Next field test - optical?

After my very disappointing results on VLF earth-mode yesterday - I must get to the bottom of why results were quite so bad - I think my next test will be at the other end of the spectrum. We have a windmill very close so I may try bouncing optical signals off this to test my optical gear is working still.   It is a long time since I have done any optical experiments.This will not be too far initially, more a test of the gear before venturing any distance.

Sunspots and 10m - Tues April 21st 2015

Sunspot number is still high at 125 (K=3) today. 10m propagation is expected to be "good" although I have not been spotted by really DX stations for some days. Up to now (it is currently 1042z) I have been spotted on 10m by G4IKZ (18km) only with no DX reports at all on 10m, using my 500mW WSPR beacon.

UPDATE 1052z:  Only 42 stations shown as active worldwide on 10m WSPR according to WSPRnet. 10m activity is lower than it was and this is not helping.

USA - no luck on 10m today

10m WSPR was a dead loss today with not a single spot on 10m WSPR all day from stations in the USA. EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted me very many times.

UPDATE 2125z:  Time to go QRT.  Tomorrow remind me to switch on the mains lead to the PSU!

VLF field test - a total failure!

Well, I did my first VLF earth-mode field test today since my brain bleed in Sept 2013. Sadly, it was a total failure. I am at a loss to explain the results.

Tuned VLF loop

I put the 5W, 8.976kHz, beacon on into the same earth electrodes used successfully on 472kHz (best DX on TX over 1000km) and went about 1.6km to a car park where I always had strong signals using a tuned loop on RX and earth-electrodes on TX from the old QTH in the same village. Nothing at all copied today - absolutely nothing. I waited in case I was in a pause between QRSS3 callsign transmissions, but no absolutely nothing at all. Not even the tiniest hint of a signal.

Deploying the VLF loop (Burwell in the background)

So I parked in the road about 0.3km from the home QTH and again nothing at all. At this point we drove home. What a dismal failure this was turning out to be. I am sure it is telling me something but I cannot work it out.  Sure enough, everything was still working at the TX end.  I am using one remote ground and the mains ground at the shack end, exactly as for 472kHz.  I did check this mains ground was grounded to real ground.

Checking Spectran on the PC - nothing !

Whatever utilities assistance I was getting before at the old QTH is not the same at this newer QTH. All very very odd. I was expecting to see something. In the past I received transmissions from the old QTH at the new QTH (about 0.3km away) using just an E-field probe on the car. From the old QTH I spanned 6km!

In summary, this VLF test was a total failure. I am at loss to explain things. Not only that, but the work has left me very exhausted. My brain is still foggy, but the results today were not due to any mistakes with the HW gear or PC Spectran settings.

I am not having much success today.

Confirmed - yes I am stupid!

After receiving no spots at all on 10m since yesterday afternoon I just realised one possible reason: although my 10m WSPR beacon was on, the mains switch (on the wall) was OFF!! So since sometime yesterday afternoon I had been syncing to internet time with no power at all on the WSPR beacon! I have now turned the PSU on (at the mains) and resync'ed to internet time. Hopefully I might be spotted now.

Talk about stupid.  Sometimes I amaze myself.  How could I be quite so daft?

UPDATE 1304z:   Now receiving spots from G4IKZ (18km) again. It will take about 15-20 minutes to stabilise as the PA warms.   I wonder what I missed this morning?   I shall never know.  Just been spotted by EA8BVP (2986km). Both EA8BVP and G4IKZ gave me good reports.

UPDATE 1404z:   Just EA8BVP and G4IKZ spotting so far. At least I know the beacon is now actually ON and working!  Oh I am so stupid at times!

UPDATE 1650z:  Still just G4IKZ and EA8BVP spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR so far this afternoon. No "real DX" DX as yet.

UK General Election - NOT amateur radio

A reminder than the UK General Election, which is only a few weeks away, is "first past the post" so if you are just one vote behind you lose everything. In the European elections I voted Green, but fear this will be a wasted vote in a "first past the post" contest.  Tactical voting will be needed.

