Overnight 6m and 10m WSPRing

Now back home again, I left my WSPR running on 6m and 10m. There was Es on both bands yesterday evening but overnight spots on 10m by local G4IKZ(18km) and on 6m spots exchanged with G0OQK (98km). No overnight Es seen here on either band.

Es on 10m and 6m WSPR

Since arriving home again after our week on Jersey I have been active on 10m and 6m WSPR. There is European Es on both bands. Now home again I shall return to normal WSPR patterns again.

Sunspots and 10m - June 19th 2015

Sunspot number has dropped to 82 (K=1) and 10m is expected to remain "fair".

GJ3XBM/P?

Maybe I should have packed my VX2 dual bander and been GJ3XBM/P? The view from the hotel bedroom is splendid and any local repeaters probably workable.

The tragedy of war - NOT amateur radio

This morning we are visiting the war tunnels made with slave labour when the Channel Is were occupied by the Germans in WW2. I am sure many Germans were pleased to be here rather than on the Eastern Front. Some were evil. The tragedy of war is that normal people are forced to do evil things. Most would rather just be normal civilians doing ordinary things. These days (different times) I am sure any visiting German people are made as welcome as we have been made by these kind people. UPDATE 1510z: Just been to see the tapestries to commemorate the years of occupation and pleased that reconciliation with the German people is high on the agenda. We live in peace.

Sunspots and 10m - June 18th 2015

Sunspot number is little changed at 94 (K=2) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "fair". Conditions look similar to yesterday.

SAQ VLF reminder

A chance to test your VLF system and get a very interesting QSL card.

REMINDER! 
We will remind you of the Grimeton Radio/SAQ transmission on VLF frequency 17.2 kHz, CW, with the Alexanderson 200 kW alternator on “ALEXANDERSON DAY”, Sunday, June 28th, at 09:00 UTC and 12:00 UTC (11:00 and 14:00 SVT). We will start tuning up some 30 minutes before the message. There. will be activity on amateur radio frequencies during the day with the call SK6SAQ. Frequencies: - 7,035 CW or 14,035 CW - 3,755 SSB - 145,700/145,100 VHF FM repeater (R-4/RV-56) QSL to SK6SAQ via SM bureau. QSL-reports on SAQ transmissions are kindly received: - E-mail to: info@alexander.n.se - or via: SM bureau - or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen Grimeton 72 SE-432 98 GRIMETON Sweden The radio station will be open to visitors from 08:00 to 14:00 UTC (10:00 to 16:00 SVT). Welcome! 

Also read our web site: www.alexander.n.se

Sunspots and 10m - June 17th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen back to 87 (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "fair".

6m Es - VK style

Interesting that it is now wintertime in Australia yet the only recent DX in the WSPRnet database are VKs reporting Es spots out to around 1600km. Nothing from Europe.

4X1RF DX yet again

At teatime tonight G0OQK was copied on 6m WSPR by 4X1RF (3555km). Amazing distances again. If this is multi-hop Es then I am amazed.

Antenna spotting

When away from home for a few days it is fun to spot signs of amateur activity. On Sunday I noticed an HF beam in the west of the island and today an HF beam and 6m beam on one mast and VHF/UHF antennas on a separate mast. The latter was in St Helier on Jersey.

6m Es - longest single hop?

As I have mentioned before I am extremely puzzled why 4X1RF manages to hear way over 3500km on 6m regularly yet there is no sign of stations at intermediate hops . I wonder what blog readers think is a typical distance for single hop Es at 6m?

Sunspots and 10m - June 16th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen back to 107 with more disturbed conditions (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "fair".

4X1RF spotting Germans on 6m WSPR

Yet again  4X1RF is spotting VERY long distances on 6m WSPR - this time over 2700km. It may be Es but I have real doubts this is multi-hop.

Who do you believe? - NOT amateur radio

With all wars it is hard to get real facts not propaganda. I am unsure what I believe. The BBC reported that a senior IS leader had been killed. Is this fact or are we being fed propaganda?

Sunspots and 10m - June 15th 2015

Sunspot number remains pretty good at 117 (K=2) and 10m is again expected to remain "fair".

Sunspots and 10m - Sun June 14th 2015

Sunspot number is 129 today (K=1) and 10m is "fair" again.

10m - my best band of all

10m has always been my best band. I have lost count of the DXCC totals with QRP SSB. Chasing countries has never been a real activity of mine, although I still get a "kick" from working a new country.

At sunspot peaks it supports world-wide DX with QRP and simple wire antennas. Even in the quiet solar years there is often some DX to be found and usually late April to September there is sporadic-E (Es) to be found with good signals over ranges up to around 1500km and sometimes further. These are for the northern hemisphere.  There tends to be a smaller Es peak around December/January.  It is the reverse in the southern hemisphere. It is quite normal to hear USA stations by Es in the summertime, but usually openings are not for long.

If 10m is quiet it is worth checking CB frequencies (11m) as a "band open" sign. Often CB can be busy when 10m is quiet due to lack of activity.  Thanks to Steve VE7SL for this good advice.

