For some, the answer may be network radios. These use the internet as the main propagation mechanism rather than the ionosphere. All that is needed is a wifi or mobile connection such as 3G or 4G.
With these, and systems like Echolink, distant repeaters can be contacted and, via these, handhelds on the far side of the planet. They are often mobile phones with a PTT and antenna, looking much like a VHF handheld.
I find these somehow dissatisfying. Maybe in 10 years time I shall think differently. At the moment I get more fun from experimenting with "conventional" radio. I know amateur radio is changing and we should embrace all forms of communications such as DMR and network radio.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/network-radio .
Outside of a contest, I have not tried 70cm FT8 that I can recall. As 10m seems dead now, I have QSYed to 70cm FT8 with the V2000 vertical omni antenna.
Although I am not really expecting to spot anything, it is worth a try. On 70cm the FT8 dial frequency is 432.174MHz USB. I shall try until bedtime.
UPDATE 2130z: Nobody spotted. I am not surprised.
The latest solar data has been updated. By any analysis, the last few weeks have been good with decent solar flux and sunspot numbers for this part of the cycle.
Of course, we have to be careful not to look at the detail, but at the averages. It still looks like the next peak will be similar to the last i.e. not huge. At the moment cycle 25 looks very similar to cycle 24. If this is correct, we should expect similar conditions. 10m should be good, but F2 openings on 6m will be rare. This is where an 8m band could prove useful: how often does the MUF just exceed 40MHz?
After breakfast, I hope to be on 10m FT8. This will be mostly RX with the occasional 2.5W TX.
UPDATE 1011z: It has been on RX for just over an hour with 46 unique stations spotted with the furthermost FR4OM (9763km).
UPDATE 1122z: 116 stations spotted.
It seems hard to think this tiny rig was designed and built so long ago (1974?). It was rebuilt a few years ago and still works. It must count as one of my favourite all-time rigs.
I would not recommend trying to exactly copy it, but use it as a source for your own designs. Some years ago, I know one club did a PCB for a version with a loudspeaker amplifier and loudspeaker. I forget who this was.
In its day it had several 100km QSOs handheld and even one of 160km to France handheld even though just 10mW AM. These days, most local QSOs are on FM. In its day, it was a very small rig and much smaller than commercial handhelds.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/fredbox .