For example, in my constituency Labour really have no chance of winning as they only got 6.5% of the vote last time. The Lib Dems (currently in coalition with the majority Conservative government) have a real chance of winning - they came a good second last time - especially as we have UKIP nowadays and the Conservatives could lose some votes to them. The most probable outcome is a Conservative win again in this constituency.

Nationally, the outcome is almost certainly another coalition government as the polls show Labour and Conservatives neck and neck nationally. UKIP support nationally is fading, although I always suspected this would be the case.

Sunspots and 10m propagation - Mon April 20th 2015

Sunspot number climbed further to 142 today (K=3) and 10m propagation is again forecast  to be "good". Results yesterday on 10m were very disappointing with no DX spots at all. Today, sunspot number is higher still but conditions are a little more disturbed. I am not expecting much, if any, DX on 10m today, but hope to be nicely surprised.

UPDATE 0844z:  So far today on 10m WSPR my 500mW beacon has been spotted by no-one at all! Even G4IKZ (18km) who regularly spots me must be beaming away from me and is not spotting me, assuming he is on. It is early yet though and there might be some single hop F2 stations in range active later.

UPDATE 1050z:   Still no spots at all on 10m so far today. I am quite disappointed as, with a decent sunspot number and a decent 10m propagation forecast, better things were expected. I guess it is still early though. G4IKZ (18km) is not shown as being active according to WSPRnet, although he could be on but has not spotted anyone in the last 10 minutes. When I last looked there were 41 active 10m WSPR stations worldwide - fewer than a few months ago, but not too bad. Some of these would be single hop F2 away from me. I guess the propagation is just not there.

Brain dead or just stupid? - NOT amateur radio

See Remove Katie Hopkins as a Sun newspaper columnist.

This woman is writing total rubbish about poor and very desperate people trying to reach Europe in flimsy boats from Libya.  Many are fleeing wars or strife. Many have payed thousands for the trip and thousands have drowned.  The sooner this woman is stopped the better, press freedom or not.  If she reported the facts, all well and good. As it is, she is writing  to make money on the back of these poor desperate people. This is so very wrong.

The petition is being signed by very many people - in fact I have never seen one signed so fast!

The Sun is a popular UK daily newspaper. Some recommend it to wrap fish and chips.

Please sign and share on your social media.

No 10m USA spots of me today

I was both surprised and disappointed that, as of now at least, I have received no USA 10m WSPR spots today.  With high sunspot numbers, not very disturbed conditions and a "good" forecast for 10m, I thought I might have some success today. Although using a better antenna, G4IKZ was spotting Brazilians on 10m WSPR earlier. At present I need a separate RX to listen on 10m as I tend to TX 100% but randomise TX frequency.

UPDATE 1926z:  Still no USA stations, so I think I may have lost their reports until the autumn, although some might be able to spot my 500mW WSPR beacon by multi-hop Es over the summer. If the USA stations were going to spot me (as they did daily for months and months) today was probably the best chance in several weeks. It is several hours since G4IKZ has spotted me. I think Nick must be pointing his Moxon beam south?

UPDATE 2018z:  Still no spots by USA 10m stations. In fact no DX at all all day long on 10m! Soon be time to go QRT on 10m . I have already gone QRT on 630m (472kHz) as I have connected the earth-electrodes to my VLF beacon in readiness for the test tomorrow.

UPDATE 2155z:  I decided to leave my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon running through the night.  Judging by results today, I am only likely to get G spots off aircraft or locally.

VLF field test tomorrow

Today I adjusted the turns ratio on my 8.976kHz VLF QRSS3 and 10wpm CW 5W beacon to better match my earth electrodes. At this QTH they look much greater than 50 ohms, which I measured at the "old" QTH and optimised for.

On the way I managed to blow up a TDA2003 IC, which I had to replace. The whole exercise was far more exhausting than I was expecting. It seems that after about 10-15 minutes of physical or mental effort I am done in. Before my cerebellum brain bleed everything today would have been trivial. Now trivial tasks feel like climbing mountains! Although I can see progress in my recovery there is still a long way to go. One of my aims (among many) is to be able to resume field tests as before, but time will tell if I am really up to this: it is quite hard when your brain is still foggy a lot of the time. Oddly, when sitting down at home or when driving things are fine. It is when I do something requiring real physical or mental effort that I get tired. I guess the radio work today was hard as I had not done this sort of thing for some time.

