Es disappointment

Yet again, it has been very quiet here on both 10m and 6m WSPR, with no sign of any Es here. Yesterday was also poor with just EA1FAQ (1249km) spotting my WSPR on 10m Es. 6m remains hopeless for me on WSPR. To be honest, I'm not sure why I bother with WSPR on 6m. I'd be much better off on SSB or JT65. On 6m WSPR there is just not enough WSPR activity.

OK, there is still a chance of late Es on both 10m and 6m WSPR, but I am not holding my breath!

VHF/UHF tropo forecasting

Usually I go on 2m and 70cm (mainly the Tuesday evening UKAC sessions) and work what I can with my QRP.  Some users use prediction maps, to get some idea of the likely tropo ranges. I came across one today and there is Hepburns available at http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo_eur.html . No doubt keen users have their own favorite.

A reminder that tomorrow evening is the June 2m leg of the RSGB's UKAC contest. This is usually well supported. With the fine, settled, weather there are likely to be quite a few portable stations out and about on good hilltop sites. Even with 5W QRP and an omni antenna I can usually work about 200km in flat conditions, further with a lift, from home.

EU referendum June 23rd 2016 - NOT amateur radio

This has not been an easy decision. There have been lies and errors on both sides of the debate. My considered view taking a long hard view of the facts as I can discern them is to vote IN that is remain in the EU.

Yes, there is a lot wrong with the EU but my considered view is we are better off IN than outside. In the coming years we need to work towards changing the EU from within, so that there is more focus on efficiency, a common market and less on a United States of Europe, unless those who want it continue down this path. Leave the rest to strive for a level playing field. As far as the UK is concerned we, of course, want peace in Europe, but this should come by removing trade barriers and not a U.S.E..

There has been a lot of poor debate in this referendum build up.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon June 6th 2016

Solar flux is 79 today. Sunspot number is zero again (K=6). The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor". Yesterday my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon was spotted by EA1FAQ (1249km) after teatime by Es. With summer conditions, a high K index it very unlikely 10m will be up to much. Es is the only real hope today.

472kHz WSPR last night

There are fewer active stations on during the summer but I was pleased to spot EA5DOM (1525km) as well as PA3ABK/2 (306km). I was spotted by just one station G4GIR (53km).

Chipsats

Southgate News reports that a second attempt is to be made to deploy tiny satellites from the ISS. These are "disposable" satellites operating around 437MHz and weigh just 5g.

See http://www.nature.com/news/tiny-chipsat-spacecraft-set-for-first-flight-1.20006 .

QRP and QRP Club

 More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
72 QRP Net (Rendez-Vous) weekly report (June 1 to 5, 2016)
Visitors  of  the  week:  OH6NPV,  RA1M, RU6UR, US3EN, RV3GM, RU3NJC, UR7VT,  RV9CW,  F5POJ, SM2FIJ, UA1CEG, RX3DHR, SM7ETW, DJ8FO, UA1ASB, UA4NU, DJ2DW, SV2BBK, OE1VZ, OM6TC, UA1CEX/UF6
See full Visitors and Frequenters lists on the Club 72 web-page.
See 72 QRP Net schedule on the Club 72 web page - www.club72.su
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

All quiet?

Well since this early morning I have had no spots on 10m or 6m WSPR. Dead. Things may change but I was expecting the Es to be lively.

UPDATE 1352z:  Still very quiet here on 10m WSPR and 6m WSPR. even after re-sync.

OFCOM

Yet again I got notification by email from OFCOM. This time it is about licence exemptions for "white space" devices. The statement was dated April 16th but appeared June 3rd. The regulations come in to force June 9th.

See http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/TVWS-amendment-regulations-apr16/statement/?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TVWS-amendment-regulations-apr16-statement .

Sunspots and 10m - Sun June 5th 2016

Solar flux is 80 again today. Yet again there are no sunspots (K=2) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor". Thankfully 10m Es is good.

630m (472kHz) WSPR

Overnight and so far this morning I have been active on MF WSPR. PA3ABK/2 (306km) has been copied many times and he spotted my 5mW ERP during the night. G6AVK (78km) also spotted me. Although the band is noisier at this time, I think the biggest issue is too few active stations at this time of year. At one point I got really excited thinking someone in Sweden had spotted me on MF, only to realise this was on 10m. Doh! Overnight I spotted ON5TA (328km) who I think is new.

