New country (I think) on 6m WSPR

EA6GF (1428km) in JM19gm, has spotted me several times recently on 6m WSPR. This is the Balearic Is in the Med. Obviously Es.  I have worked this country on QRP SSB on 6m in previous summers.

UPDATE 1428z:  So far this summer, no sign of North African stations on 6m WSPR. In previous summer Es seasons CN8LI was a very regular reporter, but totally absent (for me) this summer.

UPDATE 1810z:  6m WSPR has been good all day with Es propagation. These are just the recent spots. As you can see, some of the signals are very strong.

Recent 6m WSPR spots

UPDATE 1855z:  Just exchanged  6m WSPR spots with CN8LI (2113km). Signals are strong too.  Funny!

Thunder?

So far the weather here in East Anglia has been good today.  I managed to cut both lawns this morning. It has just started to rain and there is a risk of thunder, although at the moment the storms are well east of this QTH. If the storm risk persists, I shall disconnect rigs and the PC.  The rain is, of course, Sod's Law as I just erected the hose to water the grass later!

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .

UPDATE 1445z:  The sun is now shining again.

UPDATE 1706z:   Thunder and lightning appeared here at 1645z, so I have closed down on both 10m and 6m, disconnected the antennas and the PC. According to the thunder maps, the storm was about 2 miles or less to the west. I'll monitor the maps and return to 10m and 6m WSPR when the storm has passed.

UPDATE 1810z:  It looks like the storm has passed, so I have recommenced 10m and 6m WSPR.

EA8BVP - Es or F2 on 10m?

EA8BVP (2986km) is again spotting my 500mW WSPR on 10m.  He spotted me at 1228z and, so far by 1332z,  7 times already today.  This could be by F2 or Es as there is a lot of Es about on 10m today, including stations in northern Spain around the half way point.  Last week, when I was away from home on holiday, I missed this station: he has been a regular 10m WSPR spotter most days for months. It was good to see him in the logs today again. In the past, I am pretty sure he was copied by single-hop F2, but today may well have been Es.

I am still hopeful of far more distant 10m (and 6m) WSPR spots well outside Europe by Es. In past years North America has been reachable by Es as has the Caribbean or even South America. So far, at least on WSPR, it has been Europeans and Israel only for me, the latter on 6m!

When conditions are good, people tend to leave WSPR and go to 10m SSB or CW or even AM or FM. This is understandable, but a pity as WSPR is most useful "sniffing out"  fleeting openings. You are far more likely to see a short (2 mins or even less) opening with WSPR as signal levels needed are low and there are usually plenty of people monitoring via WSPRnet.

UPDATE 1310z:   Just got a 10m WSPR report from DK6UG of  +11dB S/N. This is classic Es with enormous signals, much stronger than reports from locals. Es can be like this some days: just hugely strong signals. The implication is he would still have copied me even if I was using much less than 1mW.

UPDATE 1340z:  Not seen any sign of 6m stations from Japan. Don't know if this path has been open for the better equipped stations, but this very long path seems to open nearly every year in early June, possibly as a result of reflections off noctilucent clouds in the mesosphere?

UPDATE 1434z: EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted me 23 times today so far.

UPDATE 2010z:    EA8BVP has spotted me 63 times so far today.  Could the recent spots be F2?

Greece and Europe - NOT amateur radio

Greece seems to be in a serious mess financially, although the EU seems desperate for the Euro to survive the current crisis. It would appear Greece became a member of the Euro club based on rather dubious figures. Tax avoidance and early retirement ages appear to be a way of life in Greece and this is anathema to countries like Germany.

If Greece doesn't get kicked out of the Euro, they certainly need to change. We will see what happens. I expect we'll see yet another EU fudge and somehow Greece will survive, although it is not clear for how long. I'm very glad not to be Greek right now. Life there must be very hard, especially if you have no work.

With the EU ministers minds very much fixed on Greece and the very survival of the Euro, I cannot see David Cameron's mission to forge a new deal with Europe getting a very serious or good audience.

Each nation should ultimately have the last word on those who live and work in their particular country and on it laws, unless they sign up for a United States of Europe. The UK will not want this for the UK.  We have always, I think been in favour of free trade, but not the USE. If others wish this then that is their choice.

Personally, I hope we remain a part of the EU, but it does need to change.

Castle trust bonds: avoid? - NOT amateur radio

The top of my Gmail seems to have regular ads for Castle Trust offering bonds with very good interest rates.

I read somewhere that these funds are "dodgy" and you could end up losing capital. I have no idea whether true or not, but personally I shall be avoiding them. I once read that if something appears to be too good to be true then it is and is best avoided.

Generally, interest rates are poor.

Sunspots and 10m - June 22nd 2015

Sunspot number is 79 today (K=4, quite disturbed) and 10m propagation is "fair" again.  I'll be lucky to catch any F2 spots on 10m today, although Es looks promising on both 10m and 6m WSPR with plentiful EU Es DX on both bands. Yet again, the greater distances are on 6m. I assume the optimum Es skip must be greater on 6m than 10m?

