MFJ Enterprises to close their manufacturing facility in Mississippi

25th April 2024: MFJ Enterprises manufacture a wide range of products for the amateur radio market and their most recent catalogue comes to some 90-pages.

There has been a lot of talk online over the last few hours about the company 'closing down'. Needless to say, you'd have to take anything said on a forum with a pinch of salt as people are prone to just repeat rumours. 

Gigaparts is one of the large US retailers of amateur radio equipment and they released the following statement... " Yesterday, MFJ Enterprises announced that they would be closing down their manufacturing facilities in Starkville, Mississippi effective May 17th, but would continue selling their wide selection of imported products including portable/mobile antennas, power supplies, clocks, and antenna switches. This closure also impacts all of their sub-brands: Ameritron, Hy-Gain, Cushcraft, Mirage and Vectronics. MFJ intends to continue to service and warranty these product lines for the foreseeable future."

MFJ was also one of the major advertisers in QST magazine.

MFJ released the following statement...

Dear Fellow Hams and Friends,                   

It is with a sad heart as I write this letter.
 
As many of you have heard by now, MFJ is ceasing its on-site production in Starkville, Mississippi on May 17, 2024.  This is also the same for our sister companies’ Ameritron, Hygain, Cushcraft, Mirage and Vectronics.
 
   Times have changed since I started this business 52 years ago.  Our product line grew and grew and prospered.  Covid changed everything in businesses including ours.  It was the hardest hit that we have ever had and we never fully recovered. 
 
  I turned 80 this year.  I had never really considered retirement but life is so short and my time with my family is so precious.
 
   I want to thank all of our employees who have helped build this company with me over the years.  We have many employees who have made MFJ their career for 10, 20, 30, 40 and more years. 
 
   We are going to continue to sell MFJ products past May 17, 2024.  We have a lot of stock on hand. We will continue to offer repair service work for out-of-warranty and in-warranty units for the foreseeable future. 
 
   Finally, a special thanks to all of our customers and our dealers who have made MFJ a worldwide name and a profitable business for so many years.  You all are so much appreciated.
         
                                                                                             Sincerely Yours, 73s
 
                                                                                            Martin F. Jue, K5FLU

Preview of the Spring 2024 edition of SPRAT Magazine

Thanks to the paid subscribers to the new EI7GL newsletter on Substack, I've used the funds to subscribe to a few amateur radio related organisations. Not only does this support them but I hope to give a bit of publicity to the various publications as well so others might subscribe.

In this post, we'll look at the Spring 2024 edition of the SPRAT magazine, the journal for the G-QRP club. 

At first glance, it would be easy to assume that the G-QRP club is only a special interest group interested in just about operating at low power (5-watts or less) and nothing else. While that is no doubt true for some members, a large part of the club ethos is about experimentation with members building their own equipment.

***

The Spring edition of SPRAT magazine has 44-pages including the covers. Here are a few of the items that I found of interest...

• 50 MHz projects - The G-QRP club will be 50-years old in September of 2024. To mark the occasion, they are holding two construction competitions. One of these is for construction projects for the 50 MHz (6m) band with a closing date of the end of Oct-2025.
• Silver Plated Capacitors - An article on how to clean silver plated variable capacitors that have become tarnished.
• ISM - G3XBM has an article about using very low power on the various ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) bands including the one at 40.660 to 40.700 MHz.
• Matchbox TX - A simple two transmitter for either the 40m or 20m bands which fits inside a matchbox.
• Antenna Feeding - Article on balun designs and antenna feeding.
• Active Loop - A design for an active loop antenna for the HF bands using four 2N3904 transistors. Also available as a kit.
• RF sniffer - A simple little LED tester to indicate the presence of RF energy
• Members news - Lot of news from members of what they're building and doing.
• Sales - An extensive list of parts like crystals, IC's, transistors, toroids, wire, kits, etc available for members to purchase.

SPRAT magazine is published four times a years and is posted out to members, there is no digital edition.

The current cost of membership is just £6 for the UK, €15 in Europe & $20 in the USA.

For more information, go to https://www.gqrp.com/

5000km+ TEP opening on the 432 MHz band in the Indian Ocean - 23rd Apr 2024

 Back on the 8th of April 2024, I reported on the very first Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) opening on the 144 MHz band from UAE to Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Since then, this has been pretty much a daily occurence and I have been keep a record of the openings.

On the 23rd of April 2024, A65BR in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reports that his 432 MHz signal was heard in Reunion by FR4OO via TEP. The distance was in the region of 5160kms.

Reports of TEP openings on the 70cms are incredibly rare and it's really interesting to hear about this new report. In this case, it was only a reception report but it shows the potential of the path at 432 MHz.

