30 May 2016

W+S Open Day

I heard about this too late to notify people! Usually I get 1-2 days of notice of upcoming rallies and similar, but not on this occasion. Let's hope that those that went along had a good time.

10m and 630m WSPR today

10m was open (again) early for Es propagation with my 10m 500mW spotted as early as 0706z this morning right across Europe. I have been spotted by G8LCO (58km) on 472kHz (630m). I have still to be spotted by Es outside Europe. I am still hoping for some transatlantic Es on 10m but I've been unlucky so far.

 6m was open for Es today, but I suspect most are working DX on SSB and CW rather than WSPR.

UPDATE 1950z:  It seems odd that most of the late 10m Es spots are from Scandinavia. This evening there were spots from Denmark and Norway LA3JJ (993km). In past Es seasons I have noticed later openings from the north. I resynced the beacon and PC about an hour ago.

Grandchildren still here - NOT amateur radio

We still have our "London" grandchildren here until tomorrow afternoon. They are full of energy!

This is a photo of one of my granddaughters. At the moment they are both playing in the garden but we may go out for a picnic this afternoon.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon May 30th 2016

Solar flux is just 83 today. Sunspot number is 25 (K=3).The forecast for 10m F2 propagation again remains "poor".

29 May 2016

Late 10m WSPR Es again

OE3BUB (1229km) was still spotting me at 1836z this evening on 10m WSPR. I have the feeling there will be Es around on 10m for a while yet.

QRP and QRP Club

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

Visitors  of the week: UR7VT, RU3NJC, US3EN, UA1CEG/p, UA1CEX, EW1CY, RV3GM,  UA1ADF,  UA4ATL,  OH6NPV, DL4KC, UR5EFD, RA1M, UA1ASB, UR0ET, R1OA
See full Visitors and Frequenters lists on the Club 72 web page.
See all QRP operators on the next "rendezvous" QRP Nets, schedule here
- www.club72.su

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Sod's Law?

So today I decided to give 6m a miss only to be told that it was open to Europe this morning! 10m WSPR has been good with Es spots all day. MF (630m) has been good too all day.

Cancer - NOT amateur radio

On of my wife's friends has, out of the blue, been told she has breast cancer that has spread. It was a total shock. It was picked up by a routine screening. She had had no pain or warnings. She has been told she has less than 5 years to live. Both my father and grandfather died in their 60s of heart conditions. I know my time is limited. Maybe I'll live to 95 or I could die next week. However I have hope. What she has been told is, in effect, a death sentence. I'd find this hard to accept. Clearly she is very worried. She has not been helped by her doctor who was rather uncaring about the whole thing. With cancer there is always hope. Some do recover and surely she should have been told this.

472kHz WSPR overnight and this morning

PA3ABK/2 (306km) was spotted and is still coming in on 472kHz. G8LCO (58km) is spotting me.

UPDATE 1730z:  PA3ABK/2 is still being spotted and G8LCO is still spotting me on 472kHz WSPR.  PA3ABK/2 seems to be spotted all the time, so I guess his signal does not depend on ionospheric conditions.

Overnight Es on 10m WSPR

As I left the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon on overnight I was pleased to get spots from LB9YE (1533km) and OZ7IT (853km) overnight. I was also spotted in Italy and Scotland.