Anyway, the good news is that I hope to do a VLF field test tomorrow.  Everything is ready and tested. It will not be until late afternoon as both my wife and I are busy before then. The XYL will be there at the test site if I get really tired.  Setting up the gear will be especially tiring in my current state. The test site is not too far from home. I have soak tested the TX and it should be fine on QRSS3 using my loop and Spectran at the RX end. I shall report results tomorrow. This will be my first VLF field test in over 18 months. How I have looked forward to this. If the loop is successful I may try the E-field probe.

Heathkit

My first introduction to radio was an "Electronics Workshop" kit by Heathkit. If memory serves me correctly this was my Christmas present in Dec 1961. It used a few transistors and othttps://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8her parts with spring contacts and wires to configure each circuit.   No soldering was needed.

That Christmas I did my first Medium Wave DXing with one of the circuits and I was very exited to receive stations in the Middle East and Russia.   Other circuits included a very low power transmitter for MW. This used the crystal earpiece as the microphone. As I recall, it got to the next room in the house. This was the kick-off I needed.

Years later I owned a Heathkit HW8 QRP HF CW rig. It worked very well indeed and I worked some decent DX with it. It is such a pity Heathkit is no more as they made some really good kits.

I guess the nearest these days is Elecraft. Sadly Elecraft products are expensive in the UK:  good radios, but far too much. As an example for the price of one KX3 kit (better RX I know, but covering fewer bands) one can buy 2 FT817NDs ready built with a 2 year warranty. And I think we are paying too much for the FT817ND here in the UK!  If the KX3 is fully loaded with mic, ATU, 2m etc, then it is very expensive. The prices are as they are because punters are prepared to pay.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathkit .
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8 .

Sunspots and 10m propagation - Sunday April 19th 2015

Sunspot number has climbed to 114 (K=2) and 10m propagation is expected to be "good" which is the first time for weeks.

This morning my 500mW 10m WSPR is being copied by locals G4IKZ (18km) and G4KPX (14km) but no DX stations yet. I am very hopeful that USA stations will spot me later on 10m WSPR and was hopeful of some decent 10m DX reports this morning too.

UPDATE  1227z:  I was surprised and disappointed to get no DX spots at all on 10m WSPR this morning. Although I still hope for some USA spot later, I am beginning to doubt this. Is it just getting too late in the spring, or have people gone down a few bands?

UPDATE 1320z:  Still only locals spotting me on 10m WSPR - very disappointing

Churches blog - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago we visited St Botolph's church in Cambridge. I have just updated the East Anglian Church blog.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

USA 10m WSPR spots

As I write this at 1835z, there is still no sign of any USA spots.  

EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted me 34 times so far today but, so far at least, very quiet across the Atlantic.

The band may still open briefly allowing my 500mW WSPR to be spotted over there, but the later it gets the less the chances are of my signal being heard.

UPDATE 2024z:  Well, yet again, I was wrong!  No USA stations spotted me on 10m WSPR today.

Soldering iron mended - and NON amateur radio DIY

I am quite pleased with myself, for once.

Although I still get tired, I seem to be less profoundly tired than I was. Today I managed to remove the plug on a spare 24V Weller soldering iron tool that I found and attach it to the base/24V supply. I checked it works  - it does. So I currently have 2 working soldering irons.

Also, I managed my first (minor) DIY job by repairing a trellis support on our bungalow front wall. I also raked out some dead moss from the front lawn ready to re-seed the patches. In the past, these would have been trivial tasks, but now they are major steps on my oh so slow road to recovery.

Recovery from my cerebellum brain bleed (Sept 2013) is very slow, but I am slowly getting a little better.

