Thunder risks

This next few days we are at great risk of thunder and lightning. We are in the middle of a heatwave with hot, damp air moving up from the south. As a precaution I have disconnected the 10m and 6m WSPR rigs, PC, antennas and mains plugs.

Luckily I have never suffered a lightning strike but know friends who have. One was living in a very ordinary home, was not a radio amateur or SWL, had no big antennas, but his electrics were knocked for six and ruined. Earth's natural electrical activity should always be treated with respect. I don't like thunderstorms at all.  Even if not directly hit, the power surges can cause damage.

As I write this, Greece is having bad storms according to the maps.

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

Sunspots and 10m - Tues June 30th 2015

Sunspot number has little changed. Today it is 36 (K=2) and 10m propagation remains "poor". I am not expecting great F2 propagation but have gone QRT (storm risks) on 10m and 6m.

UPDATE 1025z:  There was early Es evident here on 10m WSPR (Italian spotting me ) but quiet on 6m WSPR

6m WSPR - just Gs here all day

What a disappointing day on 6m!  Quite a few WSPR spots given and received but all have been G stations with no sign of Es here. With thunderstorms close, I shall probably go QRT on 6m and 10m in the morning

EA8BVP (2986km) - 39 spots on 10m WSPR so far

EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted me 39 times so far on 10m WSPR today. There has been some Es on 10m but very little. I suspect some of these spots were Es but most, I think, were F2. EA8BVP has spotted me most days now for months.

JT9-1 on 20m and 10m

As 10m and 6m were doing nothing much, I had another outing on JT9-1 on 20m QRP.  There were several stations active.  A look on PSK reporter showed that my CQ signals were crossing Europe (see map), but sadly no-one wanted a QSO. With QRP, I think the best strategy is to call others calling CQ. There seems plenty of space on JT9-1 on 20m.

A CQ call on 10m JT9-1 was not successful, although I have used this mode on 10m in the past. Unlike WSPR, JT9-1 is a true 2-way digital mode, with QSOs taking about 6 minutes to complete. WSPR works with weaker signals but needs 2 minute periods, whereas JT9-1 overs are just 1 minute.

Hate and the internet - NOT amateur radio

There is no doubt that the internet is a powerful force for good and evil. It allows people to connect, whether fit or disabled and irrespective of class, creed, or sexual orientation. However there is also a dark side. People can use it to spread hate and violence. There is a fine line between openness and censorship. I am a believer that what a person does in private is his or her affair as long as no-one else is hurt. What is acceptable to one person may not be to someone else. However, I believe it is right to take down anything that is hateful or incites others to act in a hateful way. As long as all the people involved are consenting it matters not what happens in private. A line is crossed when hate is incited. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and ISPs should remove all material likely to incite hate.

Disappointing day so far on 10m and 6m WSPR

It has been disappointing on 10m with very little Es seen here so far. On 6m, it has been even worse with just G spots given and received.

If things continue to be poor I may try some JT9-1 on a lower band.

Sunspots and 10m - June 29th 2015

Sunspot number is a little up on yesterday at 39 (K=2), but 10m is expected to remain "poor" today.  I have already been spotted by EA8BVP (2986km) on 10m WSPR,which is hopeful, but this may have been Es.

JT9-1 (20m) and a change on 10m

For a complete change I went on JT9-1 on 20m for a little while (worked LZ5QZ) then returned to 10m WSPR using the FT817 so I could receive as well as transmit. I am running about 2W and see that EA8BVP (2986km) has yet again spotted me on 10m.  I am spotting G4IKZ (18km).

Hard reset time

As part of my recovery I usually do a short 5 minute walk morning and night.  When out this evening I did a "hard" reset of my 10m and 6m WSPR stations.  All power was removed, the PC (used with the FT817 on 6m) was turned off for the duration of the walk. Now home again both the 6m and 10m WSPR kits were turned on again and the whole lot sync'd to Internet time.

I hope to stay on both bands overnight, although, so far, I have not managed to catch any transatlantic Es openings. I remain hopeful. Because of the high thunder risk later in the week I may have to go QRT though, which will be a pity. Hopefully this will be a short break only.