The composite image above shows reception of the Q65 signal at -17dB as heard by FR4OO.

TEP at 144 MHz is common enough for stations in the right location but stations using 432 MHz are really pushing the limits at what's possible. There are many different propagation modes on 70cms but surely one that allows 432 MHz signals to propagated by the ionosphere must be one of the more unusual ones.

It would be good to see more stations experimenting with TEP at 432 MHz and seeing what it possible.

Link...
1) For more examples of long distance openings on the 70cms band, see my 432 MHz page.

Video: What Morse Code Taught Me... by Jacob Markham

A nice 17-minute video by Jacob Markham outlining his journey in learning morse code.

The cinematography is excellent. If you decide to learn more code then be sure to listen to the sound of the character and don't count or write down the dots and dashes. Google the Koch method.

Propagation alert as Sporadic-E season begins - April 2024

If you have an interest in propagation or DX on the 50 MHz band, this is an important time of year.

Sporadic-E... At the end of April, we should see the start of the Sporadic-E season in the northern hemisphere. The initial openings should be on the 28 MHz band with stations about 1500-2000kms away being heard and worked.

It's only a matter of time before the openings extend up to the 40 MHz, 50 MHz and 70 MHz bands.

Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP)... The TEP season peaks around the Equinox but it extends until early May. The important thing to note here is that there is an overlap between the Sporadic-E season and the TEP season.

Normally stations in the norther part of Europe or the USA are too far north to reach the TEP zones which are roughly shown above. All that is needed is just one Sporadic-E hop for more northerly stations to reach this TEP zone.

What to look out for over the next few weeks...

The key point is to look to the south for the next few weeks to make the most of this overlap. Once the TEP season ends in early May, the Sporadic-E season will continue until August.

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0004 - 19th Apr 2024

The fourth edition of the new newsletter is now up on Substack.

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0004 - 19th April 2024

Summary: -

• Intro, TEP & Sp-E
• HF Beacon & Propagation News - Region 2, Kiwi SDR, Solar Flux, 10m
• 40 MHz & Low Band VHF News : 40 MHz reports, Spain
• 50 MHz News: Singapore, Upcoming 50 MHz expeditions... a long list!
• 70 MHz News: 4m activity, new 4m beacon, 4m beacons, 4m nets
• 88-108 MHz: Radios in cars
• 144 MHz & Above: TEP, Antarctica, Expedition to SV5 cancelled, US EME, GPS disciplined oscillators
• Experimenters Corner: End fed half wave, Impedance matching
• EI7GL blog posts for the last two weeks
• In conclusion

Link HERE

8000km opening at 40 MHz from South Africa to Australia - 16th Apr 2024

As we move further into April, the F2 layer propagation in the northern hemisphere is getting worse on the higher HF bands but in contrast, things are improving in the southern hemisphere.

On the 16th of April 2024, short-wave listener Tony Mann in Perth, Western Australia reports reception of the ZS6WAB/B in South Africa on 40.675 MHz. The distance was in the region of 8320kms.

Tony writes... "To my surprise the 40.675 MHz ZS6WAB beacon was received here in Perth, W. Australia again this autumn, on 16 April 2024, from 0630 to 0750 UTC. I guess his antenna must be beaming eastwards to be audible in CW mode. IC-R75, broadbanded horizontal 6m dipole (s) at 5m agl."

While this beacon in South Africa has been heard recently in Europe over similar distances, what makes this one of interest is that it's more of an east-west path and is a sure sign of improving F2 layer conditions in the southern hemisphere.

Link...
1) See my 40 MHz page for more information on the 8m amateur band.

Tracking a WSPR balloon on 28 MHz off the west coast of Ireland - Apr 2024

On the 28th of November 2023, Perri Moore KD9NGV launched a Pico-Balloon from Illinois in the United States with a solar powered payload that transmits a WSPR beacon on 28.1246 MHz.

Most of the Pico-Balloons launched from the USA tend to take a path closer to about 30 degrees north of the equator and cross areas like the north of Africa and south Asia. In contrast,  the KD9NGV balloon seems to have covered a much wider area and has been reported at more northerly latitudes as shown on the map above.

By the 16th of December 2023, it had gone around the world once! By the 19th of February, it had gone around the world three times. By mid April 2024, it has gone around the globe multiple times and the red dots on the map show where it was when I received some of the WSPR signals over the last few weeks.

What caught my interest was that back on the 7th of April 2024, the KD9NGV Pico-Balloon was off the west coast of Ireland. Most of the reception reports of the WSPR transmitter are via F2-layer propagation during the daytime. When it was off the west coast of Ireland, it was at about 40,000ft (12.2kms) altitude and line of sight to my location.