At night and in the quiet years it is an ideal band for local nets on FM or AM. At 1.7MHz wide it is big band so all modes can be supported.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/10m_op .

Sunspots and 10m - June 13th 2015

Sunspot number has dipped below 100 and currently stands at 96 (K=2). 10m propagation is expected to be "fair". I have disconnected the antennas and PC (6m and 10m) as there is a risk of storms. Pretty sure  I can hear distant thunder. Currently it is drizzling outside.  Es may liven things up on both 10m and 6m.

At the moment, this peak is slow to go and I am pretty sure conditions on the higher HF bands will still be pretty good this autumn and winter. Numbers have dropped a bit on average, but not too far yet.

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

Missing the bad storms tonight?

According to the latest BBC weather for our region, we should again miss the thunder and lightning here overnight with the storms tracking east of us and on into the North Sea. I will leave my 10m and 6m beacons running overnight but will probably go QRT at breakfast time.

See http://www.blitzortung.org/Webpages/index.php?lang=en&page_0=12 .

10m and 6m Es and F2

EA8BVP (2986km) was spotting me a few times (presumably single hop F2) and there was also some Es around mid afternoon, on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1656z:  I see that DL1KAI (645km) was spotted on 6m WSPR about 30 minutes ago via Es. Otherwise just Gs on 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1935z:  WSPR spots exchanged with OH7AZL (2000km) on 6m about a hour ago.

UPDATE 2000z:  Spotted by OH3LMN (1747km) a few minutes ago on 6m WSPR at a decent -17dB S/N.  Sadly no activity from Japan.

UPDATE 2140z:  EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted my 500mW 64 times already today on 10m WSPR.

DXing with crystal sets

Yes, it is possible to hear a long way on a crystal set. The equipment needed can be extremely simple too.  What is needed are a good pair of ears and sensitive headphones.   My ears are getting old and if I can hear this DX then younger ears certainly can. I have found a low cost very high impedance crystal earpiece worked well. You may have better headphones?

Copying amateurs, most of whom use SSB, is more difficult. Remember, a simple crystal set is only able to envelope detect, although in the USA 75m AM signals are regularly copied at great range. Some SSB signals on 10m Es should be strong enough to envelope detect. Based on my tests, if stronger than 500uV to 1mV the signals should be copyable. Quite a few signals can be this strong.

See  https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset .

Sunspots and 10m - June 12th 2015

Sunspot number has dropped marginally to 101 (K=1) and 10m propagation is again expected to be "fair". The main hope on 10m is some Es to liven things up a bit.

UPDATE 1007z:  So far just G spots on 10m WSPR.

6m magic

Until I went QRT last evening (thunderstorm risk) most spots were G stations.

Then, out of the blue, at 2120z last night a spot from 4X1RF (3519km) in Israel of my 1W ERP 6m WSPR signal. No Es around indicating multi-hop Es. In fact I am convinced this is not multi-hop Es. He has now spotted me on 3 different days this summer and many times last summer on 6m WSPR. No, if this is Es then it is some other mechanism. These spots occur often and there is no evidence of Es at closer (intermediate) range.

Lightning?

The weather forecast is for thunder and lightning moving up from France during tomorrow. This will mean disconnecting the 10m and 6m rigs. I'll do that in a minute.

G&S - NOT amateur radio

Nearly every year we go to a summer theatre held in a barn in a nearby village. They always do a Gilbert and Sullivan production. This year it was "The Gondoliers". As usual, for a totally amateur group, it was excellent. This has become part of our June landscape now. The Gondoliers was first produced in 1889.

Cranial osteopathy - stroke update

In Cambridge I had my second session today and almost fell asleep!

 

The osteopath is convinced that many of my issues are due to stress (my body has taken quite a beating these last 2 years) and she is teaching my body to relax. I have 3 more sessions booked, maybe more later. The next one is in 2 weeks time.  The session today was all massage and very relaxing. She massaged my head and body.  

 

Some would call cranial osteopathy a "snake oil" treatment. I remain open minded but I shall definitely continue as long as I think it is helping me.

Mizuho QRP SSB rigs

I don't think this company still exists.

At one time you could buy Mizuho single band SSB handhelds for many bands up to 2m including many HF bands.  I owned the 2m 200mW pep version (MX2) and managed to work some decent SSB DX with mine mostly with a 1/2wave whip on the rig. The main issue was the poor battery life, so I tended to use an external 9.6V battery.

My rig was used in the main with a homebrew 2m-10m transverter and I worked all over the world on 10m with just the tiny Mizuho rig on the desk.

If I remember right I covered the CW and main SSB parts of 10m by having a couple of crystals in the transverter. Somewhere I still have the transverter, although it has not been used for years.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/mx2 .