In a few minutes I shall be going QRT on MF and QSYing to 6m WSPR.

Pre-breakfast Es on 10m WSPR

It started very early today with several spots before breakfast from SM6WZI (1007km) and several a little later by DK6UG (633km). Local G4KPX (14km) is also spotting my 500mW WSPR beacon. I have the feeling today is going to be a good one for Es on 10m WSPR. I shall turn on the 6m WSPR shortly.

Back on 472kHz WSPR

As 6m was dead here on WSPR all day, I decided to return to 472kHz WSPR for the evening and overnight. I also re-synced the 10m beacon "just in case".

UPDATE 2100z: PA3ABK/2 (306km) was heard with in a few minutes. So far he has been copied 5 times this evening on MF but no-one has copied me.

Kelling and Sheringham Park - NOT amateur radio

When in north Norfolk, we usually eat at this place. It is in Kelling on the main road. Unlike many places, it is not "up itself", is staffed by real locals, and serves reasonable food at reasonable prices. Most visitors there are "normal". They also sell second hand books and other things. It is simple and old fashioned. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelling

We went on afterwards to see the flowers at Sheringham Park. Being a Saturday it was busy. We went here today as our weather forecast today showed "full sun" from 12 noon. There was fog until 3pm! The flowers here are just about past their best - another week and most will be dying. We waited for the sun and today was really our last chance this year to see these in bloom.

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.

Cynic - me?

As I grow older I think I am becoming a "grumpy old man" and a cynic.

This morning I see my email has yet another "something for the weekend" offer from one of the major UK amateur dealers with Yaesu mobiles at discounted prices. Now, these may be "lost leaders" to encourage us to buy other items. The cynic in me says two things. Firstly, are these items that are over-stocked or not selling well, possibly because there are lower cost Chinese radios around? Secondly, are these items over-priced anyway? Either way, I am not persuaded to buy.

Now, dealers have a tough job. They, rightly, have to make a profit. They have to cope with exchange rates that vary. But, are they taking us all as suckers? I am all for fair and reasonable margins, but please don't exploit us all. We are customers. We want you to remain in business for years to come but offer us fair prices! If you do, we will remain loyal customers. If you take us for a ride we will look elsewhere.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat June 4th 2016

Solar flux is 82 today. Sunspot number is 0 (yes zero) and K=1. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor" again.

We are now firmly in a period of low solar activity. This will be poor for many years, although there will be some better days.

241GHz or optical?

Although the world record for DX on the highest microwave band (241GHz) allocated to radio amateurs is measured in several tens of km, the UK record is quite modest.

My own view is 481THz optical is much easier: test gear is trivial and all the gear can be made inexpensively by nearly anyone. Microwave gear is much harder. I know people say you can "do microwaves" with minimum test gear, but I think you will find most who are successful are, or were, in the business professionally and have access to good microwave test gear. With optical gear this is definitely not the case. Before my stroke I built all my optical gear in the back of a garage and I achieved very useful results. Others have achieved far more than me. All you need are a scope, a multimeter and an audio generator. Much of the test gear needed for optical work is freely available software on the internet.

See http://www.microwavers.org/?241ghz.htm .

10m F2?

EA8/G4CAZ (2840km) spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon this evening. Although this could have been Es, I suspect this was single hop F2 propagation. Time and direction point to F2.

UPDATE 2130z:  Lots of spots from this station, including one quite recently. My bet is F2.

Profound exhaustion - NOT amateur radio

Since my stroke almost 3 years ago I have suffered from bouts of profound exhaustion after doing physical or mental work for more than about 20 minutes. No-one and I really do mean no-one seems to get it including medics, my wife, friends etc. They all say how well I look and assume I am fine.

Well, I am definitely not right! No matter what, this exhaustion is profound and quite unlike anything I've known before. It is not tiredness, just a feeling of utter exhaustion. After a short rest I am fine again.

To be honest this gets me down. As hard as I try, this never seems to go away. I hate it. In an ideal world I would rest more, but I know this is impossible.