As can be seen from the map above and the reports below, my first reception report on the 7th of April was at 14:10 UTC when it was about 400kms to the west. A few others reported it via F2 layer propagation but I was the main one reporting it as it tracked its way up off the west coast of Ireland.

After 17:50 UTC, I lost it but it then came into the range of GM0HBF in the Western Isles of Scotland.

It then went silent as darkness fell. Once daylight broke again on the 8th of April, it was over the North Sea and GM4WJA started to report it.

At the time of the screen grab, LA3FY/2 in Norway was hearing it and it continued then over Scandinavia. It has since crossed over Russia and at the time of writing is up over the far north of Canada.

KD9NGV Payload... The actual payload pre-launch is shown below.

The 28 MHz WSPR signal is generated by a Si5351 clock generator and the power output is just 9 milliwatts... 0.009 watts!

The antenna is a vertical half-wave dipole made of #36 enamelled wire.  The top half is from the balloon to the U4B tracker (QRP Labs) and the lower half hangs below the tracker.  Three Powerfilm MPT 3.6-75  in a vertical triangle provide the power.  The complete payload weighs 12 grams.

The balloon is described as a "silver SAG Balloon with Helium.".

In conclusion... I have noticed these WSPR pico-balloons many times on the 28 MHz band before but they are nearly always flying over some exotic location. It was just unusual to have one pass so close and be line of sight.

DL7APV - Silent Key

It was sad to hear about the passing of Bernd, DL7APV who was a well known figure on the VHF & UHF bands. As can be seen from the image above, he built an impressive antenna array for the 432 MHz band which allowed him to make contacts with many radio amateurs around the world by bouncing signals off the moon.

The array for 70cms was made up of 128 x 11-element Yagi antennas which had a calculated gain of 33.7 dBd. He first got a licence in 1975, made his first moon bounce contact on 432 MHz in 1983, got DXCC on 432 MHz in 2012 and finally worked all 50 US states in 2016, all from his home in Germany.

Bernd was also a very active FM-DXer and built an impressive 8 x 9-element array for the 88-108 MHz band.

Preview of the May 2024 Practical Wireless Magazine

With the recent demise of CQ magazine in the US, I've decided to start looking at what other amateur radio publications are out there. Thanks to the paid subscribers to the new EI7GL newsletter on Substack, I'll use the funds to subscribe to a few amateur radio related organisations. Not only does this support them but I hope to give a bit of publicity to the various publications as well so others might subscribe.

In this post, we'll look at the May 2024 edition of the Practical Wireless magazine.

***

Practical Wireless is a monthly UK based radio magazine and describes itself as ..."aimed at the licensed radio amateur and caters for the amateur radio hobby."

Some of the articles that I think might be of interest are...

Pt 3 of a series on linear power supplies.
Commercial loading coils for the HF bands
Pt 2 of a series about constructing a home made CW transceiver mainly for the low HF bands with mostly discreet components.
Using the Si5351 as a bench clock generator
Programming an Arduino for the WSPR mode
Reports of recent activity on the HF bands from a UK perspective
Tim, GW4VXE as always gives a comprehensive review of recent activity on the VHF bands as well as what the recent UK licence changes mean.
QRM eliminator kit
A very simple home made 144 MHz Yagi made from a tape measure!

The full index of contents can be seen below...

The magazine can be purchased in the UK and Ireland in large newsagents. 

Online versions and subscriptions can be purchased via the Pocketmags website... https://pocketmags.com/eu/practical-wireless-magazine

Or the Mymagazinesub website... https://www.mymagazinesub.co.uk/practical-wireless

If you're a member of your local library then it may be available for free online via the Pressreader platform... https://www.pressreader.com/magazines/m/practical-wireless

Interference during the recent Namibia to Europe TEP tests - Apr 2024

There have been many remarkable Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings recently on the 144 MHz band from Namibia to Europe. This all started off when a group was established on WhatsApp where individuals in Europe and Africa exchanged messages to try and co-ordinate the tests.

The problem with evening type TEP is that the signals are often very distorted at 144 MHz and modes like FT8 often don't work. To address this issue, the group decided to try the Q65 mode which has been a huge success. They picked the frequency of 144.190 MHz to carry out these TEP tests.

The choice of frequency is important because it was just a frequency chosen to carry out TEP tests, it's NOT the official Q65 frequency.

The problem now is that as news of the TEP contacts has spread, European stations are starting to work each other on 144.190 MHz with Q65. The problem here is that they are blocking the weak TEP signals from Africa.

The organisers of the TEP tests moved the frequency to 144.192 MHz to avoid the interference from EU to EU contacts but the central message is that the area around 144.190 MHz should be left clear for only TEP contacts from Europe to Africa.