Good deal on 10m multi-mode rig

From Steve G1KQH (font or fount of all knowledge) comes news of a very good deal from Nevada:

http://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/amateur-radio/transceivers/mobile-transceivers/president-lincoln-ii

 

73 Steve
http://www.g1kqh.talktalk.net/

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs June 11th 2015

Sunspot number is virtually unchanged at 105 today (K=3). 10m is expected to be "fair" again, so with just Es to liven up 10m it is likely to be an uneventful day. Likewise, Es could add some interest on 6m as well.

So far no Es spotted here on either band on WSPR.

6m Es this teatime

I see that my 1W ERP 6m WSPR was spotted by DL5AP (709km) at 1708z this evening.  Other than this single spot, it has been G spots given and received with the best DX being G4BRK (134km). No real DX spots given or received on 6m and pretty quiet on 10m too here.

Quiet on 10m WSPR today

Apart from a spot by CT1JTQ (1843km) at 0850z and HA9AL (1455km) at 1208z it has been very quiet on 10m WSPR today.

Pye Telecom PF8 - NOT amateur radio

Some years ago I was professionally involved in the design of this innovative transceiver. I am sure I mentioned this on the blog not too long ago.

Some people managed to find rare examples on the secondhand market and converted them to 70cms use. They are hard to find as not that many were made.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/pf8 .

CCS - NOT amateur radio

One of my activities is running the website for the choir my wife sings in. They perform a major choral work with professional soloists and a professional orchestra usually in the spring in the Cambridge area. Sometimes it is in Kings College Chapel, sometimes elsewhere.

See https://sites.google.com/site/cambschoral/ .

Sunspots and 10m - Wed June 10th 2015

Sunspot number is 110 today (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to be "fair" again. Spotted by 10m Es in Portugal early this morning, but otherwise no-one else spotting the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.

On 6m, again lots of GDX, but no Es as yet seen.

Found it! Ferrite Rod

For the first time in nearly two years (because of my brain bleed) I managed to get into our loft space today. Quite by chance I came across the small ferrite rod that I used for my MF ATU/loading coil and ferrite TX antenna experiments. It means next autumn I can use a far smaller loading coil on 472kHz. I'd looked everywhere for this without success. Clearly I did not find it in my shack as my XYL had put it in the loft whilst I was in hospital for so long!

Lundy - NOT amateur radio

http://www.holidayhomehunter.co.uk/jpg/lundy_island.jpg

Maybe we all have a "special" island that we identify with. There is something about islands that make them special. Lundy is special to me, although I only visited once in 1961.  It is off the north coast of Devon, but it has been fiercely independent in the past. These days it is owned by the Landmark Trust and managed by the National Trust. There are a number of homes for hire for a few days or a week.  Demand is high. You may also camp on Lundy.

Occasionally radio amateurs mount IOTA activations from the island, but most visit it for a few hours on a day trip or for a few days to enjoy the peace, quiet and birds. There are no cars on Lundy.  There is a wintertime helicopter service from near Hartland Point in North Devon.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lundy .

VK3YE homebrew 7MHz SSB transceiver

Steve G1KQH (font, or is it fount (?) of all knowledge) sent me this link of the homebrew 7MHz SSB transceiver by VK3YE:

New Homebrew 7MHz QRP rig from VK3YE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMSL5KH42m4&feature=em-subs_digest

6m Es - report from Sweden

6m WSPR came to life at 0940z with a spot of my 1W ERP signal by SM67464 (999km). I am hopeful of more 6m Es spots later.
UPDATE 1110z:  I see I spotted  DK1KW (914km) on 6m WSPR at 1054z. Things seem to be livening up on 6m Es at last. Not before time too.

UPDATE 1230z:  Good to spot an old work colleague on 6m WSPR - G3WKW (134km) at 1152z. We have exchanged spots before on WSPR, even on 2m, usually with the help of aircraft.

UPDATE 1314z:  Yet again 4X1RF (3519km) has spotted my 6m 1W ERP WSPR at a decent -17dB S/N.  This is a LONG way for Es. This is far from unique on 6m as he spotted me a few weeks ago and he spotted me last summer too. Is this really multi-hop Es?

UPDATE 1840z:  Just the single "real DX" 6m WSPR spot today at 1308z by 4X1RF (3519km). I know he has spotted others too, probably with more ERP in his direction than me! Since then, and all day in fact, plenty of GDX spots of others and of me, in my case, out to 103km. Es was there on the band, but it was not plentiful.

UPDATE 2144z:  I have now gone QRT on 6m and 10m WSPR, but will be on again at breakfast time on both bands. I am convinced that the 6m spots by 4X1RF are not multi-hop Es. Looking at his logs, there are no spots of stations at intermediate"hops" at the right times. This may be Es, but I do not agree with the multi-hop hypothesis. Maybe there is some kind of chordal hop Es?

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday June 9th 2015

Sunspot count is 122 (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to be "fair" again.  I have no idea what this will mean. So far this morning, apart from spots by local G4IKZ (18km) there have been spots from Italy and Germany by Es.  No F2 DX seen here on 10m yet.

UPDATE 1255z:  Lots of Es on 10m WSPR today, with my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon spotted all across Europe from Norway to Italy.