Hot and sunny - NOT amateur radio

Something unusual has appeared in the UK skies. I think it is called "the sun". 😊

Actually it has been hot now for several days. Today we even had breakfast in the garden. For us in the UK this is a rare treat. Summer time, the temperature is often pleasantly warm at 18-22 deg C, but it has been HOT in recent days. Even sitting in the shade at breakfast felt warm and comfortable.

This robin (see photo) preferred the fat balls to the mealworms (eventually).

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday June 18th 2017

Solar flux is 74 today and the sunspot number 28. A=15 and K=2. There is Es about on both 10m and 6m, but I have see no evidence here of F layer propagation on 10m for several days.

6m JT65

My 1W ERP 6m JT65 has been widely spotted today throughout Europe. At the moment, I am RX only on 6m.  Some stations are working the Far East. I am unsure of the propagation, but this looks different from the breakfast paths to Japan.

UPDATE 1315z: Best DX today on 6mJT65 RX is VR2XMT (9537km) in Hong Kong. He is being widely spotted around the globe, so I think this is genuine.

UPDATE 2015z: Absolutely loads of 6m JT65 spots given and received today. Best DX on TX was Iceland and the Canaries. Think I'll stay on longer, hoping for some real DX reports!

10m WSPR

Today 10m WSPR is nothing like yesterday. Although I have been spotted in Germany and by a local, 10m is nowhere near as good as Friday here. There is Es, but not like yesterday.

Another Indonesian on 6m JT65?

Today, out of the blue, I (supposedly) spotted 7A4TOI (13582km) in Indonesia at 1145z on 6m JT65. Although this could be genuine, I am pretty sure this station is a pirate somewhere in Europe. It would be great if this was a true 6m spot.

UPDATE 1933z: The Caribbean and South America now being spotted on 6m JT65. I think these are genuine!

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday June 17th 2017

Solar flux is 74 today and the sunspot number 28. A=24 and K=4. 10m? Maybe Es but F layer doubtful, especially with K=4.

UPDATE 0915z: No sign of Es on 10m or 6m here yet.

What a difference a day makes

Yesterday I had spotted lots of Japanese stations by now on 6m JT65. Today my only spots so far on 6m JT65 have been G stations. No Es yet on the band here.

UPDATE 1330z: Some Es now on 6m JT65.

Long long 6m JT65 paths - what mode?

The very long paths on 6m JT65 are intriguing me. The common wisdom is these are "multi-hop sporadic E". Sorry, but I just don't believe it.

Some paths may be multi-hop Es sometimes (e.g. to Israel) but I think we are seeing some other sort of E layer propagation, maybe some sort of chordal hop? The Far East spots may be due to mesospheric cloud ionisation?

Some of the very long 6m paths may be pirates, but the Japanese spots are genuine and have occurred several times already in the last few weeks.

I am no propagation expert, but would love to hear from experts who might really know what is going on.

We are in 2017 and there are still unsolved mysteries.

What amazes me is there appears to be no-one trying to span Europe to Japan on higher VHF bands or even microwaves. This path opens every year at this time on 6m and should be possible at higher frequencies especially with big antennas and high power such as stations equipped for 23cm EME. Suitably equipped stations know where to beam, know when, know the best times. So? If you are suitably equipped set up some skeds!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent  .

International QRP Day - June 17th

From Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

just remind in June 17 is International QRP Day. Keep activity on QRP
freq's  and  don't  forget about QRP Rendez-Vous on 9.00 UTC at 14060
kHz.

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

This is a periodic Newsletter of the Club 72. Don't reply to Newsletter address! Send any requests or news to mr72@club72.su please.

10m WSPR

Yet again, I am on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) as well as 6m JT65 transceive (1W ERP).

Sunspots and 10m - Friday June 16th 2017

Solar flux is 77 today. Sunspot number is 28 today. A=4 and K=2. 10m? Well there is plenty of Es on 10m and 6m, but no F layer propagation noted here.

Rallies this weekend

17 JUNE 2017 : SOUTH LANCS ARC SUMMER RALLY
Bickershaw Village Community Club, Bickershaw Lane, Bickershaw, Wigan WN2 5TE There is car parking on site at this venue. Doors open 9am for the public and 7.30am for traders. Entry is £2.50. There are a limited number of pitches available. There will be a Bring & Buy, special interest groups and trade stands. Catering is available on site. To book call Jason, G0IZR on 01942 735 828.

18 JUNE 2017 : 30th NEWBURY RADIO RALLY
Newbury Showground, next to Jcn 13 of M4, Berkshire. There is free parking on site and entry is £2.50 or £12.30 for those in the car boot area. There will be a display area of an amateur radio station, exhibits, special interest groups, clubs and societies. There is on site catering and disabled facilities. Open to sellers at 8am for set up and to the public from 9am. Advance bookings (with discount) can be made via www.nadars.org.uk/rally.asp

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

13 Japanese stations spotted today on 6m JT65

This is the best day so far this season on 6m JT65 with 13 (thirteen) different Japanese stations spotted around breakfast time today. Interesting that none at all was from Tokyo or its suburbs. Sadly, no spots of me from Japan.