In terms of sequence, Africa always transmits first, Europe always second.

Guest Post: 6m operation from Lesotho – 7P8EI ...by Roger, EI8KN

Thanks to Roger, EI8KN for sending on details of the activity of the 7P8EI team on the 50 MHz band.

6m operation from Lesotho – 7P8EI

From the 19th March to the 31st March 2024, I was fortunate to be part of the thirteen-strong EIDX Group dxpedition to the Kingdom of Lesotho. The callsign was 7P8EI; incorporating the usual Group suffix. We had approximately ten days of operating from the Molengoane Lodge, Nazareth, Lesotho. The locator was KG30VO.

The HF stations achieved around 53,000 contacts during the ten days.

We only had a basic setup for 6m consisting of an IC-7300, running around 60 watts to a Diamond HB9CV. No rotator. Software was MSHV.

We experienced TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation) openings on 24th to 27th March, and again on 29th March.

573 contacts in total were made consisting of 481 unique’s.

Thirty-five DXCC were worked, with the majority being in Europe (98%) with Italy the highest country (28%).  Seven stations were worked in Africa, and five in Asia.

Only one G station was worked – G7RAU. Dave must be very happy!

The openings did not extend to EI unfortunately.

Roger Greengrass EI8KN / G4NRG

Guest Post: Example of Lightning Scatter at 144 MHz ...by Kadri, TA1D

In a follow up to my recent post about lightning scatter at 1296 MHz, Kadri TA1D got in touch to say that he saw another example at 144 MHz. He wrote a post about it on his blog in Turkish and that is linked from the bottom of this post. 

He has kindly given me permission to publish a version in English here. I'm using Google Translate for most of this post with a few corrections so a few errors may creep in.

John, EI7GL

***

Contribution of lightning to Radio Communications at 144 MHz ...by TA1D

Towards the end of summer 2021, I was operating from my summer QTH station in the North Aegean in Turkey / Turkiye. It was raining with lightning one day when I was communicating with Meteor Scatter on 144 MHz and I decided to check if the SV2JL/B beacon station in Greece on 144.450 MHz could be heard during the hours when lightning was concentrated in the middle of the Aegean Sea.

I turned my antenna to the west and started listening on 144.450 MHz. At that time, the sound of the CW beacon could be very faintly heard with some fading (QSB). Sometimes it became  unreadable and rose again, but overall, the signal level was very poor.

While I was listening, I also had the computer monitoring with the MSK144 mode and sometimes, the morse signal appeared clearly on the screen as short and long lines.

I noticed that I was also hearing the static crashes from the lightning and these can be seen on the screen shot above.

I noticed that I could hear the radio signals of SV2JL/B very faintly during each lightning strike. When the static crash was at a red level, the morse signals became loudly audible before dropping back down to a lower level.

I realised that I had witnessed an interesting physical event and it was possible due to my position and situation.

Is it of any use to radio amateurs? Yes, it can be useful. We can make use of meteor scatter with the MSK and FSK modes to make contacts using short pings and bursts. We could also make use of the short scatter signals from lightning strikes.

Thanks to lightning, we are listening and sending like meteor scatter communications. Lightning strikes at the appropriate angle between the two stations during our meteor scatter style QSOs may help us communicate.

In conclusion; This physical phenomenon that I have noticed and determined can be effective in amateur radio communication.

There may be articles written by people who witnessed similar events on different web pages, but I have not come across them yet.

Meteorite: Pieces of Stone, Soil, mineral and ice floating or orbiting in space.

MS: Meteor Scatter, bouncing off meteor trails, reflection.
MSK and FSK: Digital communication mode
Beacon: Radio Beacon, Robot station that sends Morse or digital signals at certain intervals.
CW: Morse signal, carrier wave
RF: Radio Frequency
SV2JL/B: Robot Beacon station installed in Greece
APS: Airplane Scatter: Reflection and scattering from the aircraft surface.

TA1D Kadri K.Mehmet Başak

Links...

1) The full original article is on the TA1D website... http://ta1d.com/?p=226

First TEP contact at 144 MHz made from Mauritius - 9th Apr 2024

On the 9th of April 2024, 3B8FA in Mauritius made the first Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) contact on the 144 MHz band from that country when he completed a contact with A65BR in the UAE. As the screen grab shows above, there was also a path to A71XX in Qatar.

This screen capture below from Oleg, A65BR shows the contact on the Q65 mode.

FR4OO on Reunion Island also had the same TEP as the previous day to A65BR, A71XX and 9K2GS.

Just to keep the report as complete as possible, there was also a path from FR5DN to Qatar...

