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Roger G3XBM's (Mainly) Amateur Radio Blog
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Storm threat stops play
Posted: 25 Jul 2021 02:14 PM PDT
http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2021/07/storm-threat-stops-play.html
Late this afternoon, I disconnected everything as we had the threat of
thunder and lightning. This meant prematurely going QRT on 10m and 6m. All being well, I shall be on again on Monday morning.
As it happened, the storms missed us. We heard distant thunder, but I
suspect the actual storms were many miles away.
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6m FT8 RX (Sunday)
Posted: 25 Jul 2021 02:19 PM PDT
http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2021/07/6m-ft8-brx-sunday.html
Well, the days of unbelievable Es seem to be diminishing. There will still
be openings, but not so often. They do not call it "the magic band" for nothing! 6m has a habit of producing the totally unexpected, such as the
Europe to Australia openings more than once of late. This is where FT8 or
WSPR can be so useful as there can be lots of people monitoring on specific slots so even fleeting openings are noticed. This is much harder on CW or
SSB.
This morning, I am again monitoring 6m FT8 RX, It is now 0857z and, so far
this morning, 6 Gs spotted. I was very briefly on TX with 2.5W and the
V2000 omni, but just spots by G stations.
No signs of Es here yet today on 6m.
UPDATE 1043z: 13 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX with the furthermost F5PSRStations spotted on
6m FT8 RX to 1417z (1020km). Es?
UPDATE 1505z: Now 34 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX with the furthermost
K0GU (7431km). Judging by the other reports, I think he is genuine. No
other USA stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX today.
UPDATE 2121z: QRT for many hours due to the storm risks. As Bas says in a comment below, Es can be good at any time, so it pays to be vigilant. I
have had QRP SSB QSOs on 6m via Es as late as September. With FT8 or WSPR
more openings will be spotted.
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Oscar 100 activity
Posted: 25 Jul 2021 01:23 AM PDT
http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2021/07/oscar-100-activity_25.html
My regular peek at the narrow-band transponder was late Saturday morning in Europe. It was quiet! I really was expecting this to be far busier by now.
It would appear this sort of operation is not liked by many.
As I have said many times before, if one of the big manufacturers was
offering a "black box" solution, I expect activity would be far greater. As
it is, getting on the satellite is too hard for most who are cheque-book amateurs rather than true experimenters.
What would a total solution cost? I suspect much less than £2k with
everything needed including, rig, dish, feed, LNA, etc.. Remember, no
towers, no beams, neighbour friendly, DX at any time, no QSB. In fact once
set up, just chat!! I can see this appealing to many "black box" operators. What seems to happen is the true experimenters like the challenge of
getting going: building the kit, aiming the dish(es), sorting out the feed
etc. Once this is done, many lose interest.
See
https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .
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10m WSPR TX 500mW (Sunday)
Posted: 25 Jul 2021 08:07 AM PDT
http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2021/07/10m-wspr-tx-500mw-sunday.html
As usual when I am monitoring 6m FT8 RX, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW.
The TX is 100% but changes frequency every slot to avoid being clobbered by
a strong station.
So far (at 0820z) just G2XV (18km) spotting me. No sign of Es here yet.
UPDATE 0900z: DK6UG (633km) has also spotted me. This could have been Es
or off aircraft.
UPDATE 1507z: Just 3 different stations spotting me today. Unless things change, today looks disappointing.
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Sunspots - Sunday July 25th 2021
Posted: 24 Jul 2021 10:24 PM PDT
http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2021/07/sunspots-sunday-july-25th-2021.html
Solar flux is 84 and the SSN 35. A=4 and K=0.
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