QSYed to 472kHz (630m) MF

About a minute ago I QSYed from 6m to 630m (RX only). 6m is rarely good at night but, especially with the preamp, MF is quite productive in the evening and overnight. First spot was of DF6NM (824km) at -20dB S/N.

472kHz (630m) WSPR RX so far this evening

UPDATE 2021z:  DF6NM has already been spotted a couple of times followed by F1AFJ (607km), followed by DJ0ABR (983km). I wonder if this evening and night will see any new stations spotted?

More UK Rallies

I  have been notified of the following upcoming UK rallies:

Sunday 4 OCTOBER : BRITISH VINTAGE WIRELESS SOCIETY AUTO JUMBLE
The Angel Leisure Centre, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1SF. OT 10.30am to 4.30pm. Stalls £30, admission £5, early admission from 9.30am £10. Bookings/enquiries 01892 540 022 (8pm to 9pm only). www.audiojumble.co.uk.

Sunday 4 OCTOBER:  BLACKWOOD ARS RALLY
Rougemount School, Newport NP20 8QB. TI 145.550MHz, CP free, OT 10am, TS, CBS, B&B, SIG, C, LEC. Andy, 01495 220 687, andy@mw0mwz.co.uk.

Sunday 4 OCTOBER:  HORNSEA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB RALLY
Floral Hall, 7 The Esplanade, Hornsea, East Yorks HU18 1NQ. OT 10am, CP, TS, B&B, SIG, RSGB, RAFARS, LB, C, DF, WIN. Details from Rick, M0CZR, 01964 533 712, R106221@aol.com. www.hornseaarc.co.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Best 6m inter-G DX

G3XHB (271km) in IO94 square was spotted on 6m WSPR this afternoon. He is using 5W and a 6m beam, which I assume is horizontal. I think this was tropo and aircraft. This is my best inter-G DX spot on 6m WSPR. His QTH is Richmond on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.

So far, 10m WSPR has been remarkably quiet with my little 500mW 10m WSPR beacon being spotted by no-one so far this afternoon. It was so quiet that I did a resync and had to check it was working OK. It was.

UPDATE 1745z:   M0ICR (90km) was spotted on 6m WSPR this afternoon. Judging by the Doppler, I think this was tropo and aircraft reflection.

Late late swallows - NOT amateur radio

A surprise today was seeing 2 late (for this part of the world) swallows at Little Walsingham. I was not expecting these at all. I am pretty sure this is the latest I have ever seen these in East Anglia (Oct 2nd). They were probably a late brood and no doubt our settled warm weather is leading to some confusion! A few sharp frosts will soon trigger them to get a move on and head south on their long migration.

Sunspots and 10m - Oct 2nd 2015

Sunspot number in 73 (K=3) today and 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" today. I see that the trans-Pacific path from the USA to Australia was open on 10m yesterday. Some of these spots were 16000km plus.  It remains to be seen what DX is possible on 10m from here today.

UPDATE 1932z:  Still no spots received at all on 10m WSPR. I shall leave 10m running until later this evening, but will probably move from 6m to 630m RX only this evening and overnight.

Away

Sorry there were no posts yesterday, but we were away for a couple of nights at Little Walsingham in Norfolk. Back today and I have been on WSPR on 10m and 6m since about 1215z.

Little Walsingham is a delightful Norfolk village a few miles south of the North Norfolk coast. Little Walsingham is well known for its shrines which are a focus for pilgrimages.

There are a few shops in the village selling what can best be described as "religious tat": over-priced rubbish probably made by slaves in China. If you want kitsch these shops are the place. Most of the village though is quaint old houses and lovely.

Early spot on 10m WSPR from Reunion Is

It is only 1048z and already my little 10m 500mW WSPR beacon has been spotted in Europe, Asia and Africa . Conditions on 10m are the best I have seen them this autumn season so far.

6m WSPR

After several days with no success at all on 6m WSPR, giving or receiving spots,  I decided to give the band a miss. My usual pattern has been 10m and 6m during the day with 630m (472kHz) overnight. Sod's Law will no doubt apply and my absence on 6m will herald some super TEP and the best conditions on 6m for many years! I can just imagine! Well, it is not the end of the world if it happens.

Sunspots and 10m - Wed Sept 30th 2015

Sunspot number has dropped back a bit to 125, which is still respectable. K=0, so conditions are undisturbed and the propagation forecast for 10m is still "fair". Some reasonable F2 conditions are possible on 10m. If we are lucky there might be a little "out of season" Es on 10m WSPR as well.

UPDATE 0924z:  So far, just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 10m WSPR,  but it is early still. I decided not to bother with 6m WSPR today.

UPDATE 0940z:  Just after writing the update above 4X1RF (3519km) in Israel spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.  F2. Today should be a good day on 10m.

472kHz WSPR RX overnight

Overnight no new stations were received on MF. Just the same stations, some at good strength.