Looking at the maps, there is almost certainly a TEP path from Madagascar (5R) north to Kuwait but it just needs someone to be active from that country.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Day 9: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 8th Apr 2024

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 8th of April 2024. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

As can be seen from the list, this was quite a good opening and the one big change was the path to SV1DH near Athens in Greece. The horizontal spread of stations at the northern end of the circuit was in the region of 800kms.

At 144 MHz, the signals need to cross the Geomagnetic Equator at nearly 90 degrees for TEP and it gets a lot more difficult the further the station gets from 90 degrees. That's why it is interesting to see SV1DH listed.

The optimal TEP path from Athens is probably down to Zimbabwe but there are no stations active there on 144 MHz.

These are the spots from the DX Cluster...
IZ8FFA 144192.0 V51WW 19:09 08 Apr TNX Namibia
IT9XDJ 144192.0 V51WW 18:54 08 Apr Q65B -12 dB 1225 Hz  Namibia

Alex, SV1NZX reports... "V51JH heard SV1 and a smattering of other stations; ZD7GWM was cqing on 144.300 but sadly no copy from EA stations. SV1DH worked V51WW quite easily."

Felice, IZ8FFA reports working V51WW with 100W to a 12-element home made LFA Yagi on a 7m book.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

First ever TEP contacts made at 144 MHz in the Indian Ocean - 8th Apr 2024

On the 8th of April 2024, a little bit of amateur radio history was made with the first ever TEP contacts on the 144 MHz band in the Indian Ocean.

Over the last few decades, Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) contacts on the 144 MHz (2m) band have been reported from South America to the Caribbean area, from the southern part of Africa to the Mediterranean area and from the north of Australia to Japan. This is as far as I know, a first for the Indian Ocean.

Inspired by the recent TEP contacts from Namibia to the south of Europe, other radio amateurs are trying other potential TEP paths. On the 7th of April 2024, A65BR in the UAE reported reception of the signal of FR4OO on Reunion Island... see previous post. On the 8th of April, three successful contacts were made as shown above.

The contacts are similar to other recent TEP contacts... made in the late evening, approx 5200km north-south path, equidistant from the Geomagnetic Equator and using Q65 to handle the distortion and weak signals.

The first contact was made by Oleg, A65BR around 16:30 UTC...

Oleg, A65BR writes... "Today TEP to FR on 2m was amazing. Q65 QSO with FR4OO done. Never try before, looks like we have permanent channel via TEP on 2m. Signals are huge, CW can be easy."

Oleg continues... "Today a QSO took place without any problems, the opening lasted 2.5 hours, the signal rose to -2 dB, FR4OO also worked 9K2GS and A71XX. Tomorrow 3B8FA will join their side, I hope it will grow together. It all started at 16.20 utc, (20.20 local Umm Al Quwain) and until 23 pm. It’s interesting to try at 70 cm.

According to the terrain - FR4OO sees the ocean, but I don’t - I have 1000 km to the ocean and the Omani hills on almost the entire route. However, it doesn't hurt!"

Alex, SV1NZX reports... "FR4OO completes with 9K2GS, A65BR and A71XX on 2m. FR5DN hears A71XX for one period. Congratulations to all stations!!"

As Alex mentions, the signal from a second Reunion Island station (FR5DN) was also heard in Qatar (A7).

These are the spots from the DX Cluster...

A71XX 144192.0 FR4OO 16:56 08 Apr FT8 LL55rw - LG79rc Reunion Island
9K2GS 144192.0 FR4OO 16:53 08 Apr  Reunion Island

Analysis... If the recent TEP openings to Europe are anything to go by, these openings in the Indian Ocean should be almost a daily occurrence for the few weeks around the equinox. This path is probably there year after year but it just takes someone at either end of the circuit to try it.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

EIRSAT-1 team reveal that their new satellite was almost lost after launch...

Back on the 1st of December 2023, Ireland’s first satellite, EIRSAT-1 was launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The EIRSAT-1 control team revealed recently that the satellite was almost lost.

Shortly after launch, the satellite was rotating at 5 degrees per second taking 72 seconds to do a full rotation which was in line with expectations. However, that rotation speed increased and it was soon doing 30 degrees per second taking 12 seconds to do a full rotation. By the time the control station in Dublin had established contact with it, it was spinning at 50 degrees per second and getting faster.

In an interview, Eirstat-1 engineering manager Prof David McKeown said... “If it keeps spinning faster and faster, you won’t be able to communicate with it and you’ll lose the mission. The faster it gets, the harder it is to make it slow down again. Once it gets to a certain speed you can’t even send the commands to it to slow it down. This was very worrying. If it went on, that would have been curtains for us.”

To get a handle on what was going on, the control team had to do simulations on the ground and came up with a solution to slow down the rotation. 