Heatwave? - NOT amateur radio

So the Met Office (our weather bureau) is forecasting a heatwave. Many is the time I have said they should buy new seaweed as their forecasts are so wrong so often despite their investment in multi-million  pound supercomputers.

Currently we have rain here!

Yesterday, next Saturday (we have grandchildren here) was forecast to be a good sunny day. Now the forecast is rain. The best forecast is to see what is expected by the Met Office and assume the exact opposite. Unless we have a great big high pressure system over us their forecasts are useless. The week before this, when we went to Jersey for a week, (June 13-20th)  the weather was (at best) expected to be "mixed". We had glorious sunshine most days all day long. Sorry, but I am not impressed. I hear the many excuses for poor forecasts, but give us a "confidence reading" for the forecast if you don't know. A poor forecast is no use at all!

Met Office? - pathetic. 3/10 "could do better".

The best forecasts seem to be to stick your head out the window and look.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun June 28th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen again to just 25 (K=3) and 10m propagation (F2) is expected to be "poor".  We should not expect much on 10m F2 today, although Es is already livening things up on 6m WSPR. I wonder if EA8BVP will spot me (as usual) on 10m WSPR.  This I suspect is single hop N-S F2 although this is certainly possible by Es. At the moment I have seen no 10m Es spots yet  for my little 5000mW beacon. Others may be more fortunate.

Early 6m Es today? - CN8LI again

CN8LI (2113km) was spotted at -13dB S/N at 0816z this morning on 6m WSPR. I assume this is Es. This is promising so early in the day.

His ERP is probably 10dB more than mine. Drift was high, which could be his rig stabilising, Es patches moving or even aircraft reflections at his end or mine.

I guess this could even be single hop F2?  2113km is F2 range.

CN8LI tends to be right at the bottom of the WSPR sub-band. I may miss some spots of him as he may be out of band (to me) sometimes?

UPDATE 1100z:  CN8LI has been spotted strongly (-10dB S/N) on 6m WSPR by 4X1RF (3860km). Multi-hop Es? It is a very long way across the Med.

10m DT way off - now reset

I had an anonymous comment to tell me that my 10m beacon's DT (timing error) was over 3 seconds out. I have had this before. The cure last time was a hard reset and I have done this again, removing all power for 10 minutes and resyncing to internet time. I was still getting decodes but you must reach a point when the receiver's software cannot cope and just gives up. Hopefully this will do the trick.

By using the FT817 and PC, I can check my 10m DT myself. This means going QRT on 6m for a few minutes. I'll do this now.

UPDATE 1618z:  10m DT checked after hard reset. Now DT = -0.3secs, which is good.

Tunisia - NOT amateur radio

I feel sorry for this nation which is bound to be adversely affected by the killings yesterday. Tunisia is a peaceful country that just wanted to get on with life as usual. Sadly, this will not be so for some time to come: tourists are likely to choose alternative destinations and avoid Muslim nations.

Surely, in the end, this is counter-productive? Whatever your views on Islam are, people are likely to become fearful of these people, when the vast majority just want to live in peace and share kindness. Sadly there is evil in our world which must never defeat us.

CN8LI (2113km) on 6m WSPR

Although I have spotted this Moroccan station a couple of times on 6m this afternoon, at quite reasonable S/N, I am still waiting for him to spot me. I shall be on 10m acnnd 6m WSPR at least until late tonight assuming there is no thunder around.

UPDATE 1536z:  Still just the 2 spots of CN8LI on 6m WSPR but no spots by him of me so far today.

UPDATE 1632z:  Mostly Gs on 6m with a little bit of Es earlier this afternoon including spots exchanged with CT1PT (1685km).

Yaesu rebate (UK/ Europe)

I see MLS is offering rebates on Yaesu gear for the next few weeks. The rebate on the FT817 is £36, making the effective retail price around £413. As  far as I can see this is just a marketing ploy. A few years ago you could buy the FT817 for £349.

