Es on 10m and 6m WSPR today

There as been Es on both 10m and 6m WSPR today.  More on 10m (unsurprisingly) with just OH5RM (1860km) at 1000z this morning spotting my 1W ERP on 6m WSPR by Es. Apart from G0OQK I have not spotted anyone on 6m WSPR so far today.

UPDATE 1848z:  I see that OZ7IT (853km) has spotted me at 1830z on 6m WSPR.  There is still Es around. There have been more 10m WSPR spots this eveing on 10m too.

Early morning on 10m and 6m WSPR

The first 10m Es on WSPR was a spot by HB9CQK (819km) at 0846z this morning. So far on 6m, just spots exchanged with G0OQK (98km) and no Es seen as yet on 6m WSPR. On 6m WSPR I remain (as always) 20% TX and 80% RX.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Aug 15th 2015

Sunspot number as fallen again to 46 (K=2) and 10m propagation is yet again expected to be "poor". Es remains the main hope on 10m and 6m.

2m big wheel arrives

My 2m big wheel antenna has arrived. I now need to find a kind local to help erect it. It needs 2 brackets fixing and the coax attaching.

In the past this would have been trivial for me, but sadly not in my present state of health. Anything above head height and I feel giddy. Work on ladders is impossible. I hate being like this.

Back on the air

In the last 30 minutes I have reconnected the rigs, antennas and PC and am back on 10m and 6m WSPR. So far only G4KPX (14km) spotting me on 10m and 3 spots on 6m WSPR of G0OQK (98km). No signs yet of Es on either band. Of course, this is on WSPR where activity tends to be low on 10m and 6m. You may have better luck on SSB or CW.  On 6m I am on RX 80% of the time.

At the moment the storms are well to the east but I'll continue to monitor the situation and go QRT if necessary again.

UPDATE 1245z:   A couple of Es spots on 10m WSPR from LA3JJ (1020km) this lunchtime, but otherwise quiet.  On 6m just G0OQK (98km) spotted so far. He has yet to spot me and I suspect he is RX only at present.

UPDATE 1630z:  EA6GF (1428km) spotting my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon this teatime. The definitely is some evidence that Es peaks around lunch and teatime. Sadly, no Es to report here (yet) on 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1738z: ON7KO (295km) has spotted me on 10m WSPR. I think this was tropo rather than Es as the distance is too near. If this was Es I'd expect Es on 2m or even higher.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri Aug 14th 2015

Sunspot number has dropped back to 51 (K=1) and 10m is expected to remain "poor" again. Once again, I suspect Es will be our best hope on 10m and 6m. Before long though we might start to get F2 openings again to the USA. I suspect we'll have one more decent autumn and winter on 10m before we lose the good conditions for very many years.

Mobile phone coverage checker - NOT amateur radio

OFCOM have just released a mobile phone coverage checker tool that helps you see what sort of coverage you can expect.

See http://ofcom.cmail1.com/t/i-l-jdurlyd-ptjmldl-k/ .

On 10m and 6m - for a few hours this evening

As the thunderstorm risk seems low enough for now, I am returning to WSPR on 10m and 6m for a few hours. In all likelihood I shall disconnect rigs, antennas and the PC later this evening so I shall not be on in the overnight period.

UPDATE 1806z:  So far no reports on 10m WSPR, but spots exchanged both ways (TX and RX) with G0OQK (98km) again on 6m WSPR. This is usually tropo and aircraft reflection.

UPDATE 1830z:   EA6ZL (1485km) spotted me on 10m WSPR at 1808z by Es.

UPDATE 1857z:  As the storms are getting ever closer I shall soon have to go QRT and disconnect things!

UPDATE 1900z:  All rigs, antennas and the PC now disconnected, unplugged and off. No thunder audible yet, but the storms are getting closer.  The operating session was shorter than I had intended.

For thunderstorm tracking see http://www.blitzortung.org/Webpages/index.php?lang=en&page_0=12  . At the moment, the storms are to the south of us but moving north.

136kHz test?

Between tomorrow and Sunday I have 2 major aims.

Firstly I need to test my 40,30,20 and 15m K1 rig as someone wants to buy it. It should be fine. I have not used it at this QTH but has worked some good DX on all bands in the past. As "surplus to requirements" I shall be really pleased that someone else will enjoy using it.

Secondly, I want to try my QRSS3 136kHz beacon using my E-field probe on the car on RX. I have managed to get the E-field probe back together again and will test things on RX in the lounge first using the EFP, FT817 and PC.  I have still to match my beacon to the earth-electrode "antenna" on TX but this should be easy.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday August 13th 2015

Sunspot number is 68 today (K=2) and 10m is still expected to be "poor". Currently I have been off the air on both 10m and 6m because of nearby thunderstorms.