I am amazed how easily I am spotting these with my poor setup here.

At the moment, I am still on 6m JT65 in beacon mode sending "B G3XBM JO02" near the top of the JT65 sub-section.

UPDATE 0932z: as well as all the Japanese spots on 6m JT65 I notice 7A7YYZ (13582km) was spotted early on 6m JT65. If genuine, this is long way on a VHF band. I have spotted different Indonesians several times, and find it hard to think they are all pirates. There were so many Japanese that I am sure Far East 6m propagation is genuine.

Gilbert and Sullivan - NOT amateur radio

Every year, about this time, we attend a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan (Victorian comic opera) in a barn in a local village. This is an amateur cast but the performance is always first class. This year they did "Princess Ida", a work with which I was not familiar.

Sibling reunion - NOT amateur radio

For the last few days we have hosted our annual "sibling reunion" in which my wife's brothers and their wives join us. Each year, we take it in turns to act as hosts. The photo shows us in our garden earlier.

Top Band Loft Antenna

Some years ago, at the old QTH, I was looking for an easy 160m antenna, mainly for local use and WSPR. This antenna was the result. It exceeded all expectations.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/160m_loft_ant

4el 70cm yagi

Some years ago I hastily made this small yagi to use portable on 70cms. The pole is just cheap PVC pipe and the yagi made from old coat hangers. It worked well and I still have it, although it has not been used for some time.yagi,70cm

10m WSPR TX and 6m JT65 transceive

As usual, I am on 10m WSPR TX only (500mW) and 6m JT65 (1W ERP) transceive. Already there is good European Es on both bands.

UPDATE 1305z: Yet again 4X1RF (3518km) has spotted me on 6m JT65. He has done so for many seasons now.

UPDATE 1518z: I spotted a station in Kuwait earlier on 6m JT65 - 9K2GS (4641km) and supposedly S65GBD (10734km) in Singapore. I have grave doubts about this last one.

UPDATE 1630z: First Caribbean station spotted on 6m JT65 this season. WP4JCF (6830km) in Puerto Rico copied.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday June 15th 2017

Solar flux is 75 and the sunspot number 11. A=5 and K=1. 10m? Lots of Es around already.

Greenland on 6m JT65

OX3LX (2570km) copied me on 6m JT65 earlier this evening. As far as I remember this is the first tine I have reached Greenland on 6m.

I remember working Greenland from the garden with 2.5W SSB and a whip antenna on 10m some years ago. I am pretty sure both these were Es.

UPDATE 0754 June 15th 2017: He spotted me again late yesterday.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday June 14th 2017

Solar flux is 73 and the sunspot number 11. A=8 and K=1.

70cm UKAC missed

This RSGB 70cm activity contest was last night, but I had to give it a miss as we had visitors. Usually my far from ideal antenna and 5W SSB reaches the Midlands (over 100km). I use a 2m halo fed with lossy coax on 70cm. I am amazed how well this works on 70cm. Match is good, but I have no idea of the radiation pattern.

6m JT65 super DX?

Once again, I spotted a station in Indonesia on 6m JT65. 7A5FHZ (11934km) was spotted very early. I am suspicious as this is a very long way on 6m and the signal was very strong. There were quite a few Es spots around Europe.

UPDATE 1700z: The same Indonesian station was spotted at lunchtime - suspicious? I am highly doubtful.

Old charabang - NOT amateur radio

We had some visitors who arrived at our local museum in this old coach. This is it parked outside the windmill.

The word charabanc is from French 'char-bancs', meaning a carriage with benches, so I read.

Our home is on the left in the picture.

Sunset - NOT amateur radio

In the UK we are blessed with seasons. In mid-winter it is dark at 4pm, but in mid-summer it is light until 10pm. Every season has something good about it. This shot was taken from our garden at 12 minutes to 10pm on Sunday, June 11th, 2017.

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday June 13th 2017

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot number remains zero. A=8 and K=2. There is Es on 10m, but no F2 propagation seen here.

Back on 6m JT65 transceive and 10m WSPR TX

Since breakfast, I have been active as usual on 10n WSPR TX (500mW) and 6m JT65 transceive (1W ERP). On 6m G spots only so far but some early Es on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 0934z: Now some Es on 6m JT65. EA5/G3XGS (1581km) has spotted me. Most 10m WSPR spots have been from Northern Europe so far.

UPDATE 1334z: although I am being widely spotted across Europe on 6m JT65, my own spots of others are not appearing on PSK Reporter Maps. Maybe it has forgotten the tick box for some reason or my internet upload is not working?

QRT

As the DX appears to have stopped, I am about to go QRT and turn off the PC.

Bird table visitor - NOT amateur radio

Every day we get jackdaws on our bird table. They are quite big birds, but quite fun. This one is busy tucking in to kitchen scraps. We now get quite a variety of birds. I think they know there is free food on offer! The starlings love the fat balls. A refill on Saturday was totally empty on Sunday.

