No 10m USA WSPR spots, well not yet (1512z)

So far, apart from quite a bit of Es on 10m WSPR, EA8BVP (2986km) has been there spotting me a lot this afternoon presumably by single-hop F2.  As yet, no signs of 10m WSPR spots by any USA stations, but if the band opens at all in that direction, it is likely to be later. Sunspot number is lower than the last few days but we are seeing relatively undisturbed conditions, so a very brief opening is not out of the question.

UPDATE 2055z:  No USA 10m WSPR spots today, and it seems unlikely now.  However, last night one station did not copy me until after 2200z, so who can tell?

UPDATE 2155z:  We I'll be  .........(expletives go here).  KA4M (6916km) spotted me at 2132z. So far, this is the only spot today from the USA of my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon but I was amazed to be copied at all.

Kanga Products

See http://www.kanga-products.co.uk/.  Although I have to admit that I have not used this supplier or its sister site in the USA, they seem to have a useful range of kits and products in stock.  If you are after QRP or QRSS frequency crystals, then these are at a decent price.  I have no idea how well priced their other items like solder are compared with other suppliers.

As I have said before, these suppliers could soon disappear if they do not get enough trade. The competition from China is fierce indeed and many very good bargains may be had on eBay.  I wish Kanga well.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday April 30th 2015

With the sunspot number even lower at 26 (K=1) and 10m expected to be "poor" today, one should expect 10m to be marginal, but this band is full of surprises and anything is possible. With 10m having allowed my 500mW WSPR to be spotted in the USA for the last few days, I am not ruling out a brief USA opening later.

Certainly Es is livening up things on 10m at last, although I have not yet been spotted by Es on 6m, and neither have I spotted others on 6m by Es.

UPDATE 1334z:  The Es season is definitely here now with 10m WPSR spots received from across Europe.  EA8BVP was probably single hop F2, but the rest (apart from local G4IKZ) so far today look like spots of me by Es.

Unique 10m WSPR spots received today so far.

Yesterday on 10m WSPR - 3 USA stations spotting me

With a very late spot by KA4M (6916km) at 2202z, the total of USA stations spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR rose to 3 different stations. KA4M, at this late hour was a total surprise. I had just about given up for the day. As always, 10m is filled with surprises!

This morning the 10m band has lots of Es in evidence with OE, HA and I stations spotting me. We are now definitely in the Es season.

6m WSPR analysis by PA1B

Bert PA1B has done some analysis of my recent aircraft scatter WSPR spots on 6m.

As is usually the case, clicking the image will bring up a larger chart.

PA1B's analysis on my 6m WSPR spots

Hello Roger,
At the moment I am very busy with all sort of things.
I am making a new website in Wordpress, which is taking a lot of time.
We did some house improvement, for about two more weeks.
And today we went to the opening of the outdoor swimming pool with my grand children.
(great fun)
This evening I took some time to make an analysis of a number of spots on 6 meter.
I took the most interesting spots for airplane scatter.
I hope you like it and can place it in your blog.
I left in M0EMM to show the difference. hi
Positive drift means the path is becoming shorter.
It's my pleasure.

73, Bert PA1B

Hello Roger,

The spots of M0MVB shows spots where the path is becoming shorter (+3Hz per minute)
and spots where the path is becoming longer.   (-2 Hz per minute)

I just saw that the spots of M0YOU with scatter, are much stronger than the spot without scatter.  The lower the lowest possible power, the stronger the signal.  A lowest possible power of 1 mW is 17 dB stronger than 50 mW. hi.

I left in the spots of M0EMM, to show that there is no Doppler andthe signals are not that strong.

Good luck in further analysis,

73, Bert PA1B

Windmill - NOT amateur radio

We live right next door to this 200 year old windmill that has recently been fully restored. This photo was taken just after the rain. It has 4 sails although you cannot tell in this view.

At the moment, the sails are facing in the direction of our bungalow, although they change direction quite often with the wind. The sails have flaps that can be closed or open. The sails usually go around (flaps closed) on Thursdays and Sundays when the museum is open.

10m WSPR - USA yet again today!

So far just a single (very early) spot from the USA today: K9AN (6505km) at 1140z . No other 10m WSPR spots from the USA today.  Signal report was weak at -26dB S/N.

I just wonder if this was F2 or multi-hop Es?  I guess it could even have been F2 backscatter? Anyway, yet another day, quite late in the season, when a USA station has spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon. Will there be others later I wonder?

UPDATE 1735z:   At the moment, it looks like th(e single spot by K9AN this morning was a "one off".  Things could get better later?

UPDATE 1804z:    WB2TQE (7097km) has been spotting me a few times recently.

UPDATE 2004z:    The last USA spot was WB2TQE at 1828z. I am wondering if that is it for the USA  today (2 unique stations) or whether there will be surprises later.

Shack tidy-up: exhausted!

This afternoon I attempted to do, what in the past, would have been totally trivial: tidy up my shack a bit. After trying to sort just a couple of boxes I was totally exhausted. This is still an after-effect of my cerebellum brain bleed in September 2013.  Although, on the whole, I get less tired than I did, I still find that almost any burst of physical or mental activity leaves me exhausted.  I just have to relax, then I feel better. About 10-15 minutes and I am "done in". Oddly just walking or driving don't have the same effect. I have been able to walk about a mile OK for a year or more.

More aircraft reflections on 6m WSPR

M0YOU (116km) has been spotted again on 6m WSPR at a strong -9dB S/N. What is interesting is that all his recent signals have shown multiple reflections off planes (up to 5 at one time in the 2 minute TX window) but, so far, just one successful decode. Clearly these planes need to be flying in the right direction for a successful WSPR decode to take place. The reflected signals are strong but the WSPR TX burst is too long. A shorter TX burst would be better for this propagation mode.

M0YOU - catching reflections off planes in the Heathrow stack?

I suppose the Doppler would be less of an issue on 10m but far more of an issue on 2m. G3WKW (134km) and I managed to exchange 2-way WSPR on 2m last year, but it took a whole day to catch that right moment as I recall. Also as you go higher in frequency, rig drift becomes far more of an issue, so it can be more difficult again. For 70cms WSPR this becomes super-critical and an external reference frequency is all but essential so that you can know your frequency precisely.

G4FGJ (44km) has spotted me this afternoon but I think this was plain simple tropo as no Doppler was apparent. He was very strong with me at -2dB S/N.

6m WSPR

G3WKW (134km) was spotted yesterday on 6m WSPR.  I am pretty sure I can only get a path to Bob via aircraft reflections and I think it was aircraft approaching London Heathrow. Although I copied Bob's 5W I did not get spotted by him, although I am using a lower ERP and my signal was probably in the noise at his end, if indeed he was listening/looking.  Bob's 5W was around -24dB S/N with low Doppler. Of course, with aircraft, the WSPR software may not have decoded a stronger signal with more Doppler or more multi-path. It is not uncommon to see reflections from many aircraft in a single WSPR burst. Often decodes are impossible unless aircraft flight patterns result in low Doppler.

In this regard, WSPR may not be the best mode. Also WSPR TX bursts are nearly 2 minutes long and this is a long time with passing planes. Other digital modes with shorter TX bursts are probably better. In this regard, passing planes are more like MS bursts so modes well suited to MS would be better.