"Web price is best or call"

FT991 from Yaesu

The ongoing saga of the FT991 price fall continues. The phrase in the title is from the latest advert by MLS in Radcom.  It looks like they know the price is too high but are looking to see who drops the price first - a kind of game of "chicken". The best price advertised is £1139. Meanwhile the FT450D (HF and 6m) is just £499 from Waters and Stanton.  I confidently predict the price of the FT991 from the major retailers will drop to £999, or even less, soon.

Thunderstorms coming?

We have a forecast of thunderstorms in the next few days. I shall be watching the weather carefully and only connecting the rigs, antennas and PC if there is no risk at all. The next few days may be quiet ones here!

6m today

These are the results today on 6m WSPR. No super-DX but spots exchanged with CN8LI yet again, presumably by Es.

China: should we worry? - NOT amateur radio

In a word yes.  China is changing. Many are getting richer and are expecting a better life. Exports have struggled more lately and soon China may become too expensive, just like Japan became many years ago.

Many of the investors in China are the Chinese people themselves. The Chinese government is trying to manipulate the market but the stock markets in China are in turmoil. If China catches a cold we will all know about it.

Yes, we should be worried, but I am not sure what we can do. It may not be too long before the words "Made in China" are a thing of the past. We have grown used to low cost products made in China, but for how much longer?

The Chinese have devalued their currency twice in 2 days to help exports, but are they fighting a losing battle?

Es today on 10m and 6m WSPR

There has been a decent quantity of Es on 10m WSPR today. However, on 6m WSPR I have only spotted, and been spotted, by G stations so far today.

I am definitely coming to the conclusion that WSPR is, sadly, not the best mode on 6m to spot fleeting openings as activity levels are far too low. Many transatlantic openings have happened on 6m this summer, but you would never guess from WSPR. This is a great pity. Next summer I think I shall stick to CW and SSB in the main on 6m.

Overnight JT6M RX on 6m

Disappointing. In the end I stayed on 50.230MHz overnight but copied only G stations. Last evening I copied a couple of EAs on JT6M, but I suspect these were Es rather than MS.

At the moment I am back on 6m WSPR (20% TX and 80% RX).

Sunspots and 10m - Wed Aug 12th 2015

Sunspot number is 87 today (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor".

6m JT6M

Since about an hour ago I have been looking on 50.230MHz JT6M. EA3LL was recently copied working an EI station. I think this was Es rather than a Perseid shower reflection as the signal was there at good strength for the whole 30sec TX period.

Most JT6M activity seems to be on 50.230MHz which is used as a calling frequency to arrange skeds on other frequencies. I've decided that I shall look through the night on 50.230MHz rather than try the newer JT6M frequency of 50.320MHz.

70cm UKAC tonight

I have just received a contest reminder from the RSGB contest committee:

This contest takes place on Tue 11-Aug-2015 19:00 UTC
The rules for the contest can be found here
http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?contest=70cmsukac
Regards,
CC

As I really have no suitable horizontally polarised antennas now on 70cm, I shall try with my 2m halo and V2000 triband vertical. I am only expecting to hear and work locals on 70cm tonight. I shall not stop on too long. It will be interesting to see how these "compromise" antennas perform on 70cm.

UPDATE 1945z:  In the end I only stopped on 70cms for just over 30 minutes but worked 3 of the locals on the 2m halo, which matched well on 70cm SSB. My 2m halo and V2000 are fed with lossy RG58 coax. I decided I had enough with my poor voice and poor antennas. I have now returned to 6m JT6M RX only.

10m Es

So the kit was working after all. IU1DZZ (973km) has been spotting me over lunchtime quite well by Es. No other Es spots received yet on 10m WSPR.

On 10m WSPR I am 100% TX (frequency randomised every 2 mins) but on 6m WSPR I am looking 80% of the time on RX and sending all spots to WSPRnet.

UPDATE 1315z:   F1TZG (876km) is also spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. 10m is livening up now. He was also spotted on 6m WSPR much earlier in the day.

UPDATE 2140z:   Well there has been 10m Es on WSPR just about all day. This must rank as one of the best days for 10m Es all summer.

CN8LI again on 6m WSPR

This lunchtime I have again been exchanging 6m WSPR spots with CN8LI (2113km) in Morocco.He must be the most consistent DX signal on 6m this summer and last. Still no Es seen on 10m WSPR. I will need to recheck the kit as I am surprised to get no 10m spots at all, but see later post.

UPDATE 1318z: I am now spotting IK1WVQ (1076km) on 6m WSPR very well. He is running 2W.

Google restructuring - NOT amateur radio

Google s doing a major restructuring according to the BBC. Apparently this was a surprise move creating a new parent company called Alphabet Inc..

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33857412 .

