparing with the external end-fed Par 10/20/40m wire antenna, I believe the loop is perhaps just 2 S-points down or less. With Es and widely varying signal levels, it is quite hard to do the comparison. Also, the loop was not rotated, and it is possible the difference is slightly less.

On lower frequencies I think the difference will be slightly greater. Overall, I am impressed  with the indoor loop. Seeing how it is not positionally optimised (it just sits above the rigs and runs just over 2W), it does pretty well.

For future 10m WSPR use I think a 6mm or 10mm copper pipe (fixed tuned) loop will make a good external antenna. I suspect a thicker loop will be only be very little down on a 1/2 wave vertical or dipole at a similar height. The disadvantage of a loop, especially an efficient one, is the narrow bandwidth. This of course, helps on receive as the antenna rejects out of band interferers. Bandwidth should just about cover JT65/JT9-1, PSK and WSPR allocations 28.076-28.126kHz.

WSPR distances

LB9YE and I have exchanged WSPR spots several times today. When he spots me the distance is 1489km. When I spot him it is 1533km. I assume it is to do with where in the QTH square the measurement is taken from.

Storms to miss us?

According to the lightning map, it looks like the nasty thundery weather is tracking up west of us (Peterborough and Stamford area?)  and could miss us altogether. We'll see.  See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en . For now, I shall keep on the Wonder Wand Compact indoor loop to see how it performs.

UPDATE 1127z:  Storms are dying out now. I think we'll miss them.

Wonderwand loop on HF

http://www.wonder-wand.co.uk/WonderWand/WW_Photos_files/TCL-ad01.jpg

Rather than go QRT because of the approaching storms, I decided to try my Wonder Wand Tunable Compact Loop antenna indoors on 20m WSPR. The loop is about 0.5m diameter. In my case, more for convenience, it goes to the rig via my Z817 ATU. SWR is perfect 1:1 on the tuned frequency. No TX spots seen yet at 2W, but no shortage of RX spots across Europe so far. The loop is just above the rigs in a far from ideal, indoors location.

WSPR spots so far today on 20m with the indoor Wonder Wand Compact Loop

UPDATE 0916z: My first TX spot on the indoor Wander Wand Compact Loop came from DJ6LB at -28dB S/N.

UPDATE 0944z:  Second TX spot was by DJ7KA at -26dB S/N.

UPDATE 1010z: I QSYed to 15m and am getting lots of spots on TX at just 2W.  Best DX report on 15m is from SM6WZI (1007km) at -6dB/-9dB S/N (i.e. strong) - it is amazing this tiny indoor antenna works so nicely. So far 6 TX spots of my 2W in just 8 minutes on 15m. Incredible. Sorry about the poor photo of the loop, but you get an idea of the set-up. It will work even better on 10m and 6m as the loop is larger electrically. Set-up is totally un-optimised: the loop just happens to be where it is.

UPDATE 1230z:  Now QSYed to 10m and the best DX on the Wonder Wand Compact Loop indoors is now LB9YE (1489km) at -25dB S/N with 2W.

 

10m WSPR spots with 2W today with indoor loop

Storms ever nearer

Currently, there are violent storms over North London and East Midlands, and they are moving towards us in East Anglia. Not sure of the pace yet, but looks like we could have storms within hours. For now, I shall keep antennas disconnected and the PSU disconnected from the mains, just in case. 10m and 6m can wait. Or I  may use an indoor wire loop instead?

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en  .

Approaching storms

Although the nearest electrical storms are some way off (West Country and over the Cherbourg Pennisula) they are likely to be here tomorrow. As a precaution, I shall disconnect all rigs and antennas before bedtime. Probably they won't be here until later in the day, but better to be safe than sorry.

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .

SPAM comments WILL be deleted!

In the last 24 hours on both my blogs I have had SPAM comments from someone in India extolling the virtues of yoga and meditation. Nothing wrong in the right context, but the comments are totally out of context and therefore SPAM.  Both have been deleted as soon as noticed.

A word of warning to potential SPAMMERS: similar irrelevant and totally off topic comments will always be treated as SPAM and deleted.  Go away or expect such comments to be immediately deleted.

10m - evening Es

Quite out of the blue IK1WVQ (1084km) was spotted just now at -12dB S/N. Es just happens - sporadically. Also copied was G8JNJ/A (184km) by GDX. There have been watery, Doppler affected, signals visible for hours, without decodes.

HAARP - stay of execution?

It looks like the HAARP (supposedly auroral research) facility in Alaska may remain until May 2015 although non critical (movable) kit is already being moved out. It remains to be seen what happens after next year. HAARP is also known for its generation of ELF radio signals as a result of ionospheric heating. The peak power of the facility on HF was massive.

10m - tropo?