With the very good exchange rate currently I am surprised they don't just slash the price and clear the shelves ready for the replacement. All development costs for the FT817 were recovered years ago, so the true retail price should be below £400. Yet again we are being taken for a ride I think.

The prices are as they are because we, Joe Public, is prepared to buy at these prices. My heart bleeds for all the poor dealers.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat June 27th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen again and stands at 28 today (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to be "poor".  F2 propagation on 10m today will be marginal at best, although Es is expected to liven up both 10m and 6m.

10m Es

I am still TXing on 10m WSPR but, so far, all the spots have been by either G stations or Europeans. I am still hopeful of some transatlantic Es but this has not been seen here yet this season.

Warmth - NOT amateur radio

At last we seem to be in high summer with high temperatures and high humidity. Although we have passed the longest day, evenings are still light for weeks to come.  The real change tends to come in September. It must be my age but it seems only 5 minutes since last Christmas! We'll blink and it will be Christmas 2015 and the nights will start to draw out again!

UPDATE June 27th 1538z: The forecast for next week is temperatures in the 30-34 deg C range.  This would be hot.

Africa (CN8LI again) on 6m WSPR

Spots on 6m have again been exchanged with CN8LI (2113km) in IM63nx square (Morocco, N.W. Africa). So far today, my 6m 1W ERP WSPR has been spotted in 3 continents (Europe, Asia and Africa).  I would very much like to spot, or be spotted, on 6m WSPR by stations on the other side of the Atlantic.

UPDATE 1233z:  Plenty of 6m Es about today.

UPDATE 1428z:   Funny how I get reports from a greater distance on 6m than 10m when there is Es around. OK I run a little more RF ERP on 6m (3dB more) but I think skip distance must be longer on 6m than 10m.

UPDATE 1441z:  CN8LI has just spotted my 6m WSPR at -5dB S/N. This implies he would still get me if I was using just 5mW ERP on 6m.  Magic band!

UPDATE 1548z:  So far today  CN8LI (2113km) has spotted my 1W ERP 6m WSPR 10 times. Strongest report was +4dB S/N. Incredible Es. He has been spotting me for almost 4 hours.

UPDATE 1748z:  6m unique WSPR spots, so far today. Plenty of decent Es around:

UPDATE 1825z:  I see from WSPRnet that 4X1RF has been spotting lots of stations all across Europe as well as CN8LI today.

Sunspots and 10m - June 26th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen further to 33 (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor" at least for F2 propagation. Both 10m and 6m have got off to a promising start on Es though. Maybe today we'll see some transatlantic DX on 10m and 6m by Es?

Back on 6m WSPR and spotted by 4X1RF yet again at incredible range

Around 0730z I QSYed from MF to 6m. I am expecting some decent Es on 6m today.

UPDATE 0856z:   Just been spotted on 6m WSPR by 4X1RF (3519km) in KM72ls square. Apart from this, just spots exchanged with G0OQK (98km). As I mentioned before, I am not at all convinced that these spots from Israel are multi-hop Es. Es (maybe)  but they occur so often!  I think this is the 4th day this season and he copied me last year too.

Overnight 10m Es

Although MF was quiet here overnight there was plenty of Es on 10m through the night with spots received from all over Europe. Even if there is little F2 on the band, Es should liven 10m (maybe 6m too).

I fancy some 472kHz WSPR!

It is ages since I was active on 472kHz, so I might fire up the FT817 and transverter to see if anyone can spot my 5mW ERP or I can spot others. I shall use the earth-electrode "antenna" and go QRT on 6m to free up the FT817.

It is summertime, so noise levels will be higher, making my weak signal harder to copy than in the winter. It will take me about 5 minutes to swap bands and reset everything. The FT817 has to be set to 500mW and split mode so I receive directly on the 472kHz band but TX on the 80m band into the transverter.

If you copy me on 472kHz WSPR please report it.

