At last - a 6m WSPR spot!

The last few days have been very quiet on 6m, but this evening, at last, I was spotted by a relatively local station M0MVB (30km) at a decent -10dB S/N.   Still no Es reports on 6m as yet.

UPDATE 1842z:  3 further reports received from M0MVB. All suggest some influence from aircraft reflections as there was Doppler shift on all reports or it could be M0MVB's rig drift? On one spot (later than those shown) the drift was 4Hz, which definitely looks like a plane.

6m WSPR spots this evening from M0MVB

A bad NEVADA warranty day

Sometimes major dealers do themselves no good at all. I feel compelled to blog this as this dealer should know better.  I have been very patient but after waiting so long my patience is running thin.

Today I had to chase NEVADA as they had neither answered my email or first class mail.  All I was doing was following instructions in the box that said I needed the dealer to add his stamp for the warranty to be valid. No email reply yet received. I am patiently waiting after about 6 weeks.

"Lincoln President Mk 2 - Warranty
(bought from Nevada on Feb 25th 2015 on invoice 275xxx)
Since posting this (copied my original email here) in early March by email and first class post I have heard ABSOLUTELY NOTHING at all. I need confirmation this rig is covered by warranty. Frankly I am appalled - you could forgive me for thinking Nevada is only interested in the initial sale and not the warranty.

Please do me a favour and contact me!  No excuses please - just action. All I am asking for is decent customer support. This is not too much to ask of a major UK dealer, is it?"

I hope they will reply tomorrow.

I have also had very poor customer service from a local carpets supplier, Glasswells, having been waiting about 6 months to have a stained carpet replaced free under warranty. It took a month (last October) to wake them up from their slumber (2 emails before any action) and here I am in April 2015 still waiting! Apparently the carpet is now to be replaced on Friday this week.

This is not my day!

10m Es?

SA5SDR (1358km) has spotted me several times today. I suspect, at this distance, this is Es propagation. Although I have been spotted in the USA today on 10m WSPR, conditions seem "on the edge" - this is not the best of days, although I am grateful the band opened at all.

10m USA WSPR spots - yet again

For the 3rd day in row,10m has opened to the USA with N4ZQ (7125km) spotting my 10m 500mW WSPR at 1420z. This despite a relatively low sunspot number and a forecast of "poor" 10m propagation. I think I can expect further USA 10m WSPR spots later.

10m WSPR - quiet so far

It is currently 1250z.  So far today, 10m WSPR has been very quiet with G4IKZ (18km) and EA8BVP (2986km) being the only stations to spot me so far today. It certainly feels much quieter than the previous 2 days.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon April 27th 2015

With a sunspot number of 55 (K=1) and a 10m propagation forecast of "poor" I guess we cannot expect great things on 10m today?  It is surprising though how often I am proved wrong and a "dead" 10m band just springs into life. So far this morning, just local G4IKZ (18km) has spotted me on 10m WSPR, but it is still very early.

Of course, a SN of 55 will be considered "high" in a few years' time. We should be grateful. With the Es season now here there is an increasing chance of Europeans (and further) by this mode too. Es is there at all times of the year but it is best late April- September in northern latitudes, the reverse in Australia/NZ.

North and South America on 10m WSPR

Around teatime 10m opened to the USA with K9AN (6505km) spotting me several times from 1624z. Not only that but  LU8WAG (12283km) was also spotting my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon (WSPR-AXE-CW by W5OLF) at 1646z.

Despite the "fair" 10m forecast, my 500mW WSPR beacon has been spotted in 5 continents today. In all, a very good day on 10m WSPR.

Unique station spots today - 500mW 10m WSPR

Big antennas? Lots of power? Don't need them thank you!

UPDATE 1704z: WD4ELG (6211km) has just spotted me at an INCREDIBLE +2dB S/N.  VP8ALJ (12724km) has just spotted me in the Falkland Is.

UPDATE 1711z:  This must count as a pretty incredible 10m day.  Despite falling sunspots and an only "fair" 10m propagation forecast my TINY WSPR-AXE-CW beacon is reaching all over the planet. If there were stations on Mars I could almost imagine being copied there too!

UPDATE 1713z:    6m is still very very quiet, with not even a G to liven things up.

UPDATE 1925z:  VP8ALJ  (Falkland Is) has spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR 33 times so far this evening.

Reunion Island but no USA yet on 10m WSPR

FR1GZ (9724km) on Reunion Island in the south Indian Ocean has spotted me many times this afternoon, but not a single spot, well not yet, by a station in the USA.  By this time yesterday a lot of USA stations had spotted me. This is the magic of 10m - you can never be quite sure. Although FR1GZ was probably just F2 , it is possible this was a combination of Es and F2?

MLS video

Fellow amateur G1KQH has pointed me to the YouTube video by Martin Lynch at their new premises:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD-_AcGnq7I

73 Steve
http://www.g1kqh.talktalk.net/

10m WSPR - a good start this Sunday

There seems to be both Es and F2 propagation on 10m this morning. VK2KRR (16789km) is the best DX spot, so far, at 1004z. By Es I have been spotted by IZ6QZB (I assume this is not F2 backscatter, but it could be?) and by EA8BVP (2986km) by F2.  Of course, I am also being spotted by the locals.