Prof McKeown continues... “It is so much work, so much time over so many years. You get a mixture of relief and happiness. It is absolutely a technical success. We took no shortcuts. It was years of testing and it’s years of work that has paid off. We couldn’t be happier with the way things are working. All the critical systems are healthy. We have got data back from one of our payloads.”

Day 8: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 7th Apr 2024

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 7th of April 2024. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

Interest is growing is these long distance TEP paths and more people are getting involved. In a previous post, I had details of how A65BR in the United Arab Emirates managed to hear FR4OO on Reunion Island via TEP on the 7th of April.

These are the spots from the DX Cluster...
IK7EOT 144190 V51WW 19:09 07 Apr 24 Q65B -18 Namibia
SV2DCD 144190 V51WW 18:27 07 Apr 24 CQ Q65B -15db TEP Namibia
SV8PEX 144190 V51WW 18:23 07 Apr 24 -09 q65b hrd in JM99 Namibia

Also on the 7th of April, the PSK Reporter website shows that IK7EZN in Italy reported reception of V51NH, the second station in Namibia. IZ7EZN is the only station reporting this so I'd be always wary of just one station reporting as someone may have made a mistake reporting the incorrect band.

It is also reported that ZD7GWM on St Helena is trying the TEP north to Spain (EA) & Portugal (CT). Stations in South Africa (ZS) are also beaming north.

SV1NZX in Greece reports... "Lots of TEP action tonight - V51WW seen/worked in at least 7 PSK-enabled stations, more saw him, reported via group chat, A65BR heard FR4OO, ZD7GWM was CQing dir EA. Overall 2xV5, a few from ZS (various areas) and ZD7 vs over 80 EU and AS stations

V Important.  AF stations are CQing 1st and EU 2nd. We implore that 144.190 is kept free of tropo QSOs and attempts for EU->EU on 1st period. Tomorrow, 9K2GS and A65BR will be testing with FR at 1630z, V5/ZS-EU from 1800z and ZD7GWM will be cqing .300U/301cw from 1930z dir EA"

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

5160km TEP opening at 144 MHz in the Indian Ocean from Reunion to UAE - 7th Apr 2024

With the success of the now almost daily TEP openings on the 144 MHz band from Namibia to Europe, it has encouraged others to try similar possible TEP paths.

On the 7th of April, Olen A65BR in the United Arab Emirates reported reception of the 144 MHz signal  from FR4OO on Reunion Island. The distance is around 5,160kms.

The screen grab above from A65BR shows several decodes of the Q65 signal. As far as I know, it was a one way reception report and a two way contact did not take place.

This is as far as I know a new TEP path and hasn't been reported before. Hopefully, it might encourage others to try some tests on the 144 MHz band.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Updated HF beacon list for IARU Region 2 - Mar 2024

Jerry, AC5JM is the IARU Region 2 HF Beacon Coordinator and over the last few weeks has been updating all of the HF beacons that are in North and South America. The vast majority of these are on the 28 MHz (10m) band.

The old list had become badly out of date with some beacons that hadn't been heard in years. AC5JM has put a lot of work into seeing what beacons have been heard of late and trying to contact other beacon owners to find out the current status.

On the 18th of March 2024, Jerry reported the following... "As of today, and to my knowledge there are officially 310 beacons on the active list in Region 2 but about 49 of them are temporarily down due to equipment failures and QTH moves and another 11 have been inactive for more than 1 year.  

I used RBN (Reverse Beacon Network), emails from beacon owners, and reception reports from others to determine if a beacon is active or not.  Some that I have have moved to the inactive list may in fact be active.  Please let me know if any corrections need to be made."

The list can be viewed from the following link... https://www.iaru-r2.org/en/on-the-air/beacon-network/

Day 7: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 6th Apr 2024

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 6th of April 2024 and again to the same geographical area. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

SV8ALQ in Greece reports... "Today was a very good opening between Greece and Namibia. I made contact with V51WW mode Q65b at 144.190 at 18.47. Best I heard him was -12dB"

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

40 MHz reception report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for March 2024

Thanks to short wave listener Bill Smith, W1-7897 for sending on his reception report for March 2024.

Bill who is located near Douglas in Massachusetts in the United States is using a Yaesu FT-847 as a receiver on the 40 MHz (8m) band with a 5-element beam for the 50 MHz band about 6m above ground level.

40 MHz reception report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for March 2024:

3rd March 2024: LX5JX(JO30) in Luxembourg logged from 1628 to 16:47 UTC on 40.680 MHz FT8 calling CQ. No answers, Signal Strength ranged from -19 to 0 dB.

6th March 2024: There was a large opening on the 50 MHz (6m) band from Europe into the south of Africa. ZS and V5 noted into Europe. Antenna was pointed to South Africa, but no stations heard on 40 MHz either in Africa or Europe. 

