6m USA - not today I suspect!

It looks like I am seeing no 10m WSPR spots today from the USA, so I very much doubt there will be any F2 6m propagation "across the pond" today.

This is where FT8 is so useful. It works with weak, fleeting signals and is well monitored. If it even briefly opens on 6m, we would know about it. This is why this mode will be good on 10m in the quiet years.

6m - could we get F2 openings?

With the currently high sunspot numbers there is a chance of F2 openings on 6m. I  shall try again for the USA after lunch. Apparently it was open to Australia but I spotted nothing on my omni vertical yesterday!

UPDATE 1610z: No sign here today of F2 activity on 6m. I shall stick with it as today has been exceptional on 10m WSPR. I have spotted one station on 6m FT8 in the USA this autumn. I suspect now is too late.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Tuesday)

 As well as spots of me by G4KPX (14km) and EA8BFK (2880km) I am getting spots from YO3BN (2083km). I assume the latter is via F2.

UPDATE 1546z:  USA and Canada coming through with 56 spots of my 500mW WSPR from "across the pond".

UPDATE 1809z: 75 stations have spotted me today. See Phil VK7JJ 's WSPRrocks website.

UPDATE 2056z:  80 spots of me today.

Es or F2 or F2 backscatter?

Today, my QRP 6m FT8 has been widely copied in SE and central Europe. At the last count, 89 stations had spotted me. Now Es can occur at any time of year, but I wonder if these spots are related to F2 propagation?

I am definitely not a propagation expert, so would appreciate your thoughts.

The latest Es map suggests it is Es. See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .

HF, 8m and 6m

 Well, today was pathetic on 8m FT8 and 10m WSPR. 

The main Es season has now ended and the main F2 peak is a few months off. Most of my reports recently on 10m, 8m and 6m with QRP were via Es. 

These openings will occur, but not with the frequency we were used to in May, June and July. Probably 10m FT8 is worth a try as there is far more activity than WSPR. Also, the far shorter TX periods of just 15 seconds means that very short openings may be caught. FT8 is about 8dB worse than WSPR mind you.

F2 disturbed?

It is interesting that not a single signal has been spotted today from outside Europe on 10m FT8.  At the same time, I have spotted plenty from Europe on 10m FT8, presumably by Es propagation.

I am no expert on HF propagation, but it would seem F2 propagation is upset by poor by solar conditions, but not Es. If Es does suffer, the effect is much smaller.

D2UY in Angola has been a good indicator of propagation. Not seen this station today on 10m FT8.

6m F2?

It would appear that better stations are working into Africa by F2 on 6m. F2 is usually better on N-S paths than E-W. I know of at least 1 serious 6m operator that has 4 x 6 elements on 6m. That is seriously keen!

The sunspot number and solar flux are usually high most days, so the N-S MUF probably goes above 50 MHz briefly.

HF conditions

It is rare for me to go lower than 28 MHz on HF. Certainly conditions on 10m seem good with loads of spots of my QRP 10m FT8 from the USA. I had to QSY, but when I left the band it was still good.  

I was hoping this was my first chance of F2 to/from the USA on 8m, but not this time. Whenever 10m F2 looks promising E-W, I shall try 8m FT8. Hopefully there will be other chances. 

Having worked the USA with QRP SSB handheld from the bedroom, I am in with a chance on 8m FT8.

Propagation mode?

Both yesterday and the day before, I had over 70 reports of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. Today I have had just a few reports and these could be by F2. Es can be very localised with strong signals somewhere and nothing a few kilometres away.

On 8m I am frequently spotted by EI9KP (649km). This happens so often that I suspect some other form of propagation other than F2 or Es is involved such as random meteors or aircraft scatter. 

The period of FT8 makes me think random meteors or aircraft unlikely. It is far too far to EI9KP for tropo. 

Am I missing something? 

F2 on 10m?

Even with my tiny loop indoors, I am spotting plenty of stations in Eastern Europe and the Canaries on 10m FT8. This looks like F2 propagation. In the last few days there has been propagation to the southern USA as well on 10m.

If things continue like this, 10m could again be a really good DX band certainly by next autumn.

10m Es "out of season"

As if to prove a point, there has been some E layer propagation just about every day I have tried in recent weeks on 10m. 10m is certainly far from dead out of the Es seasonal months. My recommended mode is JT65 which can be used for 2-way QSOs or beaconing. WSPR should be better, but activity seems lower.

UPDATE 1544z: Plenty of Es on 10m JT65 today. I think the spots of Holland and Belgium were probably by aircraft reflection. No South Americans yet.

