Solar Noise on the 28 MHz band - 10th May 2024

10th May 2024: I had the radio turned on in the background this morning and I noticed a large burst of noise from the sun. I had the SpectrumLab software running since yesterday and I took this screen grab.

Just to explain the image above...

1) I was listening on 28.1246 MHz USB which is the 10m WSPR & QRSS frequency.

2) Around 06:42 UTC, a meteor burnt up about 100kms above the west of England or Wales leaving an ionised trail behind. This lasted long enough that I was able to hear some of the QRSS signals from stations to the east of London, about 600kms to the east of me. The signals lasted for about a minute.

3) At about 06:43:30, the noise from a solar flare erupting on the sun reached the Earth and I heard the burst of solar noise as a loud hissing sound on 28 MHz. You can see this as the brighter colour in the image. It then faded slowly with some minor peaks over the next few minutes.

I later checked the NOAA website in the US and sure enough, there was a peak in the GOES X-Ray flux at about the same time. Link - https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/goes-x-ray-flux

It looks as if it was a X3.9 burst from the sunspot group AR 3664.

Maximum 10 May 2024 06:54:00 GMT X3.9 Integrated flux: 4.4e-1 J m-2

I often hear solar noise on the 28 MHz band but this one was a bit stronger than usual.

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - IW0HK beacon in Italy - 8th May

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year. On the 8th of May, I got a screengrab of the QRSS signal 'HK' which was sent by the IW0HK/B beacon near Rome in Italy.

Usually, nearly all of the QRSS signals on the 10m band are on 28.1246 MHz and the audio of the signals is about 400-500Hz below the WSPR signals. In this case, the IW0HK beacon was on 28.322 MHz.

In the image above, the fuzzy part of the signal is when it was sending the callsign and locator of the beacon in normal morse code. The QRSS 'HK' part is sent after this.

The beacon runs 1-watt into a vertical five-eight wave antenna.

The map above shows the path and the distance was about 1800kms. The signal was almost certainly via Sporadic-E and it's pretty much the ideal distance for that mode of propagation.

In summary... That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 20-callsigns & 10 DXCC.

1) 8th Jan 2024: VE1VDM - DXCC #1
2) 10th Jan 2024: VA1VM
3) 15th Jan 2024: G0MBA - DXCC #2
4) 15th Jan 2024: G0PKT
5) 15th Jan 2024: AE0V - DXCC #3
6) 16th Jan 2024: RD4HU - DXCC #4
7) 16th Jan 2024: W1BW
8) 17th Jan 2024: OH5KUY - DXCC #5
9) 18th Jan 2024: TF3HZ - DXCC #6
10) 6th Feb 2024: VA3RYV
11) 16th Feb 2024: IK2JET - DXCC #7
12) 16th Feb 2024: N8NJ
13) 21st Feb 2024: PY3FF - DXCC #8
14) 26th Feb 2024: VE6NGK
15) 27th Feb 2024: NM5ER
16) 28th Feb 2024: VK4BAP - DXCC #9
17) 2nd Mar 2024: WA1EDJ
18) 5th Mar 2024: FR1GZ/B - DXCC #10
19) 30th Apr 2024: IK1WVQ
20) 8th May 2024: IW0HK/B

Tracking the KJ7VBX-11 Pico-Balloon over Ireland & the UK - 8th May 2024

As we are now at the peak of the solar cycle, some radio amateurs are using WSPR on the 28 MHz band for their Pico-Balloons as they travel around the world.

Back in April of 2024, I had a post about reception of the KD9NGV pico-balloon as it made its way off the west coast of Ireland to the North Sea. See post HERE

I often see these pico-balloon on my receive list for 28 MHz WSPR but they're nearly all somewhere far away and the propagation mode is via the ionosphere. What I find interesting about the rare really close passes is that there is no propagation mode as such, the balloon is essentially line of sight to my location.

KJ7VBX-11... On the 8th of May 2024, I noticed that I was hearing the KJ7VBX-11 pico-balloon early in the morning just as it had woken up with the sun shining on it's solar panels. I was able to hear it pretty much all day from 07:40 UTC until 18:20 UTC.

During this time, it travelled from a spot off the west coast of Ireland, over the northern counties of Donegal, Derry and Antrim in Ireland, over the south-west of Scotland and then over Cumbria in England before falling silent for the night.

On the 9th of May, it woke up over the English Channel and then headed over the Netherlands.