Sunspots and 10m - Tues Aug 11th 2015

Sunspot number is falling again and now stands at 67 (K=2). 10m propagation is again expected to be "poor". Es will be the main hope on 10m and 6m.

I have done a hard reset of my 10m WSPR-AXE-CW beacon and a resync to internet time. Hopefully this will see it through the day now. The 6m WSPR kit uses the FT817 and the PC and is locked to internet time every 5 minutes.

6m JT6M

In the end I looked on 50.230MHz last night, but only copied G4BAO who was working an OZ. I suspect I was copying John directly and not off MS pings. Tonight I'll try the newer JT6M frequency further up the band. Now back on 6m WSPR during the day and early evening.

UPDATE 0915z:  Plenty of 6m WSPR spots of G0OQK (98km) by tropo and aircraft reflection. He has also spotted me lots of times again.

UPDATE 0938z:  There were no overnight 10m WSPR spots. I thought I might have been spotted in Europe via the Perseids by MS but guess the 2 minute TX period, low power and Doppler were all against me. MS pings are much longer on 10m. In the past I have worked QRP SSB DX by 10m aurora but never tried 10m MS. Maybe I should. It is a pity there is not a 30sec WSPR mode!

JT6M on 6m in Perseid MS shower?

I may take a look on 6m JT6M mode for the next few nights but I am confused about what frequency to look on here in Europe. This will be strictly RX only as my ERP will be too low.

What frequency is best for 6m JT6M in Europe please?

Distant distant memories - NOT amateur radio

It is funny what lurks deep in the crevices of the mind.

This afternoon we visited some old friends, who live quite near us, for afternoon tea. On their hearth was a brass object of globular shape. Seeing it I remembered an old bell owned by Jack White and his wife who lived in Slapton, Devon. The Whites had an outside toilet.

I swear I had not thought of that little bell in nearly 60 years but in my mind it was crystal clear again. This very very distant memory was there waiting to be triggered.

They were a lovely couple. I remember us playing the card game "Newmarket" at their table. One wonders what other memories are buried which will one day surface again.

6m Es on WSPR

CT1PT (1685km) was spotted here at lunchtime on 6m WSPR. There is not much 6m Es about, at least not here yet!

UPDATE 1845z:  I see that CN8LI (2113km) and I exchanged spots on 6m WSPR at teatime and that 10m WSPR is thick with Es stations this evening.

136kHz QRSS3 test

Well, I have found most of the bits needed for my 136kHz QRSS3 test including the E-field probe (EFP) to mount on the car roof. I need to solder 1 short BNC to free end coax in the E-field probe and charge up a PP3 battery (for the EFP) and the FT817.  I also need to match the beacon to the earth electrode "antenna" at 136kHz.  I shall start copying the beacon in the lounge first before venturing out in the field.

Although I now have a preamp for the (deaf) FT817 thanks to a very very kind person, I'll not use this as I did not use one on the last test 2 years ago from the old QTH.

A few years ago this would have been so easy to do. Now it is a major exercise! Life is so much harder now since the stroke, but I remain determined to get better. Given time (maybe a lot more time) I hope things get back to more as they once were.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon Aug 10th 2015

Sunspot number today is 87 (K=3) but 10m propagation is expected to be "poor". It was "fair" yesterday. Most DX on 10m will be by Es rather than F2, although the better stations may catch a N-S F2 opening on 10m.

UPDATE 1000z:  No Es seen here on 10m or 6m WSPR yet. Just G0OQK (98km) by tropo on 6m WSPR and ON7KB (299km) spotted here in the very early hours on 6m WSPR, again I assume by tropo.

Coax losses

If you are like me, then you always want to know the loss of your coax at 6m,2m and 70cm, possibly higher I found this very useful table to compare various coax cables at different frequencies. You may have your own favorite table! If not, I hope you find this one useful.

See http://www.w4rp.com/ref/coax.html .

Brother gone home - NOT amateur radio

My brother, who is 4 years older than me, has been very good especially since my stroke. He has travelled up to see me from Devon on many occasions. He has been staying for a few days, but left today. I shall miss him.

I want to get to Devon again before too long but the journey is too far by car at present. Maybe I'll go down by train? In the picture he is the one on the RHS with me on the LHS.

136kHz QRSS3

My big project for the week (this would have been trivial a few years ago) will be to rebuild my E-field probe for 136kHz and do a fairly local test with it on the car roof on QRSS3. I have the TX beacon, although it has not been used for over 2 years and never from this QTH. I think I have the RX bits somewhere but need to find these first!  For the TX antenna I am going to use my earth-electrodes which will need rematching for 136kHz.

10m and 6m Es

No 10m Es has been noticed since lunchtime when OZ7IT (843km) was spotting my 500mW WSPR. On 6m things were better with SM0FUS (1383km) spotted at 1416z and earlier. Both the 10m and 6m WSPR stations will be active this evening and maybe overnight.