In the last few hours, I have spotted PB0AIC several times with low(ish) Doppler at 288km.  This is far too short for Es (unless the skip is extremely short, suggesting a 2m Es opening?) so I wonder if this is pure tropo? The distance exceeds most GDX  (usually possible with aircraft reflections) out to around 200km.  I have spotted PA stations before on 10m now.

Recent WSPR spots today

10m Es and GDX already

Since resyncing the clock and restarting the software around 0830z, G3JKV (123km) has been spotted several times as GDX and LA3JJ (993km) and I have exchanged WSPR spots once via Es. Strange how later in the Es season, it seems to favour more northerly latitudes.

Sunspot count today is just 11 (low) and 20-30MHz propagation described as "fair". We'll be lucky to catch any real DX by F2 today I think. This is the lowest sunspot count in a long time. Although there will still be good days, I think we are "on the slide" now and have passed the peak of this cycle.

As Es conditions worsen, I seem to be spending more time on 10m now than 6m. With patience, both bands will still be good for Es for some time yet.  Last summer I was still regularly working Es DX on 6m right into September.

I was in hospital from mid-Sept to January, so have no idea of 6m conditions during that period. In my current (wobbly) state of health, digital modes (no talking) are easier on my voice than SSB or FM.

UPDATE 0930z:  TF3HZ (1837km) in Iceland spotted at  -26dB S/N via Es.

10m - real F2 DX at teatime (and later)

LU8EX (11208km) running 5W was spotted at 1726z this evening on WSPR at -25dB S/N. This is clearly N-S F2 propagation, much to my surprise today. Even though the sunspot count was just 25, it goes to show there can still be very decent DX around. going N - S. I assume my lower power was buried in the local noise at his end. And/or there was no propagation when I was TXing.

10m unique WSPR spots today, so far - duplicates not shown

LU8EX is just NW of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  It is still possible other S.Americans will be seen before the day is over.

UPDATE 1925z:  LU8EX has now been spotted 5 times at up to -13dB S/N (strong),  No other S.Americans seen so far this evening. At this strength I am surprised not to have been heard in Argentina.  Maybe LU8EX has no WSPR RX capability or a very high noise floor?

UPDATE 2025z:  No further F2 sen here after 1902z (LU8EX).

10m - Es

At 0930z, 10m opened to Scandinavia with SM6WZI (1007km) copied. Later,, SI9AM (1503km) was copied 4 times. I will see if it opens again later.

UPDATE 1712z:  By teatime, the  10m band was pretty productive WRT WSPR via Es. Best Es DX spot was Z35BY (1956km) in Skopje. Also spots seen to/from Italy and some GDX.

10m - early GDX G8VDQ

This morning, I turned on 10m WSPR early at around 0615z. All was quiet until G8VDQ (93km) was successfully decoded a couple of times in the last hour. He is in IO91um square. There were a few weak and badly Dopplered signals (multiple aircraft reflections) copyable, but these were not decoded. Of course, some of the shift is my rig warming, but multiple aircraft reflections are clear to spot. He is using 5W (antenna not known) whereas my ERP is just 1W meaning I am probably below his noise floor. I use the FT817 (2.5W setting) via a length of lossy RG58 to a V2000 vertical.

Although early still, no Es seen yet today on 10m.

Sunspot count is low at just 25 but 20-30MHz propagation is forecast to be "normal". We'll be lucky to see N-S F2 propagation today I think, but 10m is a fickle band and you never quite know.

10m WSPR spots at last

G8JNJ/A (184km) has been spotted 3 times now. I had a partial decode hours ago (just the QTH locator IO90hx). Spotted between 2114z  and 2118z. No Es seen since turning the rig on. Today has been a very quiet day on 10m here.

FT817 - wrong setting!

Just realised that I had my FT817ND set to USB and not DIG, so I was not sending any modulation on WSPR TX! This has now been corrected, so I am hopeful of some spots this evening. This is the second time I have made this mistake. It remains to be seen if this was the reason for no spots earlier.

UPDATE 1820z:  Still no 10m spots!  Must be conditions. Will leave the rig on 10m this evening to see if things improve.

A quiet radio day

With physio this morning and gardening (as best I am currently able), the radio has only just been switched on to 10m. A few weak and watery signals are visible on the WSPR software with several Doppler shifted traces - obviously GDX - but none of it has yet decoded.

Sunspot count is 109 and 20-30MHz forecast is "normal" meaning some F2 DX may be possible. I see CX2ABP is being spotted over 8000km away in the USA.

No 10m Es seen here yet since I switched on about 1 hour ago. 

UPDATE 1745z:  Still no 10m WSPR decodes of anyone  - no locals no GDX, no Es and no F2. I was even wondering if the software had crashed, but it and the clock are spot-on. It's just a very quiet day on 10n here, so far.