The balloon is at an altitude of about 13,500 metres or 44,000 feet. The WSPR transmitter is supposed to be 20-milliwatts. As far as I know, it was launched on the 2nd of May 2024 but there seems to be very little information about it.

Format... Early on the morning of the 8th, I was the only person reporting it and it was the only signal I was hearing so I was able to do some tests without any confusion from other signals.

The WSPR transmitter on the balloon seems to have two formats. The first one is shown above. The transmitter turns on as a plain carrier for 30-seconds and then sends one WSPR transmission. I presume this carrier is to warm up the transmitter which is at or below 0 deg C and the 30 second carrier stops any drifting of the following WSPR signal.

The second format is shown below...

This time, there is a second WSPR transmission after the first one.

This is a sample of the decodes that I got in the space of about an hour...

0640    6  -1.6   28.126061   -2   KJ7VBX        IO33     13    361
0642    6  -1.6   28.126060    0   0O2MCY        GC73     53  13482
0650    7  -1.6   28.126060    0   KJ7VBX        IO33     13    361
0700    8  -1.7   28.126060    0   KJ7VBX        IO33     13    361
0702    8  -1.7   28.126061    0   0S2ZAQ        FR20     10   3937
0710    9  -1.6   28.126060    0   KJ7VBX        IO33     13    361
0712    8  -1.6   28.126061    0   0U2MNO        GJ72     10   6437
0720    9  -1.7   28.126060    0   KJ7VBX        IO33     13    361
0722    9  -1.7   28.126059    0   0X2LYI        II99     60   5842
0740    7  -0.3   28.126057    0   KJ7VBX        IO43     13    255
0750    9  -0.4   28.126057    0   KJ7VBX        IO44     13    343
0752    9  -0.4   28.126057    0   012OMZ        JP66     43   2019

The short format results in just a KJ7VBX decode.

The longer format results in an additional decode which are shown above in red.

At first sight, they look wrong. The callsign, locator and power levels seem to be nonsense. However note that the callsign field starts with a zero. This is a special data WSPR signal and contains the information about the location, altitude, temperature and battery voltage. It's just the WSJT-X receive software shows it in a format that doesn't seem to make any sense.

In conclusion... The balloon is currently heading over Europe so it's going to be line of sight to a lot of stations. Just listen on WSPR on 28 MHz and see if you can hear it.

Press Release: ‍Jarvis Island N5J DXpedition - August 5, 2024 to August 17, 2024

There is a major expedition planned to Jarvis Island in the middle of the Pacific in early August 2024 and their planned operations include some 50 MHz activity.

Press release

***

Dear Fellow DXers,

In March the Dateline DX Association was pleased to announce that it has received permission from the USFWS for a DXpedition to Jarvis Island National Wildlife Reserve this August. Jarvis is ranked nr. 18 on Clublog's global most wanted list. It is number 9 in Europe.  In some EU countries Jarvis is ranked as high as second most wanted on phone and digial.  Jarvis is ranked higher than Bouvet (16) in Europe. It is 450 miles from Palmyra Atoll and 1500 miles from Hawaii.

TEP signals on the 28 MHz band - 7th May 2024

On the 8th of May 2024, I noticed a distorted QRSS signal on the 28 MHz band. The signal was from FR1GZ on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, a distance of about 10,200 kms from my location.

The image above shows the distorted signal with the carrier spread out over about 6 Hz. Underneath it, I have an image captured a few weeks ago which shows what the normal signal should look like it via F2 layer propagation.

I usually hear Reunion Island on 10m in the morning or afternoon. It was unusual to hear it at 17:50 UTC in the evening time. Evening TEP signals usually peak around 8pm local time. If it was about 18:00 UTC my time and you move further east and add 2-3 hours then the time over some place like Ethiopia is about right.

Considering the timing of the signal and the distortion, I suspect I was hearing the FR1GZ signal via TEP - Trans-Equatorial Propagation.

Normally, evening TEP signals at say 144 MHz cross the Geomagnetic Equator at right angles. However as you go lower in frequency, the requirement for a right angle lessens. By the time we get to 28 MHz, the angles can be close to 45 degrees as shown above.

I suspect that it wasn't 100% TEP either. There was likely some Sporadic-E over Europe for the TEP signal to complete the journey from the Mediterranean area to my location on the south coast of Ireland.

For me, there are two takeaway messages from this...

1) I think the whole TEP zone has a huge impact on signals on 28 MHz and the lower HF bands. TEP is main contributor to propagation on the HF bands and people don't realise it is TEP.