UPDATE 1705z: 2 South Americans (near Rio) have been copied on 10m JT65. Sunspots? Who needs them?

UPDATE 1826z:   12 South Americans spotted on 10m JT65 so far this evening (best DX Chile and Argentina), although no-one has spotted my 2W yet. Is this TEP?

UPDATE 1915z:  20 South Americans spotted on 10m JT65. This is very high, when the sunspot count is zero! Nothing today from the Caribbean or North America.

Autumn Conditions on 10m?

We are already in autumn according to the UK Met Office, although I have yet to see any signs of autumn conditions on 10m JT65 or 10m WSPR. The best 10m conditions are usually later in the season but I remain hopeful of some USA openings on 10m this autumn. With solar conditions getting worse, this is probably the last chance many of us will see for USA stations on 10m by F2. Es occasionally allows 10m openings to the USA and Canada in the summer. The next peak is years away and may be poor.

I think the mantra is "wait and see". We live in hope! This is where WSPR and JT65 are particularly useful: there are usually plenty of people TXing and RXing all the time. If the 10m band opens even briefly, it will be noticed.

UPDATE 1938z: I am pleasantly surprised by the amount of Es on both 6m and 10m this late in the year. I have said many times that there is Es at all times of the year, although not at the same level as in the main Es "season".  WSPR and JT65 are ideal 10m modes when the band seems "dead". You'd be surprised!

UPDATE 2050z: PY2HH (9610km) in Southern Brazil has been spotted on 10m JT65 this evening.

10m JT65 - no Es yet today

10m JT65 has been my focus again today. As yet, I have seen no Es but 4X1RF (3518km) spotted me a few minutes ago. I checked sync a few hours ago. Last evening both CE and LU were spotted on 10m JT65.

No early Es on 10m today

Unlike yesterday, I was spotted by no-one early on 10m Es today. Es is sporadic so it is entirely possible 10m and 6m could open to somewhere later. F2 openings are unlikely although not impossible on N-S paths, especially if we see Es and F2 propagation combined.

UPDATE 1625z:  Just local G4KPX (14km) spotting me on 10m today. No sign of Es on either 10m or 6m WSPR here.

Still no 6m WSPR spots

Although 10m WSPR is still very good for Es with spots received from all over the place (in Europe), 6m is still not producing any spots here. Maybe later?

I was also hoping for some brief N-S F2 DX on 10m WSPR, but it has just been Es so far. My 10m antenna is not the best, so others may fair better?

UPDATE 1905z:  Still no spots given or received on 6m WSPR, although 10m WSPR has been good with Es all day long. I shall probably QSY from 6m to MF later.

10m Es and F2

This morning there is Es on 10m WSPR already and N-S F2 propagation. A promising start.

10m F2 DX

PU3WSF (10416km) has been spotted on WSPR 2 times in recent minutes. I shall stay on 10m WSPR a bit longer in the hope that my own signal will reach S.America before the band dies out. Good to see some F2 DX on the band. At this time of year it is possible some of these openings are a combination of Es and F2 further to the south. There has been Es right across Europe all day on 10m.

UPDATE 2135z:  Nothing on 10m WSPR for over an hour now. I am staying on the band overnight, but think we have now seen the end of F2 and Es for the day.

All quiet on 10m and 6m WSPR so far today

So far, there have been no spots on 10m WSPR or 6m WSPR. No F2 DX and no Es in evidence. This quite different from yesterday when on 10m there was a lot of Es about.

UPDATE 2116z:  EA1FAQ (1249km) was copied on 10m WSPR by Es earlier.  I have now QSYed to 630m (472kHz) WSPR for the night until after breakfast tomorrow.

10m - magic band!

Many times before I have said 10m, like 6m, is a "magic band" that likes to surprise you. Today was no exception. Little did I expect to both give and receive WSPR spots with South America, but that is what the band turned up today. 4X1RF also spotted me in Israel on 10m. Magic band indeed!

UPDATE 1610z:  I now see that YL2GL (1747km) is being spotted. This is probably wintertime Es.

SLOWLY declining solar activity

The slide down from a solar maximum is (usually) slower than the climb from the minimum to the maximum. Very gradually, the sun is going "off the boil" and solar activity is slowly falling away. With each year for several years to come things will get progressively harder on the higher bands. Some are predicting the next maximum may be a "damp squib", so enjoy the conditions while they last. It is quite possible that 10m will never be as good again in the lifetimes of many of us. Certainly 10m is already not as good as a year ago. Although Es is good at any part of the cycle in late spring and summer, F2 DX is best around the peak of solar activity. In the past 6m has supported worldwide DX at times, but I think those days are sadly over.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .