Unusual 5560km TEP opening on 144 MHz from St Helena to Madeira Is - Apr 2025

In a previous post from October of 2024, I reported how ZD7GWM on St Helena Island in the South Atlantic had managed to make contact with stations in Spain and Portugal on the 144 MHz (2m) band via Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP). During the spring of 2025, there have been similar openings from St Helena to Spain and Portugal.

On the 27th of April 2025, there was an unusual opening from ZD7GWM on St Helena to CT9ACF on the Madeira Islands. The distance was approximately 5,560kms and the transmission mode used was Q65D (60 seconds).

There are two unusual things about this 144 MHz contact...

1) It is as far as I know the very first contact ever between St Helena and the Madeira Islands on the 2m band.

2) At 144 MHz, TEP signals usually cross the geomagnetic equator at right angles i.e. 90-degrees. This means that the usual path is from St Helena to the southern regions of Spain and Portugal.

What's unusual here is that the geomagnetic equator begins to bend near the west coast of Africa allowing another TEP path to the Madeira Island region.

I'm just wondering why there aren't any contacts from the Canary Islands (EA8) to St Helena? Is anyone trying?

Lasse, SM0KAK sent on the very detailed report below...

***********

Unexpected QSO on 144MHz - ZD7GWM (St Helena Island) in IH74DB worked CT9ACF (Madeira Island) in IM12JU on 2025-04-27

Notes by SM0KAK 

ZD7GWM has previously mainly made many QSOs with the South Western part of the Iberian Peninsula (the mainland of CT+EA) on 144MHz via TEP. 

The QSO with CT9ACF was very unexpected! 

The QRB 5561 km is normal for TEP on 144MHz. The time of day 22:00UTC is also expected for these longitudes, and the “normal” paths from ZD7GWM to EA4, EA7 and CT mainland were open.

This QSO was very unexpected because of 

1) The wide footprint (CT9ACF is located very far from previous QSO partners)

2) The very bad takeoff at CT9ACF (in the direction towards ZD7GWM)

WIDE FOOTPRINT

Footprints of TEP on 144 MHz are normally less than 1000 km wide, and the possible directions is usually up to 10 degrees wide.

Stations located furthest from CT9ACF that have been worked previously worked by ZD7GWM are  EA7KBX in IM87VK (1454 km from CT9ACF) and a single out layer QSO with EA3CJ last year in JN01SE (1899 km from CT9ACF). This makes the footprint much bigger than the expected 1000 km.

The QTF from ZD7GWM to CT9ACF is 347 degrees, the QTF to EA7KBX is 3 degrees, and to EA3CJ 6 degrees. Hence the difference in QTF is 16 degrees, which is much more than the expected 10 degrees.

This wide footprint could probably be explained by the very curved shape of the magnetic dip equator on these longitudes. The more curved it is, the wider footprint should is expected to be (assuming that you are located so that your signal can cross it with a 90 degree angle).

 

BAD TAKEOFF AT CT9ACF

CT9ACF has a very bad takeoff towards ZD7GWM. The elevation required to clear local mountains is about 7 degrees! The beacon ED8ZAA is in the same general direction as ZD7GWM. QRB is 498km and the beacon is located at 1000 masl. This beacon is rarely heard at CT9ACF. When it is heard it is usually via reflection off a minor island close to CT9ACF, or reflection off mountains in Morocco. But on this evening ED8ZAA was 599+ via the direct path! Good tropo propagation was forecasted, so the beacon was definitely heard via tropo. The strong beacon signal was the reason why CT9ACF wanted to try TEP with ZD7GWM for the first time. It is likely that the strong tropo was required to pass the local mountains. Elevation for TEP signals is normally low, in the order of 1 degree. 

(There is a good example of mountains blocking a TEP path: FR5DN is very active on 144MHz TEP. His local mountain is at elevation of 4 to 5 degrees, and it limits his success quite a lot. He gets about 10% of the openings compared to FR4OO who has sea takeoff and is located about 38 km away. The openings at FR5DN are also shorter and weaker.)