2) The TEP distortion can result in digital signals not being decoded. I think many people fall into the trap of thinking if there are no FT8 signals being decoded then the band in that direction must be closed. It could well be that distorted CW or SSB signals will get through.

That's the beauty of QRSS signals. You can actually 'see' the signal and it gives more clues as to what is happening to the signals on the band.

Radio quiet site in Scotland required for 50 MHz meteor scatter reception

The GB3MBA beacon near Mansfield in England operates on 50.408 MHz and was set up to investigate reflections from meteor trails.

As the map shows above, the project team has already has a number of dedicated receivers set up to monitor the 6m band for any meteor reflections from the beacon. They are however looking to for a quiet radio site in Scotland for a receiver there.

Brian, G4NNS writes... "What is needed is a reasonably radio quiet site with no nearby 6 m transmissions, with power, (10 W or less) and an internet connection. The data stream is about the same as an audio stream so not excessive. Ideally the site would be a minimum of 200km North of the beacon which is located near Mansfield 53.10N, 1.22W.

An astronomy society with  a dark sky observing site would be ideal. We would need someone local who is radio "savvy" to check the site and help with installation.  A locally sourced mast of 3 or 4m would be handy but we can supply all other materials.  We are trying to achieve a range  of different reflection geometries for each meteor event. When we can make observations from a sufficient number of  different directions it may be possible, by using Doppler measurements, to calculate the trajectory and hence radiant of the meteor."

More information about the beacon can be found here... https://ukmeteorbeacon.org

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0005 - 4th May 2024

The latest edition of the newsletter is now up on Substack.

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0005 - 4th May 2024

Summary: -

• Intro, TEP & Sp-E
• HF Beacon & Propagation News - 28 MHz
• 40 MHz & Low Band VHF News : 40 MHz reports
• 50 MHz News: 50 MHz reports, Upcoming 50 MHz expeditions... a long list!
• 70 MHz News: 4m activity, new 4m beacon, 4m beacons, 4m nets
• 88-108 MHz: Sp-E  openings
• 144 MHz & Above: TEP, 145 Alive, Antarctica
• EI7GL blog posts for the last two weeks

Link HERE

Notice: Upcoming HAARP ionospheric tests from Alaska - 8th to 10th May 2024

High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is based in Alaska and it's a high-power, high frequency (HF) transmitter for studying the ionosphere.  The principal instrument is a phased array of 180 HF crossed-dipole antennas  capable of radiating 3.6 megawatts  into the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.  Transmit frequencies are selectable in the range of 2.7 to 10 MHz.

The research team have announced that they will be carrying out tests from the 8th to the 10th of May 2024.

The press release is shown below and I've added a map to show location and distance.

Date: May 2, 2024

To: Amateur Radio & Radio Astronomy Communities

From: HAARP Program Office

Subject: Notice of Transmission

The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) will be conducting a research campaign May 8-10 UTC, with operating times specified in the table below. Operating frequencies will vary, but all HAARP transmissions will be between 2.8 MHz and 10 MHz. Actual transmit days and times are highly variable based on real-time ionospheric and/or geomagnetic conditions. All information is subject to change.

This campaign is being conducted in support of research proposals from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and is studying mechanisms for the detection of orbiting space debris. Space debris poses a major risk to all space operations, including manned spacecraft and communications satellites. The experiments being performed at HAARP will help identify ways to improve collision detection on satellites. 

For more information on space debris, see the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office’s FAQ at https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/faq/. For more information on research at HAARP, see the online HAARP FAQ at https://haarp.gi.alaska.edu/faq.

Note that these experiments will operate at frequencies based on the f0F2 frequency from the Gakona ionograms. In general, transmissions will be very close to the f0F2 frequency. There are no specific data collection requests from funded investigators, but reception reports are appreciated and may be submitted to uaf-gi-haarp AT alaska DOT edu or to: HAARP, PO Box 271, Gakona, AK 99586

For updates on ionospheric conditions in Gakona, please consult ionograms from the HAARP

Diagnostic Suite: https://haarp.gi.alaska.edu/diagnostic-suite

Additional Resources for Reading Ionograms
Understanding HF Propagation and Reading Ionograms from Bootstrap Workbench:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTFKNCo3Cl8

Reading Your Ionogram-Keeping It Simple from John (VE6EY):
https://play.fallows.ca/wp/radio/shortwave-radio/reading-your-ionogram-keeping-it-simple/

The image above is an annotated ionogram from HAARP that describes features that may be of

interest. Note that f0F2 is calculated at the top left.

f0F2 is the critical frequency of the F2 layer of the Earth’s ionosphere. This is the frequency at
which radio signals stop refracting off the ionosphere and begin passing through to outer space.
For certain HAARP experiments that deal with interactions in the ionosphere, transmission
frequencies below f0F2 are desirable, while for other experiments (such as those involving high altitude satellites), staying above f0F2 is required.