UPDATE 2009z:  Well, that was a good start! I just switched to MF and received 2 spots by G8HUH in IO81mg (250km) in daylight. I shall now leave 474.2kHz WSPR running overnight to see what else happens. With 5mW (maybe less) ERP I am quite happy with his -26/-27dB S/N reports.

UPDATE 2126z:  So far G8HUH (250km) has spotted me 10 times this evening. I have spotted no-one and no-one else has spotted me, as yet.

UK population now 64.6M - NOT amateur radio

I am NOT a racist and never shall be. In fact I believe the UK should welcome in genuine refugees from war-torn parts of the world. We should make these poor people very welcome. They have suffered too much already and all they want is peace.

However, we are a small island and the UK and not the EU should have the last word on deciding who can live and work here. I am all for the EU as a trading entity without trade barriers, but that is it, unless some individual member states want an ever closer political union. Let them go ahead but don't ask all to follow.  Last year our population grew by 500000. This is the equivalent of a major city.  Such growth is not sustainable thinking of food, water, jobs and housing.

No, enough is enough. We, the UK, should control our borders and we should run our affairs through our elected parliament. I wish David Cameron well in renegotiating our relationship with the EU, although he has a monumental task. What surprises me is why other nations don't share our concerns thinking of their own situations.  Moderate population growth? Yes. Explosive growth over which we have zero control ? No thanks. We need quotas and a points system. The current situation is out of control.

Here's to a new deal in the EU or the UK leaves! As one of the more successful economies, I think the EU needs us more than we need it! This is also why so many want to come here: we are a good meal ticket - good jobs, generous welfare etc..

Swifts - NOT amateur radio

This image is located on the RSPB site and NOT  on this blog. It will be removed if any issues are caused by its inclusion here.

One of the joys of an English summer is the sound of screaming swifts in the air. This is most common in May and June. The swifts are one of the first summer migrants to leave. It always seems a long time until they return again next spring. Usually the first ones arrive here by the end of April. Once, long ago, I found one on the ground. We kept it in a box overnight. The next morning it flew off as if nothing had happened. Swifts spend most of their time on the wing and if they do land on the ground it is not easy to take off again. I found this out much later. It was lovely to handle this scythe like bird.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swift/ .

10m/6m update

Well, so far 6m WSPR here has just been G stations out to just over 100km.

On 10m there was some Es in the form of DJ0ABR (983km). EA8BVP (2986km) has also been spotting me yet again. I am not sure if this is Es or single hop F2 propagation.

UPDATE 1905z:  6m WSPR came to life around teatime with a couple of spots of me by Es (I presume).  Plenty of G spots all day too.

UPDATE 1912z: 10m WSPR is also lively with European stations via Es. EA8BVP has spotted my 10m WSPR beacon 37 times so far today. I think this is F2 propagation, but I am not sure.

Sunspots and 10m - June 25th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen again to just 39 (K=2) and 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" today, so decent long distance F2 propagation is very unlikely on 10m today.

Greece:not off the hook yet? - NOT amateur radio

The last time I checked, the international creditors were still unhappy with the Greek proposals to overcome their debt problems. All sides are working to resolve these issues, but Greece could well have to leave the Euro. Things in Greece are bad now but without the ECB's support Greek banks will run out of money and the situation in Greece will be dire. This is not a good time to be Greek.

10m WSPR - EA8BVP (2986km) spots me yet again!

Over teatime EA8BVP (2986km) was spotting me yet again.  He spots my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon most days and has done so for months now. Since 1808z just been spotted by local G4IKZ (18km) again. I presume this path to the Canary Is is F2 although the time suggests Es. He has spotted me 19 times today. No further DX was copied all day. Although there was at least one S.American active on 10m WSPR, clearly the propagation was not there, at least with my low ERP. Others may have been more successful.

Gardening - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon was fine and dry, so it was a chance to do a bit more gardening.  Because of my 2013 brain bleed, I soon get very exhausted and this was the case today. I managed a couple of plants and dug in some flower bed edging, by which time I was so tired. What has changed is that I soon recover. In the past I would be totally exhausted for hours but within 15 minutes I was out with the hose.

