QSYed to 6m WSPR at 1642z

As 10m Es is so good, I have now QSYed up to 6m in the hope of catching some Es on this higher band. As yet, just G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 6m, but I'll stay on 6m for some hours to give the higher band a fair chance.

On 10m, DK0SC was spotting me just before I changed bands up to 6m.

UPDATE 1802z:  OZ7IT (853km) in Denmark was spotted on 6m WSPR by Es at -12dB S/N (strong) at 1730z.

UPDATE 1844z:  DL4MFC (916km) spotted on 6m WSPR a few minutes ago at -8dB S/N. Es is good on 6m.

UPDATE 1852z:  HB9TJM (764km) now being spotted. 6m is good this evening.

6m unique spots to 1844z-1915z today

DB0ZDF spotted me on 6m Es (for 1W ERP) at a respectable -15dB S/N.

UPDATE 1954z:  F6HTL (831km) was spotted on 6m at 1944z.

UPDATE 2130z:  No more Es and GDX since 1944z. It may yet return, so I am leaving the WSPR kit running through the night in the hope and have reset the PC clock to internet time.

PS  Get Israel to make peace, not war.

10m WSPR - Es all over Europe

Currently there is Es coming through on 10m WSPR from all over Europe. Conditions on 10m Es seem wide open.

Sunspot count today is 146 (good) and 20-30MHz conditions are described as "good".  We should expect F2 propagation on 10m today. Yesterday we saw South Africa on the band. Today should be at least as good, or better, for F2 DX.

UPDATE 1535z:  GM4SFW (662km) and I are exchanging WSPR spots and still plenty of Es from across Europe on 10m.

UPDATE 1740z:  PD0OHW (459km) just spotted on 10m WSPR. Probably Es, but short skip. May QSY to 6m?


PS  Get Israel to make peace, not war.

USA yet again on 10m - multi-hop Es?

KZ8C (6290km) was spotted twice this evening from EM88pm around teatime. It seems WSPR is proving the summertime Es path to the USA on 10m is open far more than I previously thought.  I am losing count of how many times this season I have copied the USA on 10m, but it is a lot - on 6 days now I think.  I assume it is multi-hop Es but could be F2 backscatter? More WSPR stations would help. Remember, if this is Es the same may be possible any summer including right at the sunspot minimum in 5-6 summers from now. Now there's a thought.

UPDATE 1835z:  DK0SC (827km) copied me very strongly at +7/+8dB S/N at 1758z. Since then just wispy weak signals which are probably GDX stations not quite strong enough to decode. G8VDQ (93km) was decoded at 1730z.

UPDATE 1950z:  Worldwide just 13 stations on 10m WSPR and only 12 stations on 6m. This is pathetic. People are really missing out on an excellent mode for propagation studies and more. To be fair, the list does not show people on WSPR who have not spotted or been spotted in recent minutes, so there may be more people active than are shown on www.wsprnet.org .

UPDATE 2222z:  Three Es spots this evening of SI9AM (1503km) up in N.Sweden on 10m so far this evening. Will leave 10m WSPR kit running overnight.

More recent WSPR spots today


PS  Get Israel to makr peace, not war.

ZS on 10m F2

ZS5PMB (9563km) was just spotted on 10m WSPR. I am pretty sure this is N-S F2 propagation. It is a pity there are not more stations active this early evening on 10m WSPR. Currently there are just 14 stations active on 10m WSPR in the world.

Low WSPR activity levels

At the moment, in the entire world, there are just 20 active WSPR stations on 10m and just 16 on 6m.  These are very low levels of activity: Es and F2 openings are being missed as there are no stations active in the target areas.

UPDATE 1425z:  No new Es on 10m since switching down to 10m from 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1505z:  Now just 5 stations on 6m and 25 stations on 10m in the world on WSPR.  Pathetic levels of WSPR activity.