24th March 2024: ZF1EJ (EK99) in the Cayman Islands logged at 12:53 UTC with brief CQ on 40.680 MHz FT8 and then gone. Signal strength -17 dB. No further CQ and no answers. 

Thanks for the report Bill!

For more information on the 40 MHz band, go to https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html

Day 6: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 5th Apr 2024

 

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 5th of April 2024 and again to the same geographical area. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

There was an earlier report in the day at 12:32 UTC from Albania but this was almost certainly an error with someone reporting the 6m decodes as 2m.

DX-Cluster spots...
IT9GSF 144190.0 V51WW 20:13 05 Apr LONG TEP 18:26 till 19:35 Namibia
IK7EOT 144190.0 V51WW 18:50 05 Apr Q65B Namibia
IZ8EDJ 144290.0 V51WW 18:48 05 Apr JN70-TEP-JH81 Namibia
9H1TX 144191.2 V51WW 18:46 05 Apr JM75FU<TEP>JH81OC Q65 tnx agai Namibia

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0003 - 5th Apr 2024

The third edition of the new newsletter is now up on Substack.

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0003 - 5th April 2024

Summary: -

• Intro
• HF Beacon & Propagation News - Region 2, MH370, Solar Eclipse, 30m beacon, 26 MHz, Solar Flux, 10m
• 40 MHz & Low Band VHF News : 40 MHz reports, Spain
• 50 MHz News: 50 MHz reports, Beacon in Alabama, 223 DXCC, 1000 grids, Sardinia to New Zealand, Antarctica to France, Cyprus to Australia
• Upcoming 50 MHz expeditions... a long list!
• 70 MHz News: 4m activity, aurora, new 4m beacon, 4m nets
• 88-108 MHz: First Sporadic-E opening in Greece, TEP Florida to Chile
• 144 MHz & Above: Aurora in Australia, TEP from Namibia to Europe, TEP from Australia to Japan, Moonbounce, Antarctica
• Satellites: DATV on the ISS
• Experimenters Corner: Resistor values, handheld antenna teardown, CW bandwidth, impedance matching, Soldersmoke podcast
• EI7GL blog posts for the last two weeks
• In conclusion

Link... https://ei7gl.substack.com/p/ei7gl-amateur-radio-newsletter-0003

Activity on the 40 MHz band - 4th April 2024

On the 3rd of April 2024, it was announced that radio amateurs in Spain would be allowed access to the 40 MHz (8m) band with some restrictions... see post HERE. The image above shows some of the FT8 activity on the 4th of April.

There may be some errors in there like the one from Newfoundland which was probably from someone reporting the wrong band. However. the others are mostly correct and it shows plenty of activity from South Africa to Spain.

Spots from the DX-Cluster...

Day 5: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 4th Apr 2024

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 4th of April 2024 but to the same geographical area. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

Alex, SV1NZX reports... "V51WW is currently the only station being heard from Africa but working IK7UXY, SV2DCD, SV8PEX, IT9GSF, IK7EZW and 9H1PA, amongst others. Same geography and area but slightly stronger signals tonight, initially

Interestingly, also, ZS4TX was tx-ing North too, although nothing was received and FR5DN was beaming to A6/TA/9K where stations are located. No luck as of yet but conditions are not ideal, to be fair."

From SV2DVD

Spots from the DX-Cluster...

IT9GSF 144190.0 V51WW 20:56 04 Apr JM67-TEP-JH81 6314Km @18:38 Namibia
IK7EOT 144190.0 V51WW 19:01 04 Apr Q65B -21 Namibia
SV8PEX 144190.0 V51WW 18:42 04 Apr Q65B first -13 nice via TEP Namibia
IK7EZN 144190.0 V51WW 18:39 04 Apr TEP 6550 KM Namibia
IV3KKW 144190.0 V51WW 18:38 04 Apr Q65 wkg Med Namibia

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

TEP opening on 144 MHz band from Japan to Australia - 3rd Apr 2024

In addition to the recent Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings at 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe, there have also been similar openings from the far south of Japan to the north of Australia.

The map above shows the paths reported on the PSK Reporter website for the 3rd of April 2024.

In fact, there have been almost daily openings reported from at last the start of March. Here are a few of the spots from the DX-Cluster...

JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 11:51 02 Apr 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:26 01 Apr 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144150 VK8ZMX 12:55 31 Mar 24 SSB TNX! Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:49 22 Mar 24 FT8 -03dB Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 11:39 20 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:59 19 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 1:17 18 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144150 VK8AW 12:34 17 Mar 24 SSB Australia
JA6DJS 144150 VK8DNT 13:04 16 Mar 24 SB TNX QSO! Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:01 12 Mar 24 FT8 CQ -10dB Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:13 11 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:09 10 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 11:27 08 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8NAH 11:27 08 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 11:41 06 Mar 24 FT8 Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:04 05 Mar 24 FT8 TNX QSO! Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:21 04 Mar 24 FT8 TNX QSO! Australia

Most of the signals are FT8 with no mention of the Q65 mode. There have been a few SSB contacts as well.

The distances are in the region of 4,900kms and the southern end of the path seems to be determined by the fact that most radio amateurs in that region are clustered around the city of Darwin.

There seems to be very little activity from Japan despite the sea path to the south with possible tropo extensions. I wonder if VHF stations in Japan are aware of these TEP openings to the south?

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Day 4: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 3rd Apr 2024

Day 4: This was the 4th day in a row that there was a Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe. It's very likely that this path was open for most of March as well but there was no-one testing the path.

The paths from the PSK Reporter website are shown above and this time, the signals reached further north in Italy.

Here are some spots from the DX Cluster...

SV2DCD 144190.0 V51WW 18:35 03 Apr -15db Q65B via TEP tnx Namibia
SV8PEX 144190.0 V51WW 18:33 03 Apr JH81 Q65B only RX tonight, wea Namibia

It's interesting to note how the maximum spread of the TEP footprint at the northern end is about 750kms. The TEP signal needs to cross the Geomagnetic Equator close to 90 degrees and the question is how far from 90 degrees can the path be before there is no propagation at 144 MHz?

Alex, SV1NZX notes that he has heard no signals from V51WW with a 9-element yagi at his location near Athens (KM17) which suggests he is too far to the east. He writes... "SV2DCD was using a 4 x 17 array to hear / work EME-level signals from V51WW. On the other hand, SV8PEX and IZ8/IT9/9H have had the lion's share of signal strength, hence the SSB QSO's."

I know the TEP posts can be a bit repetitive but I think it's important to keep a record of the information and maps. This is the most important VHF news in Europe at the moment.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Spain opens up the 40 MHz (8m) amateur radio band with conditions - April 2024

Good news! The licencing authorities in Spain have decided to open up the 40 MHz (8m) amateur radio band with conditions.

The national association for radio amateurs in Spain is the URE and they released this notice... "After hard work by the URE before the administration, today the Resolution of the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure was published on the Amateur Radio website, which authorizes holders of Spanish amateur radio authorizations to make broadcasts. in the 40,650 – 40,750 MHz band, with a maximum peak envelope power (PEP) of 25 W, for a period of eighteen months.

Broadcasts will only be made from fixed stations that have the corresponding license. In addition, the radio amateur must inform the Provincial Telecommunications Inspection Headquarters of the province in which he or she resides about his intention to operate in this band before broadcasting for the first time on these frequencies."

This is huge news for those interested in the 40 MHz band and Spain is the first 'big country' to allow radio amateurs access to the 8m band.

Analysis... In terms of propagation, Spain is in an ideal spot. 

F2... For F2 layer propagation, there will be plenty of openings from Spain to the Caribbean (PJ4MM) and the signals should be clearly heard in the USA and Canada as well. The north-south paths will be especially good and the 40 MHz signals will be heard all over South America and TEP openings to the radio amateurs in South Africa should be a regular occurrence.

Conditions from EA8 (Canary Islands) should be amazing while the southern EA5, EA6, EA7 stations will be a bit better than those further north.

Sporadic-E... The workhorse over the Summer months of May to July will be Sporadic-E with typical distances in the region of 1000 to 2200 kms.

For EI stations in Ireland... Expect EA5, EA6 and EA7 to be the most common. EA1 and EA2 will be harder.

ON stations in Belgium... Expect EA7 to be the most common with EA3 the hardest.

S5 stations in Slovenia... Expect EA1 and EA7 to be the easiest with EA3 and EA6 the hardest.

SV stations in Greece... EA1 might be difficult as it's close to the maximum one hop Sporadic-E distance. The rest of Spain should be easy.

In conclusion... One of the big problems with the 40 MHz band is the lack of activity. For those that are using the band, it soon gets to a stage where there is no-one new to work. With Spain joining the party, that should hopefully change.

As we're at the peak of the solar cycle, now is the time to explore the 8m band before the conditions drop away.

Links...

1) For more information on the 8m band, see my 40 MHz page. 

2) URE News item... https://www.ure.es/autorizada-la-banda-de-40650-40750-mhz/

3) The official notice in Spanish posted 2nd April 2024... https://avancedigital.mineco.gob.es/espectro/radioaficionados/autorizaciones/Documents/RESOLUCION_40_MHz.pdf

Addendum... This is the official document via Google Translate...