UPDATE 1600z:   I see that CN8LI (2113km) just spotted me on 6m WSPR, so maybe Es is returning this teatime?

UPDATE 1604z:  M0EMM is being spotted on 6m, I presume by tropo and aircraft reflections

2m big wheel

Well, I have ordered one (yes I know I could have made one although not in my present state) so I hope this can be erected in the next few weeks, although I shall need help to do this as I am no good on ladders in my current poor state of health. It would be good if I could get a long wire erected at the same time for LF/MF use, although this could wait. At this time I am going for a single big-wheel rather than a stack.

I have decided against buying a 70cm big wheel at the same time as this would require a new length of low loss cable too. I also checked my existing low loss cable and this seems in good condition, so it will be reused. I may make my combined 2m/70cm antenna into a portable antenna when I have found out why the VSWR is poor.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/bigwheel .

Sunspots and 10m - Sun Aug 9th 2015

Sunspot number is 93 today (K=3) and 10m propagation remains "fair". We are still in summertime conditions so 10m propagation will mainly be by Es around Europe.

Yaesu FT991

As I have said several times before, there is only one commercial rig that I fancy currently and that is the Yaesu FT991 that covers all of HF plus 6m, 2m and 70cm. However the UK price is still too high so I can wait and wait until the price drops. At £999 it will get serious consideration, but not at any higher price. The only other rig I fancy is an FT817 replacement, which may come later this year. Most of my operating is QRP and a 5-10W rig would suit my needs well.

So just how sporadic is sporadic E (Es)?

Time and again I have been struck by just how unsporadic Es is. OK, good days are random but there seems to be a pattern that more northerly and Scandinavian stations on 10m and 6m are better later in the day and later in the season. I actually wonder if these more northerly reports really are Es at all. There is every chance I am totally wrong, but I have noticed this over several summers and I question that Es is truly "sporadic". I'd be interested to hear the views of others on this.

One thing is certain: we still have a great deal to learn about E-layer DX propagation. Es is certainly a fact on many summertime EU QSOs on the higher HF bands and 6m, but I am sure the multi-hop explanation for some very long distance QSOs is not right.

Stroke after effects - NOT amateur radio

Even nearly 2 years after my brain bleed I am still discovering after effects. One of these is a slowness with written errors. It is rare for me to write an error-free blog post but I seem much slower at spotting the errors that I make. In the end, I usually get it right, but I apologise if you read the blogs before I have found and corrected the mistakes. At one time, typos or spelling mistakes were easy to spot, but I am finding these much harder to spot than I did. I am pretty sure this is a result of my stroke, although it could be old age!

UPDATE 2100z:  Of all my stroke symptoms my poor voice is the most disabling. Some people cannot hear what I say and I get very frustrated. Some treat me as simple, but really it is just that I find speech hard work. My intellect is still sharp and I still feel like my "old me". Many say how well I look. In many ways this is a bad thing as they expect me to be fine totally. No, in some ways life would be easier with a more visible disability. I just want to be better. Being less than fully human has gone on far too long now.

136kHz QRSS3 field test maybe?

If I can manage it (health worries) I want to try a test with my 136kHz QRSS3 beacon and earth-electrode antenna from my current QTH. Last time, several years ago, from the old QTH, I managed to copy my signals quite well on the far side of Cambridge using an E-field probe on the car roof. This time my aims are far more modest: I just want to see if I can copy the signal at all in my usual carpark test site about 1.8km away. If I can copy the signal, I might ask others to take a look. It is so long since I used this kit I have forgotten what is inside the box!

My biggest challenge will be reassembling the RX kit as I am still very wobbly. 15-20 minutes and I am normally "done in", especially if this involves physical or mental effort. I wish so much I was fit and well again.

I know I have to be patient, but at the same time I need to get the most from my body as it is now. Although I still get tired, I seem to regain a more normal  state more quickly than I did, which is hopeful.

Although I am hopeful of a full recovery, given more time, I am beginning to think I shall always have some level of disability. I need to know my absolute limits. If this is the end of field work it will be a very sad day.

6m rather than 630m WSPR

You may have noticed that I am back on 6m rather than 630m WSPR, for now. I am still using 1W ERP on 6m from my V2000 vertical omni antenna and I am on TX about 20% and RX for about 80% of the time.

As before, all spots of others are uploaded to WSPRnet. Of late, 10m and 6m WSPR seems to have livened up a bit so I'll stick around 6m WSPR a bit longer. The day after I leave 6m you can be sure of the biggest 6m openings in years. No doubt I'll then get loads of stations telling me then, "you should have stayed on 6m". Well, for now at least I am sticking around on 6m.