Wireless charging from roads - NOT amateur radio

To me, this has to be the answer to a carbonless future with regard to road vehicles. Southgate News reports on trials in France and Israel where the road has embedded wireless charging for road vehicles. This means smaller, lighter, batteries in the vehicles, a longer battery life, and greater range.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/june/roads-with-built-in-wireless-charging.htm#.WT5ai7pFzmQ

Sunspots and 10m - Monday June 12th 2017

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot number remains zero. A=17 and K=2. There is Es on 10m and 6m.

10m WSPR (TX) and 6m JT65 (RX)

At the moment I am on the above modes and bands. If WSJT-X V1.7 and PSK Reporter Maps support JT9E, I may give this mode a try on 6m later on 50.290MHz.

UPDATE 1028z: Best DX on 6m JT65 RX is S65KXA (10734km) in Singapore. No Far East  (Japan, Korea etc.) spotted today.

UPDATE 1145z: 12 unique 10m WSPR spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today so far.

UPDATE 1720z: After a brief period on JT9E on 6m (nothing) I have returned to 6m JT65 transceive where I have been received across Europe by Es.

Same old stations on 10m WSPR

Unlike 6m JT65 where I frequently spot new stations and get spotted by new stations, in general my 10m 500mW TX beacon signal is received by the same European stations. The level of WSPR activity on 10m is definitely lower than 6m JT65. I only use 10m WSPR TX as this uses a different rig and antenna.

Out of choice, if I had to make one, I'd choose 6m JT65 in the Es season.

Hedge cutting - NOT amateur radio

Our laurel hedge in our front garden needs cutting several times a year to keep it in check. It makes a nice barrier, but we don't want it too high.

I swept up several wheel barrows of clippings. The photos shows me flicking the cuttings from the top of the hedge onto the grass.

As you can see, that 200 year old windmill really is "next door".

Poor Mrs May - NOT amateur radio

For a start, I was one of the many millions in the UK who did not vote for Mrs May (UK Prime minister) and the Conservatives. It looks like the rich are richer and the poor poorer under her party. This is wrong. If we are to have austerity let us all share the pain. As for a working alliance with the Democratic Unionists (DUP) in Northern Ireland, I am sure this will go down in history as a mistake.

To be fair, many expected a landslide with the Conservatives winning a big, clear, majority.  Instead, we ended up with a hung parliament and Mrs May hanging on by a whisker.  Most people rejected her autocratic style.

In some way I feel sorry for her. A week ago she could do no wrong, whereas now she is vilified.

Who knows what the future holds? It will be several years before the dust settles,  but beware any party that ignores the people it serves.

Oh, we still await a true charismatic leader in any UK party.

New near real time propagation tools

My thanks to Southgate News for bringing this to my attention.

Jim Bacon, G3YLA has a new propagation tool, which is worth linking. Jim does the TV weather in East Anglia, and is a well regarded Es expert.

See http://www.convectiveweather.co.uk/ionosphere/index.php

That letter Y - NOT amateur radio

Many many years ago I attended Salcombe Boy's Club. This was back in the 1950s when I was still very young. We played indoor sports followed by a brief religious service taken by 2 very kind men.

It is funny how some things stick even 60 years later. One of these was Mr Putt telling us how life was like the letter Y. The Y has two ends at the top, like life: you frequently have to choose a direction to go in. Often there is an easier path and a more difficult one. Often I reflect and wonder what would have happened had I followed a different path in life. This is a theme I have mentioned before.

What if I had gone to a different university or no university at all? What if I had got poor grades at A level? What if I had changed jobs and moved? What if I did that PhD that I turned down? I guess we can never know. Life is filled with such Y moments, but we do not realise it at the time. Perhaps in a multiverse we do take every path, but are only aware of one?

QRP and QRP Club

More news from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

Weekly QRP Rendez-Vous Report (June, 11, 2017)
Visitors  of  the  week:  UR0ET,  US5ERQ, US3EN, UA0SBQ, UF6V/UA1CEX,
R1CAF,  HB9BIN/p,  DK1HW, OH6NPV, UR5EFD, RV3GM, F8GLE, UY1IF, DJ9DX,
RU3NJC,  UA1CEG,  R4NX, PA3ALX, DL2DXA/p, R2FAE, OH5LP, RX3PR, OM6TC,
YO6ZH
New Visitors: DJ9DX, YO6ZH - you are welcome!
See full Visitors and Frequenters list on the Club 72 web page
Enjoy some pictures...
see  full version of the WQR Report with comments and pictures on the
blog page - http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
See you on te next weekly QRP Rendez-Vous!

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

This is a periodic Newsletter of the Club 72. Don't reply to Newsletter address! Send any requests or news to mr72@club72.su please.

10m and 6m

As usual, I am on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR TX. There is Es on both bands.

UPDATE 1700z:  A45XR (5796km) in Oman is the best DX on 6m JT65 RX today so far. I am convinced there are far more people now using this mode on 6m. Conditions for Es may be better this year, but I am sure the (great) levels of JT65 6m activity are helping.

UPDATE 2105z: 10m WSPR TX now QRT and RX only on 6m JT65.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday June 11th 2017

Solar flux is 74 today. Sunspot number is zero again. A=4 and K=2. There is Es on 10m and 6m, but no signs of F2 propagation DX.