XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

EI7GL....A diary of amateur radio activity

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Top spotter for WSPR on 28 MHz - 22nd July 2021

Posted: 23 Jul 2021 05:04 AM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/07/top-spotter-for-wspr-on-28-mhz-22nd.html


22nd July 2021: On a few occasions, I have been one of the top five
spotters worldwide for WSPR signals on the 28 MHz band. On the 22nd, I was
in first place!

As the chart shows, I reported 101 separate WSPR signals which is over 20
more than those in the other top 5 spots.
I should point out that this really has nothing to do with me as it's just
my radio listening for WSPR signals on the 28 MHz band all day. The reason
I ended up in the top spot is because of my location in the north-west of Europe.

The map above shows the location of the 101 stations. Other than four in
North America, the rest were in Europe. The problem with the WSPR mode is
that there is a lack of stations transmitting in comparison to say the
hugely popular FT8 mode.

This is a closer look at the European stations. The main reason I ended up
in top spot was probably because I heard 30 stations from the UK via short
skip Sporadic-E and this was in addition to the more usual single hop Sp-E signals out around 1000-2000kms.
At the moment, I am just using a simple half wave vertical above 4m above
the ground for reception and it really is nothing special.
Link...
1) VK7JJ's WSPR Top Spotters website

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FM radio stations in Maine heard across the Atlantic in the north of
Ireland - 22nd July 2021

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 11:00 PM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/07/fm-radio-stations-in-maine-heard-across.html



Thursday 22nd July 2021: Openings on the FM band (88-108 MHz) between North America and Europe are very rare and it's always interesting to hear about these very high frequencies crossing the North Atlantic.
On the 22nd, Paul Logan in Lisnaskea in Co.Fermanagh in the north of
Ireland managed to catch a short 5-minute opening to the state of Maine in
the NE of the USA.
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UTC QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance km Received by/in
kW ERP Pol
14:06 UTC 89.70 MHz USA WMED, Calais (ME) Weak. End of wx report. Start
of "On point" show. Fits with online edition. Brief. 4294kms 30kW m
14:06 UTC 92.90 MHz USA WEZQ, Bangor (ME) Sports talk, same time as 88.5 4390kms 20kW m
14:05 UTC 88.50 MHz USA WHCF, Bangor (ME) Religious show, Scottish preacher
// web 4353kms 35kW m
* * *

As the log from the FMLIST website shows above, Paul managed to log three separate stations at the bottom of Band 2 with frequencies in the range of
88 to 93 MHz.
To put this opening in perspective, this was only the 9th trans-Atlantic
Band 2 opening for Paul Logan in a period of about 20 years.
For the reception, Paul was using a ELAD FDM S2 SDR receiver with a Band 2 9-element Yagi 8m above ground level.

Propagation Mode: As can be seen from the log, the distances were in the
region of 4300kms. It's likely that the mode of propagation was double hop Sporadic-E i.e. 2 x 2150km hops.
For more examples of long distance reception reports on Band 2, visit my
88-108 MHz page.

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