Back to 10m WSPR from 6m

With little Es on 6m, I am going to QSY back to 10m, hoping to catch some F2 propagation.  6m is a great band but 10m is more productive of DX.   Initially I'll use WSPR but hope to try JT65 and JT9-1 later after I've finished helping my XYL with the ironing.

UPDATE 1340z:  Now QSYed back to 10m WSPR.

Israel, Gaza and war crimes

I don't like getting political on this blog but feel the actions of Israel overnight attacking a school designated a UN safe area, is nothing short of a war crime.  15 innocents killed and dozens injured - disgraceful in any language. There is absolutely no excuse for this slaughter. Even if rockets were fired from the local area it is no excuse to kill already traumatised children. Slaughter of the innocents.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28558433 .
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28559537 .

For years, the state of Israel has treated the Palestinian people like scum. They deserve to be treated as full humans and accorded the full rights all humans deserve. No more settlements on Palestinian land. After the horrors to the Jews in WW2 you would think Israel would want to help build a kinder world. Not a bit of it! They seem to want to spread hate.  I know Hamas must stop firing rockets at Israel and I know there are good Jewish people, but the war on Gaza is fostering hate and yet more resentment.

What is needed are real substantive talks leading to a comprehensive and fair peace for all in the region. Now is the time for jaw, jaw not war, war. Will Israel never learn? If you treat the Palestinian people as less than human what do you expect?

At the moment, Israel, supported by the USA and the UK amongst others, is not even seriously trying to get a lasting peace. I am embarrassed by my government.   An eye for an eye seems to be all Israel understands.

I am sorry, but I get increasingly frustrated by the continued violence.   Now is the time for real love and kindness to be shared and long-term peace to be given a real chance.   People of  Israel - wake up! USA and UK - support the Palestinians at the same level as Israel.   Give peace a chance!

6m WSPR again

At around 0920z I moved from 10m up to 6m to see what's doing on 6m WSPR. At first just the usual (strong) spots from local G4IKZ (18km) but I've now, at 1038z, been spotted by OH5RM (1860km) on Es.  I run 1W ERP on 6m WSPR with a V2000 vertical antenna.

UPDATE 1120z: G3WKW (134km) in IO91og has been spotted a couple of times, -20/-24dB S/N, presumably with the aid of aircraft reflection.

UPDATE 1200z:   No further Es or GDX spots since OH5RM , just spots by local G4IKZ.

10m - transatlantic yet again by Es

Just before midnight local time here KZ8C (6290km) was spotted running 5W WSPR on 10m. This is the 5th transatlantic Es opening I have caught on 10m this summer.  Despite letting WSPR run through the night, no other transatlantic DX was seen and no EU Es either, just wispy traces from G8JNJ/A (184km) - partial decodes of Martin's QTH locator through the night, but no full decodes. Signals had all the hallmarks of aircraft reflection or MS - several traces in each burst , Doppler and short duration.

This morning (early) I am seeing EU Es DX from SI9AM (1503km) Sweden and IK1WVQ (1084km) Italy by 0702z.

Sunspot count today is 160 (good) and 20-30MHz conditions are expected to be "normal". We may see F2 propagation. but none was seen here on 10m yesterday, surprisingly. This may be a lack of active WSPR stations rather than a lack of F2.  WSPR is the ideal mode to check for fleeting band openings. I would never have noticed KZ8C without WSPR. I just wish more people would use it, and in more places.

UPDATE 0918z:  OH1W (1646km) spotted me at 0848z.  I think I'm switching to 6m now!

Same callsigns?

One of the drawbacks of WSPR (currently) is you tend to get spotted, or spot, the same stations over and over again. I am even seeing the same stations being spotted on 10m and on 6m.

It would be very nice if there were a lot more active stations, so spots came from a variety of stations. I am even seeing this on JT65 and JT9-1.

Perhaps people think these "new fangled" digital modes are hard and so only a limited number of people (currently) use them. Let me say, if even I can use these modes then anyone can! All these modes are great with low power and have really opened my eyes as to how far very low powered signal can be detected.

10m unique WSPR spots this afternoon (duplicates not shown)