UPDATE 1054z:  All the 10m activity seems to be Es currently apart from the locals.  I have received no "outside Europe" spots on 10m since before my holiday last week.

Early start on 6m Es

Not long after 0400z I was spotted by OH1KK (1848km) on 6m WSPR. Yesterday my 6m best DX was nearly twice as far as the best DX on 10m, which was via Es.

UPDATE 1035z:  Lots of 6m (and 10m) Es around with spots from right across Europe. The Es season was late starting here with me, but certainly across Europe is now in full swing.

4X1RF (3519km) spotting me yet again on 6m WSPR

I truly believe this is too regular and too far for multi-hop Es.  I remain to be convinced. Yet again 4X1RF (3519km) has spotted my 1W ERP signal on 50MHz. So far, he has spotted me 4 times today on 6m WSPR. Amazing. Signal at the moment seem to be getting stronger.

UPDATE 1726z: 4X1RF (3519km) has now spotted me 9 times on 6m WSPR so far today and the signal is getting stronger. The last report was -15dB S/N.
 
UPDATE 1821z: 4X1RF has now spotted my 6m WSPR signal 13 times today so far. There is other Es about too at much shorter range.

UPDATE 2005z: 4X1RF has now spotted my 1W ERP on 6m 22 times today.  Incredible almost.

UPDATE 2018z:   Plenty of 6m Es about with spots from HB9 and EA1. Spots from 4X1RF seem to have stopped now.

UKAC 70cm results so far this year

At the moment I am in 97th position out of 141 entries in the AL section of this, once a month, RSGB activity contest on 70cms. It takes place on a Tuesday evening between 8.00pm and 10.30pm UK clock time.

With a small 5 element hand-rotated beam and 5W and having missed one session in May, I don't consider this too bad. I usually am only able to operate for about 40% of the contest time because of my poor (stroke affected) voice.

The next 70cm session of the UKAC is on Tuesday, July 14th. All being well, I shall be active for this session, probably for an hour or thereabouts.

Using the RTL-SDR as a transmitter

OK, this is very low power but it shows you what can be done. A QRPP transmitter or signal generator anywhere between 500MHz and 1.5GHz.

Please note the image below is not on my blog (it is linked as shown) and will be immediately removed if this is a problem.

http://rtlsdrblog.rtlsdrblog.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/transmit_hack_rtlsdr-500x375.jpg

See http://www.rtl-sdr.com/using-the-rtl-sdr-as-a-transmitter/

See also http://www.steila.com/SDR/RFgenmod/index.html .

Good EU Es on 6m and 10m WSPR

Throughout the day, there was good Es on both 6m and 10m WSPR with plentiful EU exchanges of spots on both bands. So far, I have seen no evidence on WSPR of real Es DX outside Europe apart from spots by 4X1RF, although not today. See later post about 4X1RF spots.

Of course, I was not on last week.

Sunspots and 10m - June 21st 2015

Sunspot number is 84 today (K=1) and 10m is expected to remain "fair". Not that much F2 propagation, but with the prospect of Es to liven up both 10m and 6m.

Japanese goods should be cheaper!

The exchange rate (Sterling to Yen) has improved enormously in the last few years and was around 195 Yen to the UK Pound in recent days. Not long ago (2 years ago?) it was less than 130 Yen to the Pound. In real terms Japanese radios should be hugely less expensive based on the exchange rate alone becoming so much more favorable. These are not marginal changes they are huge.

Don't feel too sorry for the dealers. After all, they have to put fuel in their cars. If they struggled a few years ago they are not struggling any more! No, we the consumers are seen as easy fodder, to be milked. The dealers make big profits from early adopters who must have that shiny new radio whatever the cost. Once their greed has been satisfied, the price will drop to attract the rest of us.  I predict the Yaesu FT991 will soon drop in price. Just how much will depend on how much of the exchange rate change the dealers are prepared to pass on to us. One thing is certain, the UK dealers are doing well at the moment.

The FT817 is another story. All development costs were recovered in the first few years. As for LCD and other "supply issues" I just do not believe it. These radios have sold well worldwide for about 15 years and Yaesu has the buying power on anything. No, the true story is someone is making huge profits on this radio, and we the buying public are being taken for a ride.

When the Chinese take the amateur market seriously the Japanese suppliers and their dealers will have a rude awakening.

Jersey - NOT amateur radio

The plane we flew home in.

Well, I can recommend Jersey as a holiday destination. We had very good weather and a good hotel and room which helped. Staying in St Helier helped as the outstanding bus service was right on the doorstep. There was no need to hire a car as everywhere was accessible by the very regular bus service.

The island has small roads in the main, lovely villages, good beaches and a rugged coastline. The people were all kind and helpful. Currency is Sterling and English spoken. Most street names are French even though British since Norman times.

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.