Hendricks Kits

These days, with dirt cheap kits from China often with free airmail, it is sometimes a wonder that any USA or UK kit companies exit at all. One of these I have mentioned before is Hendrick Kits, which always has a good selection on their website. These are best value if you live in the USA. Several kits are shown as "retired" which I guess means they did not sell well or they had problems with reproducibility. One favourite is the derivative of the BitX SSB design from Ashlan Farhan in India. This uses easily obtainable parts and has been a well proven design. Hendricks sell versions for 20m or 17m.

See http://www.qrpkits.com/bitx20a.html .

It looks like they have just moved so there might we a little delay until early May.

The power out, around 10W, should ensure plenty of contacts. These 2 bands are usually good even when the sun is quiet, so make a good choice. You have to choose either 20m or 17m SSB. I am sure Western kit companies would really value our business. "Use it or lose it", is a phrase often used about bands. In this case it apples to amateur radio kit suppliers. If we don't buy from them they will close their doors and cease trading. I am as guilty as anyone having recently bought a 40m Pixie kit from China.

From the Hendricks Kit website:

"The BitX20A and BitX17A are complete SSB kits with board, all parts, digital display and custom powder coated and punched case that is based on the BitX20 that was designed by Ashlan Farhan. The original version was built ugly construction, and you had to source all the parts. I discovered the BitX20 site on Yahoo in 2007, and decided that the BitX20 would be a neat kit for Hendricks QRP Kits. The problem was that it did not have a pcb. A team of Dan Tayloe, Jim Kortge and Arv Evans have worked countless hours making sure that the pcb version was stable and would meet United States F.C.C. Specs. We had to go through several revisions to get it right, and we are happy with the result, even though it took a long time. Some things just take time. The kit includes a commercial quality plated through, silkscreened, solder masked board, and all board mounted parts, plus the polyvaricon tuning capacitor, digital dial, custom powder coated and punched case, knobs and controls. Everything you need to build the kit is provided.
I encourage you to check out the BitX20 users group on Yahoo. They have agreed to provide support for the kits. There are hundreds of messages on there about the history and development of this kit. Our kit puts out about 10 watts, features dual IRF510's as finals in a push-pull arrangement. The schematic is available at the Bitx20 site on Yahoo. Cost of the kit is $180.00 plus shipping and handling."

The BitX looks a nice, useful radio. For a beginner it is just about all you need to get started.

472kHz daytime

G3WCB (101km) has been spotting my 5mW ERP from the earth-electrodes most of the morning. My last spot from The Netherlands was at 0528z by PA0RDT although I was spotting PA3ABK/2 at 0552z. When conditions are better I can usually be copied by Dutch stations at almost at any time night or day.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat April 18th 2015

Sunspot number has risen to a very respectable 92 (K=2), but 10m propagation remains "fair" only. I have the feeling I could get spots from the USA later this afternoon. So far this morning, lots of spots from locals G4IKZ (18km) and G4KPX (14km)  and a few spots from UA4UK (2814km). No other DX yet spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1256z:  This morning it was mainly locals spotting me, but RA6WF (3628km) spotting me a few time was, like UA4UK (2814km), most probably single hop F2 propagation. I am still expecting a brief 10m USA opening later.  No earth shattering 10m DX this morning on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1500z:  16 spots (so far) on 10m WSPR spots this afternoon by EA8BVP (2986km) and at lunchtime by EA1FAQ (1249km). The EA1 is almost certainly Es judging by the time and distance, although I suspect the EA8 is single hop F2 propagation. I am still hopeful of a few USA spots later.

Sporadic-E (Es)

We are now on the verge of the summer Es season in Europe and the USA, so 50MHz should be good out to about 2000km. Occasionally much further is possible, allowing Asian, South American, Caribbean and North American stations to work Europe.

There is a good explanation of sporadic-E on the UKSMG website.  See http://www.uksmg.org/content/sporade.htm . If you are not familiar with this mode then I suggest you read it.

Es is great fun and just 1W ERP of SSB is enough to work most of Europe, and even beyond, from the UK.  Openings on 70MHz are less common and even less so on 144MHz. There are even more Es openings on 28MHz. If you have a big, high beam and high power it will help, but Es signals are often strong and I have not found QRP is much of a handicap on 50MHz Es. Yes, if you are after tropo or MS DX then I am sure the bigger ERP would be useful, but far less so with Es.