Supplement to HAARP Notice of Transmission

General Information for HAARP Radio Enthusiasts:

Sales of the ICOM IC-7300 HF Transceiver pass the 100,000 mark

ICOM launched their IC-7300 transceiver covering the HF bands & 6m back in 2016 and it certainly caused a stir at the time. ICOM have announced that as of the 1st of May 2024, global sales have passed the 100,000 mark!

They also mention that more than half of the sales have been in the USA.

Press release... https://www.icomjapan.com/news/4088/

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

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

5th April 2024: PJ4MM (FK52) logged between 16:59 and 17:04 UTC calling CQ with no answers on 40.680 MHz in FT8. Signal strength -18 dB.

7th April 2024: PJ4MM called CQ from 19:53 UTC to 20:10 UTC with no answer and, then, from 21:02 to 21:22 UTC again with no answer on 40.680 MHz FT8. Signal strength ranged from -13 dB to -20 dB. My beam was pointed toward Australia which probably affected the signal strength. 

9th April 2024: PJ4MM (FK52) called CQ at 15:07 UTC, at 15:28 UTC, between 15:38 and 15:43, and between 17:20 - 18:33 with no answer.  Signal Strength varied from -3 dB to -20 dB.

29th April 2024: PJ4MM (FK52) logged calling CQ from 22:21 to 23:01 UTC on 40.680 MHz FT8. No Answers. Signal Strength ranged from -20 dB to -7dB on my 5 ele 6M Beam pointed towards South Africa,

30th April 2024: PJ4MM (FK52) logged between 22:17 and 22:41 UTC calling CQ on 40.680 MHz FT8. Signal strength ranged from -1 to -21dB. No answers to his CQ Calls.

RX: FT-847.  Bill Smith, SWL W1-7897 Douglas, MA (FN42DA).

Thanks for the report Bill!

Considering the distance of about 3300kms, the likely propagation mode was one F2 layer hop to the south.

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

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - IK1WVQ in NW Italy - 30th April

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year. On the 30th of April, I got a screengrab of the 'Flying M' from Mauro, IK1WVQ in the NW of Italy.

I received this signal during the afternoon on the QRSS frequency of 28.1246 MHz USB. This is the same as the WSPR frequency and the only difference is that the audio frequency of the QRSS signals is about 400-500 Hz lower than the WSPR ones.

The signal is a little unusual in that it uses steps to generate the letter 'M rather than the usual morse identification. I think that Mauro was using 1-watt into a dipole antenna.

The map above shows the path and the distance was about 1500kms. The signal was almost certainly via Sporadic-E and it's pretty much the ideal distance for that mode of propagation.

Now that the Sporadic-E season has started, I should be able to receive more signals in the 500-1500km distance from my location. These are normally too close for the F2 layer propagation that has been there since the start of the year.

In summary... That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 19-callsigns & 10 DXCC.

1) 8th Jan 2024: VE1VDM - DXCC #1
2) 10th Jan 2024: VA1VM
3) 15th Jan 2024: G0MBA - DXCC #2
4) 15th Jan 2024: G0PKT
5) 15th Jan 2024: AE0V - DXCC #3
6) 16th Jan 2024: RD4HU - DXCC #4
7) 16th Jan 2024: W1BW
8) 17th Jan 2024: OH5KUY - DXCC #5
9) 18th Jan 2024: TF3HZ - DXCC #6
10) 6th Feb 2024: VA3RYV
11) 16th Feb 2024: IK2JET - DXCC #7
12) 16th Feb 2024: N8NJ
13) 21st Feb 2024: PY3FF - DXCC #8
14) 26th Feb 2024: VE6NGK
15) 27th Feb 2024: NM5ER
16) 28th Feb 2024: VK4BAP - DXCC #9
17) 2nd Mar 2024: WA1EDJ
18) 5th Mar 2024: FR1GZ/B - DXCC #10

19) 30th Apr 2024: IK1WVQ

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.