XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

EI7GL....A diary of amateur radio activity

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S50B in Slovenia looking for South African stations on 40 MHz

Posted: 30 Apr 2021 06:00 AM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/04/s50b-in-slovenia-looking-for-south.html



Borut, S50B in Slovenia informs me in an email message that he now has a 4-element Yagi (YU7EF design) for the 40 MHz (8m) band.During Sporadic-E openings in the Summer, S50B should have a good signal in the region of
1000 to 2200 kms around Europe. As the map shows, Borut should have a very
good signal into the UK and Ireland.
S50B is especially interested in trying to make contact with stations in
South Africa on the new 40 MHz band. He can be contacted via his QRZ page.

The South African ZS6WAB beacon on 40.475 MHz has already been heard by
several stations in the south of Europe. See previous post.
As the map shows, the ZS6WAB is about 4000kms from the Geomagnetic Equator. Slovenia (S5) or Croatia (9A) seems to be around the same distance to the
North so TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation) contacts should be possible.
40 MHz is also a band where there are even more Sporadic-E openings than 50
MHz (6m) so multi-hop Sp-E is also a possibility.
It's only a matter of time before we see the first contact between Europe
and South Africa on the new 8-metre amateur band.Link...
1) For more information on the new 8-metre band, visit my 40 MHz page

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Weak opening to St Helena on 28 MHz - 29th Apr 2021

Posted: 30 Apr 2021 01:00 AM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/04/weak-opening-to-st-helena-on-28-mhz.html


Thursday 29th April 2021: This was a reasonably quiet day with only 21 stations in 9 countries heard on FT8.

The main Sporadic-E opening was to the west of the Iberian peninsula with
11 stations heard from Spain and Portugal. Like the higher VHF bands, the Sporadic-E footprint on 28 MHz can often be quite localised with a certain
area of a country being heard and nothing from the rest.
The only DX station was ZD7JC on St Helena Island in the South Atlantic.
It's probably no accident that it lines up exactly with the Sporadic-E
opening.
It is probably likely that the signal from St Helena traveled to
Spain/Portugal via either F2 or TEP propagation and from there to Ireland
via Sp-E.
As we move into May, we can expect the big openings on 28 MHz and above to start.

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