Personally I hope there is far more use made of WSPR this Es season. WSPR allows short openings to be seen: it requires plenty of active stations though. The temptation is to abandon the quieter bands and move downwards.  Before leaving 50MHz, think just how much your presence on WSPR could mean. By staying around and sending or looking for WSPR signals you would be really contributing to radio research.

Field work?

My tiredness is still a problem but I am getting closer to restarting field work at VLF.  I bought a new soldering iron and have found a replacement bit for my old Weller iron (it needs a plug removing before I can use it though) so I should be able to match my 5W earth-mode VLF beacon to the earth-electrodes at this QTH. This will then allow me to do a trip to my first location to see if I can copy the signal. I hope to do all this in the next few days. It may need my XYL to help, but I am sure she will not mind! You may recall, I tested the RX side with Spectran in the lounge a few weeks ago and could copy the earth-electrode VLF beacon (running QRSS3 into a dummy load) using an E-field probe.

10m USA spots

Only local spots by G4IKZ (18km) all day, apart from one spot by 4X4TAU (3564km) at 1018z.   No sign at all of spots from the USA, and I feel this is unlikely to happen.

UPDATE 1556z:  Still no sign of USA spots here on 10m.  Still transmitting, ever hopeful.  Only 39 stations are shown on WSPRnet as being active in the world. We need a few more!

UPDATE 1955z:  This is another day without any spots from stations in the USA. No USA spots at all and only one station other than locals all day. Will be going QRT on 10m WSPR quite soon.

472kHz WSPR

Very quiet since breakfast time. PA0RDT (243km) has spotted me several times, but nothing since breakfast.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday April 17th 2015

Sunspot number is 85 (K=4) today and 10m propagation is expected to be "fair". Based on yesterday, I am not expecting my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon to be spotted by USA stations today. But, as always, 10m may surprise us!

So far this morning local G4IKZ (18km) and just one spot of my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon from 4X4TAU (3564km) not long ago. No further DX spots reported.

472kHz (630m) WSPR rather than 6m

Overnight and today I have stayed on MF rather than QSY to 6m.  Another few weeks and I shall definitely turn my attention to 6m. I think I was rather too early (time of year) to catch any 6m Es.

On 472kHz, the best spot of me was by G3XKR (347km) in North Devon several times overnight.   My best spot was of DK7FC (669km) several times last evening. His report would have been much better with an optimised RX. I know my 472kHz RX system is deaf.   It has been very quiet all morning on MF.

UPDATE 2000z:   G4JVF (151km) has spotted me several times this evening on 472kHz WSPR.

10m WSPR - quiet

EA8BVP (2986km) has just spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon, but apart from this only local G4IKZ (18km) copying me this morning.  In summary, 10m WSPR has been very quiet with no sign of what I'd call real DX. I think EA8BVP was F2 single-hop, but this could have been Es

UPDATE 1300z:  a few spots from EA8BVP, quite a lot from G4IKZ and nothing else, well so afra at least.

UPDATE 1532z:  A few Italians spotting me on 10m WSPR this afternoon. I think these were by Es. It is early in the season but 10m is probably the band with a good chance of catching early openings - 6m, 4m and 2m would be progressively later I think.  2m Es openings tend to be rare, whereas they are much more common on the lower frequencies.

UPDATE 1700z:  Still no sign of spots from stations in the USA on 10m WSPR. Somehow I think I shall not be copied in the USA today. If it does open, it will be a very short opening on 10m today. It looks like the good times of daily USA F2 10m openings have ended at least this spring. I am still hopeful of 10m USA openings in the autumn. This year I must not forget the CQWW SSB contest in late October!

Loop motors

Magnetic loop antennas can be very effective, small, antennas. They work well and are ideal for modes like WSPR, JT65, JT9-1 and PSK31 where frequencies don't have to be moved much. Their main disadvantage is they are narrow-band so require retuning if moving very far in frequency and they are directional.