Tropo forecast around CT9ACF at the time of the QSO

 

PROPAGATION

The QSO occurred while ZD7GWM had TEP to CT/EA, and while CT9ACF had tropo to ED8ZAA. The signals had very slow QSB, but faded 22:20 UTC. This is typical behaviour of TEP on 144MHz. 

My conclusion is that propagation was TEP, plus tropo near CT9ACF. There was also tropo in the forecast at ZD7GWM that might have had an influence. However it seems very unlikely that this was a pure tropo QSO. 

EQUIPMENT USED

Garry ZD7GWM has a good takeoff and is using 50W to a long vertically polarized omni directional antenna. He has been running TEP skeds on 100-150 evenings since September 2024!

Steve CT9ACF is using 2x9 element LFA yagis (horizontal polarization, vertically stacked). He is running 900W on EME, but less for terrestrial QSOs.

***********

Thanks to Lasse, SM0KAK for the above report. For more info on other long distance 2m openings, see my 144 MHz page.

Italian radio amateurs can use the 70 MHz (4m) band until the end of 2025

In a previous post, I had information about how radio amateurs in Italy had permission to use the 40 MHz (8m) band in 2025. See post HERE

What may have been missed was that the permission from the Italian authorities also applied to the 70 MHz (4m) band. 

From the 8th of April to the end of December 2025, radio amateurs in Italy can use three 25kHz segments of the 70 MHz band centred on 70.100 MHz, 70.200 MHz & 70.300 MHz. These are shown in the graphic above.

The 70.200 MHz segment coincides with the SSB centre of activity. There is no overlap with the usual FT8 frequency of 70.154 MHz so Italian stations have in the past used frequencies around 70.190 MHz.

The maximum power output is 10-watts.

Italian radio amateurs get permission to use the 40 MHz band in 2025

The Italian regulator has just given permission for radio amateurs to use the 40 MHz band (8m) until the end of 2025. The approval is dated the 18th of April 2025 and is for a period of just over eight months. This is just over double the previous period which was from late August 2024 to the end of December 2024.

For the remainder of 2025, Italian radio amateurs can use 40.660 MHz to 40.700 MHz. This 40 kHz wide segment is the same of the 40 MHz ISM band (ISM - Industrial, Scientific, Medical). The maximum power allowed is 10-watts. 

The full announcement via Google Translate is as follows...

SUBJECT: Renewal of authorization for amateur radio experiments in the 40.660-40.700 MHz, 70-70.400 MHz and 1810-1830 KHz bands. Year 2025.

Reference is made to the request for renewal for the year 2025 (prot. E n. 107953 of 11.15.2024) of the authorization for radiopropagation experiments throughout the national territory presented by this Association, representing all the members who will participate, in relation to the use of the frequency bands specified in the subject matter.

In this regard, taking into account the authorization of specific competence expressed by the General Directorate for Digital and Telecommunications of this Ministry with note prot. n. 12452 of 8 April 2025, deemed necessary to meet the needs of experimentation and given the successful outcome of the previous temporary authorizations issued as well as the relevance of the multi-year research activity carried out, amateur radio experiments are authorized (under the conditions indicated below) throughout the national territory in the bands 40.660-40.700 MHz, 70-70.400 MHz and 1810-1830 KHz, on a general and temporary basis, until 31 December 2025, in which all radio amateurs with a valid general authorization for the installation and operation of a radio amateur station are allowed to participate. 

Without prejudice to the right to revoke the authorization in question upon request of the Ministry of Defense or for failure to comply with the provisions of the current legislation on the matter, the experiments must observe the following parameters and the following technical operational conditions:

- on a non-interference basis and immediate revocation in the event that phenomena of harmful interference are detected and without the right to any protection;

- in the location and with the technical characteristics indicated in the request;

- maximum transmission power equal to 10 W; 

- limited to the 70-70.400 MHz band, the Ministry of Defense points out the impossibility of assigning the entire band, but only the following individual frequencies, at 25 KHz max: 70.100 MHz – 70.200 MHz – 70.300 MHz.

- ARI must make available to MIMIT an appropriate system for tracking the experimental activities carried out by the participants, also in order to allow the timely interruption of transmissions in the event of harmful interference;

Finally, it is recalled that it is mandatory to report to the undersigned General Directorate and to the Dgtel of this Ministry on the results of the experimentation at the end of the same.