This last few weeks I do seem a little bit better.  Although I still get tired I don't seem to be "done in" totally. Although I still have to take just sips, I do seem to be able to drink more thin liquids. Progress is slow, but I think I can still see progress.

Still life on MF and LF

It is some time since I was active on 137kHz and 472kHz WSPR, but there are still stations active I see. I shall return to 472kHz WSPR in the autumn and may even try some tests from this QTH on 137kHz. I do need a better antenna and earth system though. My earth-electrode "antenna" is remarkable, but I know I should be able to increase my ERP considerably with a loop or loaded long-wire. I managed 250km on WSPR with a loop at the old QTH on 137kHz and a vertical loop with similar loop area should be possible I think. I shall probably need help from locals with erection though in my present state. I might change to a 2m big-wheel stack at the same time?

Weeks since decent F2 spots on 10m here

Although EA8BVP (2986km) seems to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR signal on most days, it is some weeks now since I have been spotted on the band at greater distance. I know my antenna is not brilliant on 10m, but I was expecting more 10m spots from S.Africa and S.Ameríca. I fear many have migrated to lower frequency bands now, which is a pity, or possibly other modes. At the last time I looked there were only 32 active 10m WSPR stations worldwide. A few months ago this was over 100.

Sunspots and 10m - June 24th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen to 61 (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to be "poor".

UPDATE 1100z:  K index has worsened a little to 4.

Nighttime DX on 6m

Although I was not spotted by any DX on 10m, I spotted on 6m WSPR, in the middle of the night at 2000km, a station in Finland (OH7AZL). Magic band! The "common wisdom" is this is Es although with these very northern openings especially at these odd times might be due to noctilucent cloud reflection? I wonder if any better equipped European stations were copied in Japan on 6m?

6m Es I presume

It is getting quite late in the day now, but I am spotting 6m Europeans by Es I assume. LA3JJ (993km), SQ6IUS (1158km) near Warsaw. As yet, I have not been spotted by any Europeans on 6m WSPR, just Gs. I assume this is Es, but these are all northern Europeans, so I always wonder if noctilucent clouds are someway involved?  Probably not.

UPDATE 2214z:  Sadly no Es DX appeared on 6m here after the LA3 and SQ6.  I have checked all is well on 10m and 6m WSPR, so will run the station through the night, hoping to catch some DX by Es either overnight or first thing in the morning.

10m Es (no Es seen yet on 6m)

I4ZTO (1185km) was spotting me lunchtime on 10m WSPR by Es. On 6m, just locals and G stations by tropo/aircraft reflection.

UPDATE 1805z:   Es on 10m from across Europe , but nothing like yesterday. 6m has only been G stations here all day so far.

Tidied the shack

I tend to use WSPR a lot at present because my voice is poor with 100% TX  on 10m and 20% TX on 6m.  I can be on both bands at the same time. Usually I monitor on a different PC in the lounge. If there is any problem I go to the shack to check and reset.

Although I have managed a little building, my fine motor skills are still far from good.  The shack was becoming untidy. This morning I decided to give the shack a tidy! Although really superficial, it does look better. It is now XYL acceptable, I think.

UPDATE 1817z:   My fine motor skills were put to the test today: my son managed to cut through the power cable of the hedge trimmer, so I had to mend it. I managed it OK and all was fine after I tested it.

Sunspots and 10m - June 23rd 2015

Sunspot number today is 77 with very disturbed conditions (K=8) and 10m - in fact all HF bands - expected to be "poor". Do not expect much on HF today.  Es may give us some EU and possibly further DX on 10m and 6m.

Overnight and this morning I am just being spotted on 10m by local G4IKZ (18km). Although very early, no signs of Es here on 10m yet.

Best DX on 6m overnight was G0OQK (98km) - spots both given and received - and a single spot received from G8DOR (103km). A reminder that I use 1W ERP on 6m (V2000 vertical) and 500mW on 10m (Par 10/20/40m end fed low wire).

UPDATE 1026z:  Conditions have improved a little with K=6 now. Still disturbed though.