As ever, Steve G1KQH has been tracking down bargains - in this case motors that could be used to either tune or rotate loops.

Tune up your loop remotely, only needs a coupler and a bit of ingenuity which I know your not short of?

http://www.banggood.com/N20-DC12V-100RPM-Gear-Motor-High-Torque-Electric-Gear-Box-Motor-p-972986.html

They also have 6 volt too

http://www.banggood.com/N20-DC6V-100RPM-Gear-Motor-Miniature-High-Torque-Gear-Box-Motor-p-972984.html

Just needs a simple adjustable Voltage regulator.

20RPM model on eBay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3mm-Shaft-20RPM-DC-12V-Electric-Speed-Reducing-Geared-Motor-for-DIY-Toys/190949265575?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D30111%26meid%3D459df1ca462c456e82318d0415d429da%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D190896856301&rt=nc

Sunspots and 10m propagation - Thursday April 16th 2015

Sunspot count has dropped back to 85 (K=5) and 10m propagation is expected to be "fair" today. So far, just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting my 500mW WSPR on 10m.  Things feel subdued on 10m.  I am not expecting to be spotted in the USA on 10 today.

QSYed from 6m to 630m (WSPR)

Having got one spot on 6m all day on 6m, G6AVK (78km), I have just QSYed to 630m (472kHz) WSPR. Within minutes I was spotted, albeit weakly, by PA0RDT (243km) despite my 5mW ERP and earth-electrode "antenna".

UPDATE 2102z:  I shall stay on 472kHz WSPR overnight. Let's hope that Windows 7 does not turn the PC off at 0300z in the middle of the night to do updates or that the software does not crash. It has been known to happen.

UPDATE 2106z:  I shall also stay on 10m (28.1246MHz) WSPR overnight just in case I get spotted by any Gs off aircraft. I am not expecting any real DX.  I see I have just spotted DK7FC on 472kHz WSPR.  I must improve my MF set-up for next autumn as Stefan should be much stronger and it is my deaf receiver that is at fault.

10m USA - not today, well not yet at least

It is now 1648z and there is no sign of 10m opening to the USA and my 500mW WSPR beacon being spotted. Of course, it is possible the band may open to the USA later, briefly. Local M0MVB (30km) was spotted several times this afternoon.

UPDATE 1945z:  No sign of 10m WSPR spots today of my 500mW beacon.  It is now getting quite late so it is very unlikely my 10m WSPR beacon will be spotted across the Atlantic this evening. Just in case, I am wrong (and I frequently am wrong!) I'll leave the 10m beacon running. I may QSY from 6m to 630m though on the other rig.

The active Sun?

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zXN-MdoGM9g .   An impressive video showing how active the Sun has been since 2010.

Activity is now declining to the next sunspot minimum. Many experts predict the next solar cycle (cycle 25) will be very weak indeed. Some are even saying we are approaching a Maunder Minimum with extreme cold on the way and virtually no sunspots for many years. Predictions are getting good these days.

See also http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulhudson/entries/6d50a6bd-779a-32d6-bfca-06e4484d6835 .  This dates from 2013, but still applies. The last peak was a pretty weak affair. The next could be almost a non-starter. A Maunder Minimum might help offset global warming to some extent?

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

Elections in UK - NOT amateur radio

At the moment the FTSE 100 share index is over 7100 - giddy heights! With the UK General Election not many weeks away and a very close run contest, I expect the markets to tumble with the uncertainty of the outcome.

The last poll I saw showed Conservatives and Labour neck and neck. The UKIP vote could lose Conservative votes.  I am definitely not voting UKIP who seem to want us out of Europe only. To me, they are not a credible party, more of a protest vote party.

We live in a democracy, so we vote for the party of our choosing.

I shall probably vote Lib Dem again. In a coalition government they could (again) be a good moderating influence whether the major party is Conservative or Labour.