Analysis ... This is really good news for those using the 40 MHz band. The previous test period of Sept to Dec 2025 was mostly after the Sporadic-E season. The new eight month period in 2025 will cover the months of May, June & July which is the peak of the summer Sporadic-E season.

It's likely that 40.680 MHz will be the centre of activity for all activity.

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

Review of the new SG Lab 5.6 GHz Transverter...

SG Laboratory (SG Lab) is a small company in Bulgaria which makes a number of microwave products including transverters for the 1.3 GHz (23cms) and 2.3 GHz (13cms) amateur radio bands. In the Spring of 2025, they released a new transverter for the 5.7 GHz (6cms) band.

The new transverter allows anyone with a low power 432 MHz (70cms) transceiver to gain access to the 5.7 GHz band. It's ideal for say someone who has a Yaesu FT-817 / FT-818 or the Icom IC-705 radio.

The output power on 5.7 GHz is 2-watts which when fed into a dish or phased array will produce a reasonable signal. The receive performance seems to be good as well.

Andrew VK3FS in Australia recently did a review of the new SG Lab 5.6 GHz transverter and it can be viewed below...

Andrew also has a more comprehensive review on his website... https://3fs.net.au/sg-lab-5700-mhz-transverter-version-1-4/

He concludes the review with the following... "The long-awaited SG Lab 5.7 GHz transverter would have to be the most cost-effective way to get on the 5.7 GHz band when compared to most other offerings on the market."

Irish VHF beacon cluster is operational again - Apr 2025

Back in February of 2025, I had a post up about how the Irish VHF beacon cluster near Dublin was off air for the foreseeable future. In March, a new site had been found. The good news is that all the beacons are now operational from the new site.

The four beacons have an output power of roughly 20-30 watts and they all share the same directional antenna. The antenna is beaming at about 60 degrees (east-north-east). On any particular band, only 2-3 elements are active so the beamwidth is quite large.

Over a 10-minute period, this is the sequence...

Min    Callsign      Freq (MHz)   
0        EI0SIX        50.004 
1        EI1MMH    40.013   
2        EI0SIX        50.004   
3        EI1MMH    60.013   
4        EI4RF        70.013 
5        EI1MMH    40.013  
6        EI0SIX        50.004    
7        EI1MMH    60.013   
8        EI4RF        70.013  
9        EI1MMH    40.013 

The transmission sequence for each one of the minutes is a short carrier, then THREE x FT8 15 second transmissions and then the callsign and locator of the beacon in CW (morse code).

New beacon location... The new location is about 4kms to the south of the old site and it's a bit lower in altitude. It's certainly not as good as the old site but the challenge for any amateur radio beacon is to find any site where a beacon can operate.

The new site is nestled in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountain just to the south of Dublin and then local mountains and hills will certainly have a major impact in certain directions.

This is the approximate horizon of the new site...

To the north-east and on a heading of about 40 degrees, the Irish Sea is visible and there is a very good path to the Isle of Man and Scotland.

As we move further south, the local terrain starts to become more of an issue. The take off to the north of England is reasonable but once we go below a line say running from Liverpool to Leeds, it gets to be more challenging.

For example, the horizon in the direction of London and the south-east of England is about 6-degrees which will make reception difficult especially on tropo. 

To the south-west of Ireland which is in my direction here in Cork, the horizon is about 14 degrees which effectively kills all signals.

This map shows where tropo signals might be heard and the maximum range for one-hop Sporadic-E.

The range for single hop Sporadic-E to northern Europe is pretty good but the maximum range to Spain and Italy is shorter due to the mountains near the beacon site.

If you live in say England then be sure to check for the beacons during auroral conditions. There are also a lot of planes going in and out of Dublin airport so getting a FT8 decode from aircraft scatter is a distinct possibility if you live in the UK or Ireland.

ARDC award grant of roughly €51,000 to develop a 'New Packet Radio' network in the UK & Ireland

The Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a private foundation which makes annual grants and scholarships to projects that promote and support amateur radio and digital communications science. The funding for this comes from the sale of a block of of IP4 internet addresses in 2019 which were originally allocated to the amateur radio service way back in 1981. See https://www.ardc.net/about/faq/

As part of their year end 2024 report, they listed one grant of about €51,000 / £43,000 to fund the expansion of 'New Packet Radio capabilities in the UK and Ireland'.

