6m 3W FT8 (Saturday)

Stations spotting my 3W 6m FT8 today at 1312z

My gear was turned on at breakfast.

UPDATE 1725z:  Spotted by 177 stations.

Far East 6m openings

So far, with my set-up, I have not managed to catch any Far East openings on 6m FT8 this summer. They occur as regularly as clockwork about now.

These amazing openings seem to be linked to the formation of noctilucent clouds in the mesosphere. Apparently, with global warming, these are becoming more common.

i guess compared with a beam at a decent height I could be down 10-15dB with my V2000 omni fed with CB coax. This means I could well miss some weak signals. I have spotted 6m Japanese signals in some years.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud .

6m 3W FT8 (Friday)

My gear was turned on at about 0840z.

UPDATE 1106z:  So far, spotted by 40 stations. 

6m 3W FT8 (Thursday)

My gear was turned on at about 0600z.

UPDATE 1340z: 148 stations spotting so far.

6m 3W FT8 (Wednesday)

My gear was turned on at about 0815z.

UPDATE 1323z:  Spotted by 52 stations, probably Es.

6m 3W FT8 (Tuesday)

My gear was turned on at about 0852z.

UPDATE 1106z:   Spotted by 23 stations. 

6m FT8 RX (Monday)

My 6m gear was left on RX overnight in the hope I might spot some Far East stations on 6m FT8 around breakfast.

UPDATE 0820z:   Just lots of Europeans on Es. Now QRT.

6m 3W FT8 (Sunday)

 My gear was turned on at about 0800z.

UPDATE 0915z: Plenty of European stations (Es I presume) spotting me. Now QRT.

6m 3W FT8 (Saturday)

My gear was turn on at 1322z.

UPDATE  1541z:  30 stations have spotted me.

6m 3W FT8 (Friday)

After the last few days, I think it is unlikely that 6m will open again today as it has for the last 2 days to North America. 

Early in the mornings some have been lucky enough to catch those seasonal openings on 6m from Western Europe to the Far East. These openings seem to coincide  with the formation of noctilucent clouds high in the atmosphere. I think I read somewhere that these are becoming more frequent with global warming, so maybe these openings will become more frequent?

In a few moments I expect to be on 6m 3W FT8

UPDATE 1936z:  191 stations have spotted my 3W FT8 and I have spotted 237 stations here. For the third day running, the USA has been spotted here on 6m FT8. This could be multiple hop Es, but I think some sort of chordal hop E is more probable personally. Signals were strong.

6m 5W FT8 (Thursday)

 My gear was turned on just after 1100z. It would appear that 6m is again open to the USA.

UPDATE 1305z:   So far, 130 stations have spotted me and I have spotted plenty of Europeans and 3 stations in the USA. My best report is from D4L (4517km) in the Cape Verde Islands.

Thunder stops play

Stations spotting me today on 5W 6m FT8

We had (may still be having) the biggest transatlantic opening on 6m this Es season.  Already, I have been spotted by VA2WA (5221km) in Canada and I have spotted a wide number of stations on 6m FT8 in the USA and Canada.

Nearby storms

Then the thunder came and I had to disconnect everything! The map shows where my 5W to the V2000 vertical omni was spotted today .... before the storm stopped play,

6m 3W FT8 (Sunday)

My gear was turned on before breakfast.

UPDATE 1013z: So far, spotted by 108 stations. Good Es.

UPDATE 1824z: 223 stations have spotted me. Now QRT. See map showing stations spotting me today on 6m FT8.

6m 3W FT8 (Saturday)

My gear was turned on at about 0815z.

UPDATE 0953z:  Spotted by 17 English stations. No Es yet.

6m 3W FT8 (Friday)

My gear was turned on just after 0800z. 

UPDATE 0814z: Spotted by 6 English stations.

UPDATE 1752z: Returned to 6m FT8.  Spotted by19 stations and I  have spotted 20 stations here.

6m 3W FT8 (Wednesday)

My gear was turned on at about 0805z.

UPDATE 1120z:  Spotted by 264 stations here so far today. See map. Best Es yet.

6m 3W FT8 (Tuesday)

My gear was turned on just after 1000z.

UPDATE 1016z:  Spotted by 34 stations already and 29 stations spotted here.

UPDATE 1447z:  After seeing rumours about a 6m opening to the USA, I gave up on 8m and returned to 6m FT8. No joy so far. 105 stations have spotted my 3W 6m FT8 today - mostly Europeans.

6m 3W FT8 (Monday)

My gear has been on much of the morning.

UPDATE 1645z: Spotted by 147 stations with the best D4L (4517 km) and 159 stations spotted here including my first from the USA this summer on 6m.

The magic band

Many people think of 6m as the "magic band". Openings occur when least expected. Other times all that can be heard is white noise.

Around this time, as regular as clockwork, 6m opens to the Far East from Western Europe, probably linked to the formation of noctilucent clouds. 

At this time of year Es often links with F2 propagation further south bringing really long distance communication within range such as yesterday when stations well south in Brazil were copied on 6m. Stations in the Caribbean were also being worked, so perhaps the first hop was some sort of chordal hop E layer propagation. 

I’m only using a V2000 vertical so those with high gain beams could have done much better. 

I can see why many call it the "magic band" !!

6m 3W FT8 (Sunday)

My gear was turned on at about 0905z

UPDATE 1700z:   Spotted by 199 stations (mostly European) and I have spotted 259 here, presumably Es mostly.   

UPDATE 2130z:   At last, 3 stations way down in Brazil were spotted with the best PY5XT (9891km).