I have great sympathy for others who have hidden disabilities: people may look fine on the outside but feel dreadful inside. This is how I am a lot of the time. Not always mind you. There are better days and times.

EU referendum - NOT amateur radio

As the vote get closer I really do not know how to vote. All the major politicians recommend staying IN, yet there is so much wrong with the EU. Leaving would certainly mean uncertainty in the UK, but I suspect the EU will fall apart within years if we leave. There are real issues within the EU: the Euro, profligacy, inefficiency, all those unnecessary laws. At the same time, the EU is a voice of good. No, it is not an easy decision.

Dying - NOT amateur radio

When 18, you think life goes on for ever: you have all of life ahead of you. At 67 you know you have, maybe, 20 years and possibly much less ahead. Thoughts turn to what happens when you die.

Is there life after death? Is it like before you were born? I cannot remember anything about before I came into this world so would the same after death be any worse?

As I have said before, all major religions have some sort of belief in an after-life. Wishful thinking?  I simply do not know.

It is possible that no-one else sees and experiences what we do. In an infinite universe (or multiverses?) anything is possible. We find it hard to contemplate not existing.

In the meantime, we have to make the most of life. Life is very precious.

More UK Rallies This Weekend

Sunday 5 JUNE : CENTRAL SCOTLAND AMATEUR RADIO MINI CONVENTION
Crofthead Community Education Centre, Templar Rise, Dedridge, Livingston EH54 6DG. There is car parking on site and the venue has disabled facilities. Doors opena at 10am with disabled visitors gaining access 10 minutes earlier. Admission is £4. There will be trade stands, a flea market, special interest groups, an RSGB bookstall and lectures during the event. A raffle will take place. Details from John, MM0JRR, 01506 437 908 or by email to johnrayne333@gmail.com.

Sunday 5 JUNE : SPALDING & DARS ANNUAL RALLY
The Sir John Gleed Technology School, Halmer Gardens, Spalding, Lincs PE11 2EF. The venue has free car parking and talk in is on S22. Doors open at 10am. There will be trade stands and outside car boot area. Catering will be available on site. More information from John, G4NBR on 0794 630 2815 or Graham, G8NWC on 0775 461 9701, email rally-secretary@sdars.org.uk. www.sdars.org.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Very early 10m Es

I turned on my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon very early today and was rewarded with a spot by DK0SC (827km) as early as 0558z. This was the only spot so far but it was very early for Es.

UPDATE 1130z:   No further 10m Es spots all morning. I was lucky to be caught this early.

UPDATE 1354z:  Plenty more Es seen on 10m WSPR but 6m WSPR has again been a dead loss here.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri June 3rd 2016

Solar flux is 85 today. number is 27 (K=1) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor" though Es is likely to liven up the band.

SOTABEAMS filters for FT-817

See http://www.sotabeams.co.uk/ssb-cw-filter-module-for-the-ft-817/ .

I admit that I first spotted this on the Southgate News website.   Looks like a useful add-on for the FT817, although installing looks more complicated than I expected.

Summer? - NOT amateur radio

According to the Met Office we are on the second day of summer. We have had better days in mid-winter! The photo shows the external temperature after lunch. It was taken in our car and it did not vary for the whole journey. In the meantime, the west of the UK is bathed in sunshine.

Es + F2 on 10m WSPR?

Today is one of those days when we might see Es linking up with F2 further south, allowing 10m WSPR to reach southern Africa or South America. It probably will not happen, but it could. This precisely where regular WSPR use is so valuable.

UPDATE 1330z:  Plenty of 10m WSPR spots in Europe, but nothing further afield here. Still nothing on 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1855z:  It now seems unlikely I'll see any 6m spots today. This was the same story as in previous summers when the band was open but very few were using WSPR. It is easy to work Es with SSB (just a few watts is enough) so people don't bother with WSPR. Although this is understandable, it is a pity. WSPR allows almost continuous monitoring so even the briefest of openings can be detected, even with low ERP.  For to be effective lots of people need to be on for lots of the time, ideally into the evenings. 10m WSPR continued to be good with plenty of spots of my 500mW WSPR beacon from right across Europe. My old workmate Bob G3WKW achieved good results on 6m JT65 today. I guess I need to use this mode more!

