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EI7GL....A diary of amateur radio activity

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18 countries heard on 28 MHz - 15th Dec 2021

Posted: 15 Dec 2021 10:00 PM PST https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/12/18-countries-heard-on-28-mhz-15th-dec.html




Wednesday 15th December 2021: For a change, I decided to let the radio
listen for FT8 signals instead of the WSPR signals on the 28 MHz band to
get an idea of what band conditions were really like.

Back at the end of October 2021, I heard 78 countries on 28 MHz in one day.
On the 15th of December, condition were much more subdued with just 41
stations in 18 countries heard.
It's wasn't all doom and gloom as there were some DX stations on the 10m
band including three from Australia.Txmtr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
VK2DG 10m FT8 16956 km 09:42:29
VK5MRD 10m FT8 16794 km 10:22:14
VK6AS 10m FT8 15053 km 11:54:59
Note however though there was nothing from South and North America.The
solar flux was up at 103 which is reasonable but I suspect conditions on 28
MHz will remain subdued until we head towards the equinox in March.
Hopefully, there will be some big mid-Winter Sporadic-E openings in the
next 3-4 weeks to liven things up.

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Trans-Pacific 50 MHz openings start between New Zealand and South America - 14th Dec 2021

Posted: 15 Dec 2021 01:27 AM PST https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/12/trans-pacific-50-mhz-openings-start.html



14th December 2021: It's interesting to see that long distance paths across
the Pacific on the 50 MHz band are now beginning to open up in the southern hemisphere.
The map above shows some of the 6m signals heard by ZL1RS in New Zealand
with paths to South America ranging from 9,836 kms to 12,595 kms. Txmtr
Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
PY4AQA 6m Q65 12595 km 22:30:30
PY2XB 6m Q65 12202 km 22:49:29
PU2MBY 6m Q65 12059 km 23:13:27
PY5EW 6m Q65 11967 km 23:33:27
PY5KD 6m Q65 11893 km 23:13:27
PT9FD 6m Q65 11825 km 23:08:29
LU5FF 6m Q65 10736 km 22:52:29
CE3VRT 6m Q65 9836 km 23:20:32
Note the mode... Q65! FT8 isn't the only weak signal mode.
The times are in UTC so in reality, this opening was during the daytime
with the sun over the Pacific.
Propagation Mode??... As it's December, the Summer Sporadic-E season in the southern hemisphere has started and is likely to get better.
If we assume the average Sporadic-E hop to be say 2000kms, did 5 or 6 of
these hops line up for the 50 MHz signal to get from South America to New Zealand?
I'd be pretty certain that Sporadic-E was involved to some extent but I
don't think anyone can say for certain it was 100% responsible. Was part of
it chordal hop? Was the mesosphere region associated with noctilucent
clouds involved?
As the openings get better, it'll be interesting to see the signals extend
as far as Australia and what paths open up then.

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