6m WSPR - no luck today so far

6m WSPR has again been a disappointment. No spots given or received so far today on the 6m band.  F2 propagation is, so far, absent for me even on 10m, so I guess the only hope on 6m is some Es (unlikely) and tropo/aircraft reflection.  I shall probably stick on 10m and 6m for the rest of the day whatever.  Es (if it occurs at all) is normally best around lunch and teatime, so rather too early in the day for this mode I guess anyway.

Lawns need cutting, so WSPR can run in the background.

UPDATE 1022z:  With just a handful of stations shown as active worldwide on 6m WSPR, I shall be lucky to see any 6m spots today!

UPDATE 1315z:  Still no 6m spots today.

UPDATE 1950z:  At last a 6m spot! My 1W ERP was spotted weakly by G6AVK (78km) about an hour ago. As the drift was quite high, this looks like tropo with aircraft reflection.

Sunspots and 10m propagation - Wed April 15th 2015

Sunspot number has climbed to 97(K=3) but 10m propagation is forecast to remain "fair" only.

UPDATE 0823z:  So far just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 10m WSPR, but it is still very early. Obviously conditions are not right yet or my 500mW is too low.

UPDATE 1015z:  Still just G4IKZ spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR. WSPRnet shows 49 active stations worldwide on 10m WSPR.  Several would normally be in single hop F2 range.

UPDATE 1100z:  CT1JTQ (1843km) and EA8BVP (2986km) now spotting me on 10m.  Could be Es but probably single hop F2?

UPDATE 1312z:   Just G4IKZ for ages now on 10m WSPR.  I suspect CT1JTQ and EA8BVP may be Es?

432MHz UKAC tonight

Stations worked with 5W/5el tonight

I was late starting this evening and my stroke affected voice means I stay on for quite a short time. Best DX with 5W/5el (hand rotated) from home was 199km and I managed to work 4 QTH locator squares.

East Anglian Churches blog updated - NOT amateur radio

Today we visited Cavendish in Suffolk and I have added this fine place to the church blog.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

6m disappointment

Despite being on 6m WSPR for most of the day, it was useless, with not a single spot given or received. Outside the Es season the band can be very quiet. I had to double-check all was working and that the PC had not crashed.No,everything was fine. As I write this at 1845z there are just 14 active stations in the entire world on 6m WSPR, so my chances are slim!

USA 10m WSPR spots today

Well, 10m did open to the USA, but quite late with KD6RF (7547km) spotting my 500mW WSPR at 1730z. Since then, there have been a few others too.

UPDATE 2132z:   The last USA station to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR was KZ8C (6290km) at 1902z. This turned out to be a short-lived affair. Signal report was not bad at -19dB S/N but the opening just died to the USA. G4IKZ, CT1JTQ and EA8BVP have all spotted me since.

Sunspots and 10m propagation - Tuesday April 14th 2015

Sunspot number is 68 today (K=1) and 10m propagation is expected to be "fair". Not quite sure how 10m will be today.

UPDATE 1003z:  G4IKZ (18km) and EA8BVP (2986km) are the only stations spotting me on 10m this morning. I am still using my 500mW WSPR-AXE-CW 10m beacon. I have just switched from 630m to 6m on the FT817 and PC, running 10m and 6m together but on different rigs.

QSYed to 472kHz for the evening/night

As of about a minute ago, I have moved from 6m to 630m.  6m was very quiet today.  I am still using 5mW ERP and the earth-electrodes on TX (and RX) on 630m (472kHz) WSPR. As yet no spots on MF but the night is young.

UPDATE 2008z:   Starting to give and receive 472kHz WSPR spots.

472kHz WSPR so far - only been active about 25 mins

UPDATE 2036z:   Plenty of 472kHz WSPR spots now.

472kHz WSPR - first hour

UPDATE 2130z:   Even more spots.

472kHz WSPR - this evening so far.

6m - a total blank

I have been on 6m WSPR all day (V2000 vertical, 1W ERP 20% TX, 80% RX). As of now (1720z) I have spotted no-one and no-one has spotted me either. I shall be on 6m WSPR most of the evening, although I suspect that if there are any spots these will be locals.

UPDATE 1942z:   As I am drawing a blank today on 6m, I think I am going to go back on 630m shortly.