More IC7300 reviews

See http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12742 .

I see there are now 95 reviews of this radio on eHam with an average of 4.9/5. One person clearly has some reservations, but most love it. I like the look of it too, but not the price.

UK Rally

4 & 5 JUNE : SUSSEX ELECTRONICS AND RADIO FAIR (SERF 2016)

Eastbourne Sports Park, Cross Levels Way, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN21 2UF. The venue has free car parking as well as camping and caravanning on site and there are disabled facilities. A talk-in station will be in operation as well as a special event station. Doors open from 10am to 4pm and admission is £3, children free. There will be indoor/outdoor trade stands and catering on site. There will be a room for talks and demonstrations. More information from Dave, G8PUO on 07807 074 538 or by email to admin@serf.org.uk. www.serf.org.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Overnight on MF

Just PA3ABK/2 (306km) spotted and no-one spotted me. It really is time to "pull the plug" until the late summer as there are fewer and fewer stations active at this time of year. I should concentrate more on 6m WSPR.  For the autumn, I really should try to get a better antenna up.

Begonias - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday (first day of summer - cold 12 deg C and drizzle!) I planted 46 begonias in our front garden. We have more for the back garden. Once planted, these need very little attention and they provide colour until the frosts in late autumn. I just dig a small hole for each, throw in some compost and plant each flower. Usually they are very easy plants for the summer and autumn. At the end of this I was very exhausted - still an after-effect of my stroke. In the past this would have been easy.

We usually put in winter flowering primroses for the winter.

Early Es again on 10m WSPR

Even though 10m F2 may not be too hot, there is plenty of Es around on 10m.  I4ZTO (1185km) and others were spotting me before breakfast and I was spotted in Scotland late last night on 10m WSPR and LZ1UBO (2039km) this morning.

UPDATE 1008z:   EA1FAQ (1249km) has just spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1012z:  Still no spots on 6m WSPR. I am on RX 80%.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs June 2nd 2016

Solar flux is 87 today and sunspot number 30 (K=1). The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

QSYed from 6m to 630m WSPR

As I gave and received no spots at all on 6m WSPR all day, I have QSYed to 630m (472kHz) WSPR. The 10m WSPR beacon is still on. Already PA3ABK/2 (306km) has been spotted on MF. I took the opportunity to resync the PC and 10m beacon to internet time.

Lightning maps

See https://www.lightningmaps.org for information on lightning in Europe. As I write, there are storms in Europe but not in the UK.

Solar activity sliding

If you look at the trends, we are definitely on the slide down from the last solar peak. Solar flux has regularly been in the 80s of late. Sunspot numbers are much lower than last year. It will be interesting to see how propagation is on 10m this autumn compared with last autumn.

It is quite likely we will see years and years of poor solar conditions as the forecast for the next peak is not good. This will mean the lower bands will become more important. It is a pity that man-made noise is so much worse these days on the lower HF bands in particular. This is a problem in urban areas especially. Luckily Es does not seem to be affected by solar conditions.

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

"Upcoming" - NOT amateur radio

On a recent Facebook posting I was criticised for using this word ("upcoming") as being an "Americanism" of the English language. I have used this word for years and years and certainly did not believe it was American English.  If I am mistaken then I am happy to be corrected. My grammar has never been a strong point and my use of the language often poor. Often spelling mistakes are due to my keyboard, although I do make mistakes!

Sunspots and 10m - Wed June 1st 2016

Solar flux is 86 and the sunspot number 40 (K=1). The forecast for 10m F2 propagation is "poor" again.

Back to 10m WSPR and 6m WSPR

As of a few minutes ago I am back on 10m and 6m WSPR. Overnight I was on 40m WSPR but just one DX spot from K9AN (6505km) in the middle of the night.

UPDATE 0912z:  DL4MFC (914km) has spotted me on 10m WSPR. This is early for Es, so bodes well.

UPDATE 0920z:  I am now being spotted widely on 10m WSPR across great swathes of central Europe.

UPDATE 1108z:  Still plenty of Es on 10m WSPR but no spots so far on 6m WSPR.