This is the grant in more detail...

Grant: New Packet Radio Version 3.0 / Seeding UK and Ireland Usage

The Online Amateur Radio Community (OARC), predominately based in the UK and Ireland, comprises about 2000 members, with the core of this group having an interest in developing, innovating, and advancing digital communications via packet radio. One of OARC’s interests involves New Packet Radio (NPR), first emerging in 2019 and operating on 70cm, followed by the second generation (NPR-H), which was developed and deployed in 2021 by Steffen DO5DSH of Localino. Building on NPR-H, OARC seeks to develop an NPR with both upgraded 70cm capabilities and the ability operate on 2m and 23cm.

This grant will provide funding for OARC to collaborate with Localino to develop, create, and test the next version of New Packet Radio (NPR) software and hardware; implement it throughout Ireland and the UK; and make these resultant NPR devices available globally for use in both emergency communications and amateur data networks.

We are also using some of that money to pay professionals to provide a more consistent level of service to 44Net/AMPRNet users. Previously, this work had been done by volunteers.

Let's have a look at the details...

Q. Who are the Online Amateur Radio Community (OARC)? The OARC is an online group on the Discord platform and they describe themselves as "the largest online amateur radio club in the UK and Ireland." 

To be honest, I never heard of this group prior to hearing about the grant. They would probably be better described as an online community with about 2000 'members' rather than a club. They would seem to be not much different than say many of the large amateur radio related groups on Facebook.

As for Ireland, their presence is tiny compared to the usual amateur radio club structure or groups.

Their website is https://www.oarc.uk/

Q. Who are Localino? Localino is a German company which sells 'New Packet Radio' products for the 70cms amateur radio band.

Q. What is 'New Packet Radio'? I guess the first thing to say is what old packet radio was or is. The traditional form of packet radio uses FM on the amateur radio 2m band (144 MHz) and the speeds are about 1200bps.

This reached its peak back in the 1990's before people had internet access at home and the packet radio network was used to access a local BBS, send messages across the network or to access the DX-cluster.

While the packet radio was based on the AX25 protocol and with limited speeds, 'New Packet Radio' is a completely different system and operates on 70cms. It offers speeds of between 100 Kbps and 500 Kbps which is a game changer from the old packet speeds. 

The chart above shows the speed difference and frequencies between the traditional form of packet radio, 'New Packet Radio' and the Hamnet system which is used mainly in countries like Germany.

Links and more information... If you want more information on 'New Packet Radio' then I suggest you first look at the links and videos that I have included below.

1) This PDF titled 'New Packet Radio on 70cm band' by  Guillaume F4HDK gives an overview of what NPR is all about... https://cdn.hackaday.io/files/1640927020512128/NPR70_introduction_EN_v3.6.pdf

2) This article on Hackaday shows another compatible project called the NPR-H... https://hackaday.io/project/175907-npr-h-new-packet-radio-modem/details

3) Article by M0AHN about New Packet Radio... https://www.m0ahn.co.uk/nprabout.html

4) NPR products sold by Localino... https://localino.net/shop/public/Ham-Radio/

5) 70cms NPR modem sold by Elekitsorparts... https://elekitsorparts.com/product/npr-70-modem-by-f4hdk-new-packet-radio-over-70cm-band-amateur-radio-packet-radio/

Video links...

1) In September of 2024, Dave MM0RFN gave a talk titled 'Building a Modern Packet Radio Network' at the EuroBSDCon in Dublin. He gives an overview of the current state of the packet network in the UK and touches on NPR as well.

2) In this video, Matt M0DQW looks at the NPR-70 modem on his popular Tech Minds Youtube channel.

In conclusion... The purpose of this post is to give anyone interested a selection of links and videos so that they can get a better idea of what 'New Packet Radio' is about.

It'll be interesting to see how this project develops and how many people decide to take it up. I have no doubt that sending some form of data over amateur radio will always be of interest to some people and it's not hard to see it being the only source of interest in amateur radio for a lot of newer entrants.