My QRP 10m WSPR 500mW WSPR beacon was turned on at 1154z.
UPDATE 1211z: Copied by FR1GZ (9724km) on Reunion, so it works.
UPDATE 2130z: A really poor day with spots by just 3 stations
Simple QRP projects, 10m, 8m, 6m, 4m, FT8, 160m, WSPR, LF/MF, sub-9kHz, nanowaves and other random stuff, some not related to amateur radio.
My QRP 10m WSPR 500mW WSPR beacon was turned on at 1154z.
UPDATE 1211z: Copied by FR1GZ (9724km) on Reunion, so it works.
UPDATE 2130z: A really poor day with spots by just 3 stations
After several days absence, I am again on 8m QRP FT8. Conditions on 10m looked promising, so it was worth a go. My 8m FT8 gear on 40.680 MHz was turned on at 1141z. As the USA has not been spotted on 10m FT8, I am not too hopeful of getting "across the pond" on 8m today.
Just remembered! I can go on 10m QRP WSPR TX at the same time with my 500mW beacon.
UPDATE 1407z: No spots yet on 8m FT8. Interestingly, I had to change my PC. The power on 8m seems to be holding up better over time. This suggests the audio level into the FT817ND was dropping, not the FT817ND losing power as it got warmer.
UPDATE 1454z: No 8m spots. Nothing seen from the USA on 10m WSPR TX, so I suspect my 8m FT8 QRP stands very little chance now until the Es season starts again.
UPDATE 2120z: Windows PC has packed up under warranty. So, needs to be fixed or replaced.
It featured on TV in "The Professionals".
Some were converted to 70cms. They are rare these days and I do not have one! Your best bet is eBay. There is a PDF manual on my website.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/pye-pf8 .
The sunspot count remains respectably high with counts of over 100 most days. My favourite site for solar data is still showing the next solar peak as Nov 2023, which seems quite early. Figures are usually revised in the early days of the new month.
The most credible explanation is this is caused by ionisation in the mesosphere linked to the formation of noctilucent clouds that form at this time. From research, this path could work at even higher frequencies, possibly microwaves! What is needed is for keen people at each end to try.
This is definitely a case when research by radio amateurs could advance radio science. There is much to be gained from this research. I think noctilucent clouds are becoming more common as a result of climate change, but don't quote me on this. Certainly Far East stations have been spotted here on just a vertical omni on 6m FT8 for several years in July.
Now is the time to arrange some skeds on 2m, 70cm or 23cm. Records could tumble.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/super-dx .
After just a few minutes (it is now 0938z) 5 stations have spotted me and I have spotted quite a few stations in Eastern Europe using the QDX. This looks like single hop F2 propagation. To be honest, conditions are better than I was expecting.
UPDATE 1106z: 40 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 118 stations here. Conditions are definitely better than I expected, so 8m FT8 (or WSPR) is worth a try later.
At first, I shall try 10m FT8 using the QDX transceiver. If successful, I may try 8m FT8 later. I am toying with trying 8m WSPR at 1W around 40.680 MHz.
All being well, I hope to replace my 8m dipole in the coming days. This Es season, as an experiment, I am trying 10mW ERP WSPR under ISM ru...