14MHz to Australia - Adelaide

This evening, I went on 14MHz WSPR with a couple of watts and was rewarded with a spot by VK5AK (16224km) just outside Adelaide, Australia.  Apart from this spot and K9AN (6505km) the other spots, so far, have been from Europeans and of Europeans. I shall stick on 14MHz for a while longer.

14MHz WSPR this teatime (2W)

Semi sked 7MHz

This evening, I shall try again to work a local who is on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Currently he is working in Glasgow but camping on Arran.

I have an S8 noise floor on 7MHz and am limited to 5W pep maximum. Although WSPR  On 7MHz at 2W WSPR is pretty easy, it is much harder work on SSB.

10m WSPR this morning - good Es

Whilst cutting the rear lawn today, I have been on 10m WSPR. There is still plenty of Es around on 10m.

10m WSPR this morning

Cutting the grass is still challenging: I still get very giddy when on my feet, but stamina is slowly improving. It may be a while before doing the lawns becomes "easy" again.  Still, the fact I can do it at all is something that might not have been possible: the worst outcomes of my brain bleed would have been horrendous, possibly leaving me paralysed, deaf or blind. Overall. I was lucky.

Rear lawn

Sunspot count today is 102 (good) but with blackouts and 20-30MHz forecast is "good", so surprised not to have seen any F2 propagation (yet) on 10m. Es so far is all from N.Europe including Scandinavia.  Nothing yet seen here from S.Europe.

UPDATE 1600z:  The Es opening today seems to have favoured N.Europe and Scandinavia with no S.Europeans seen here all day.. The 20-30MHz propagation forecast is now only "fair". As yet, no F2 openings seen here today on 10m. In past years I have noticed more Es to Scandinavia and N. Europe in the later part of the season. There must be some good reason for this, but I don't know why this is.

Ultimate 3 kit - offers of help

Our community in Amateur Radio is truly wonderful.

Already, I have had three kind and generous offers to build and test my Ultimate-3 beacon kit, which is currently beyond my building skills because of my brain injury. I still hope to build this myself, but may wait a few more months until I'm less wobbly and clumsy.

This is not the first time I have been touched by the genuine kindness of others. It restores one's faith in humankind: there are some truly kind people around. Thank you all.

Sometimes we hear about all the bad things in this world. Believe me, the world has very many kind and caring people in it.

40m WSPR

Having (unsuccessfully) tried to work a station on the Isle of Arran (Scotland) on 40m SSB, I went on to WSPR and was rewarded with the following in a single 2 minute transmission at 2W to my low (for 40m) end-fed Par antenna.

WSPR really is a great mode. I remember back earlier in the year on 40m when my second spot (on this antenna) was by a VK.

CN8LI - 6m WSPR

So far (it is now 1425z)  CN8LI (2113km) and I have exchanged WSPR spots all morning since I first went on 6m. We have exchanged spots 14 times already. Es conditions between us are perfect. My TX is on about 16% of the time only.

Unless the storms get a lot closer - currently most are north of Norwich  - I shall stick with 6m all day. I can hear thunder, but it is very distant and moving further away currently.

UPDATE 1530z: The "pipe" to CN8LI has been disconnected since lunchtime. I wonder if it will come back at teatime? Es often has a second peak at teatime.

http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en

No storms?

According to the lightning map, the nearest storm is over Boston in Lincolnshire some 90 miles away. There are no very recent strikes. I'll keep an eye on which way it is moving, but things here look benign, for now.

Will leave the gear on 6m for the time being unless things change. That storm map is a very useful guide to what is brewing up and heading this way.

UPDATE 1255z: Can hear distant thunder, although nearest storm is now Attleborough, Norfolk some 60 miles east of this location.

10m, then 6m WSPR

After a brief outing on 10m WSPR, I've returned to 6m WSPR since 0900z. 10m was in good shape with lots of Es about from right across Europe.

Unique 10m WSPR spots early today (repeats not shown)

6m is good too with CN8LI (2113km) already in the logs early this morning along with local G4IKZ (18km).

UPDATE 0938z: CN8LI spotted for 3rd time already.  He is getting stronger  at+7dB S/N just like a local! He is also spotting me.

6m spots to 0942z today

UPDATE 1150z:  CN8LI and I have exchanged WSPR spots twelve times already. Amazing.

Closed down station - thunder storms close

As there is thunder/lightning around, I have decided to disconnect antennas and switch off the rigs. The storms are getting closer according to http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .  As much as I'd like to continue to monitor on 6m, I think to go QRT is the right decision tonight. There will be plenty of other times to monitor 6m and 10m.

UPDATE 2110z:  The worst of the storms missed us.  However, there is a lot of storm activity around still, so the rigs and antennas will remain off tonight.   Meanwhile I am watching Brazil getting beaten by Holland. Current score Brazil 0  Holland 2. Unless Brazil create some magic, they are doomed.

UPDATE 2207z: Would not like to be in the Brazilian national football team this evening.