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.

Opening on the 40 MHz band between New Zealand and the UK - 16th March 2025

On the 16th of March 2025, there was an interesting opening on the 40 MHz (8m) band between New Zealand and the UK.

ZL28M is an 8m beacon on 40.680 MHz and is located on a hilltop on the North Island of New Zealand. It is operated by Mark, ZL2WHO and is running 10-watts into a 3-element Yagi beaming at the north of Australia which also the direction for the south of Europe. The beacon uses an RF ZERO controller and operates on FT8 and CW.

The beacon was received by Paul, G9PUV who is located in the south-east of England. The screenshot by Paul of the FT8 decodes is shown below.

Paul reports that he only got 3 decodes and that he was beaming in the general path of short path to New Zealand over the hills of the South Downs which have a 3-degree elevation.

The signals were in the region of -15dB to -19dB which means that they were weaker than what can be heard by the human ear. The time of 08:25 UTC is consistent with it being a short path opening.

Direct or skewed path??? As can be seen from map above, the direct short path from the UK to New Zealand goes well into the Arctic region. Did it really go that far north or was it skewed to a more southerly path where propagation on the low VHF bands might be more likely?

Whichever it was, it's always interesting to see such a long path like this on the 40 MHz band. At about 18810 kms, it's only about 1200 kms shy of the maximum of 20,000 before it changes to long path.

It also worth mentioning that there were some openings from New Zealand to Spain in the previous few weeks. On the 20th of February and the 12th of March 2025, Joan EA3ERE reported reception of the ZL28M FT8 beacon. The path to the south of Europe is a lot more favourable but is still a considerable distance at 19,467 kms.

Addendum: Rik, ON7YD reports that S57TW in Slovenia was recently copied by ZL2005SWL in New Zealand (RE68) on 40.680 MHz FT8 in the late afternoon. 8m was open to PY (Brazil) and CE (Chile) at that time, so it was most likely long path.

Additional info... Back on the 13th of March 2023, G9PUV and EI2IP in Ireland were heard by Bob, ZL1RS in New Zealand via long path. See previous post HERE

Also see my 40 MHz page... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html

40 MHz option added to popular ON4KST Chat site...

The ON4KST 'CHAT' website is a very popular tool for radio amateurs on the VHF & UHF bands as it allows them to exchange real time information with others about band conditions.

While there are several different platforms for information, each one tends to serve a different function.

The DX-Cluster is good for spotting DX stations on a particular frequency but the exchange of information is very limited.

There is the 40 MHz & 60 MHz group on Facebook with roughly 1200 members but that's more for post-opening analysis and the sharing of images.

The ON4KST pages have their own niche and it allows for the rapid exchange of short live time messages about what's happening on a particular band.

An screenshot of the CHAT site is shown above.

There used to be some 40 MHz traffic before on the 50 MHz chat page but with more people experimenting on the band, Alain ON4KST has kindly set up a separate page for 8m activity.

The link is http://www.on4kst.info/

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

40 MHz reception report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for May to August 2024

Thanks to short wave listener Bill Smith, W1-7897 for sending on his 40 MHz reception report for May to August of 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.

The period in question covers the summer Sporadic-E season and it's a good example of just how hard to hear any relevant signals if there is no-one in range.

At first sight, the north-eastern part of the USA might seem like a good location for Sporadic-E and it is on bands like 50 MHz / 6m. On the 40 MHz band however, nearly all of the amateur radio or experimental stations are located well outside the 1-hop Sporadic-E range of about 2300kms.

During the four months of May, June, July & August, the pickings were slim with just two stations heard in the Caribbean which may have been double hop Sporadic-E.

40 MHz reception report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for May to August 2024:

1st May 2024: PJ4MM in Bonaire (FK52) brief CQ 19:36 to 19:37 UTC  -16dB in strength. No Reply. 

3rd June 2024: ZF1EJ (EK99) logged 12:37 and 12:39 UTC calling CQ from the Cayman Islands. No answer. Signal Strength -17 dB on 40.680 MHz FT8.

15th June 2024: PJ4MM (FK52) logged at 20:50 UTC one CQ Call with no answer; Signal strength -16dB  on 40.680 MHz FT8.

18th June 2024: PJ4MM (FK52) called CQ from 16:47 until 17:03 UTC. No answers. Signal Strength ranged from -19dB to -7dB on 40.680 MHz FT8.

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

Thanks for the report Bill!

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

Opening on the 40 MHz band between Australia and Europe - 16th Oct 2024

It was interesting to see that there was a good opening on the 40 MHz (8m) band on the 16th of Oct 2024 from the north of  Australia to Europe.

The map above shows the FT8 reports from PSK Reporter and the frequency is use was 40.680 MHz, the main centre of activity for all modes on the 8m band.

Mark, VK8MS in Australia was operating under the terms of the LIPD (Low Interference Potential Devices) Class Licence.  LIPD allows Australian citizens to operate on several bands in the low VHF spectrum with the need for a licence if the power output is below certain levels.

For the frequency range of 40.660 to 41.000 MHz (340 kHz), a maximum of 1-watt ERP can be used.

I have more details about the Australian LIPD licence in this previous post... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2024/01/low-vhf-band-lipd-licence-in-australia.html

I have included a log of reports below...

Some of these are reception reports by the stations in Europe but FT8 reports were exchanged with EA7KBX in Spain who was running 25-watts to a 4-element beam.

I believe EA3ERE who was running 10-watts also exchanged FT8 reports with VK8MS.

In conclusion... This is a nice example of some long distance paths which are now possible at the peak of the solar cycle on the 40 MHz band. There will be many times where the maximum usable frequency will support 40 MHz propagation but 50 MHz is a little too high. Sometimes, these 40 MHz openings can give advanced warning of potential openings on 6m.

Over the next few months, we should see plenty of long distance paths like this on the 8m band.

If you want to try and you have a suitable radio, just tune to 40.680 MHz USB and set up FT8 on your computer. Leave your radio on that frequency during daylight hours and see what you can hear.

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

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

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

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...

EI1CAH 40MHz beacon heard in California - 9th Feb 2024

Chris, N3IZN near San Diego in California reports reception of the Irish EI1CAB beacon on 40.016 MHz on Friday 9th of February 2024. Chris was able to decode the PI4 signal from the 8m beacon and as it shows in the graphic above, the signal level was down at -22dB which is well below what is audible to the human ear.

The EI1CAH beacon is located on the west of Ireland and it's 25-watt signal is often heard across the Atlantic in the eastern part of the United States. This isn't all that unusual now that we're near the peak of the sunspot cycle. 

The more northern path to California is much more difficult and it's interesting to see a signal at 40 MHz complete the 8,124km path.

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

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

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

3rd Jan 2024 - EI2IP in Ireland, Grid IO52QP heard on 40.680 FT8 calling CQ from 1338 to 1356 UTC. No Answers. Signal strength ranged between -20 and -10 DB.

10th Jan 2024 - EI2IP (IO52) called CQ from 1547 UTC to 1603 UTC. Signal strength ranged from -14 to -20 DB. At 1604 UTC ZF1EJ in the Cayman Islands (EK99) called EI2IP and a QSO resulted with EI2IP at -6db and ZF1EJ at -9db. ZF1EJ then (1606 UTC) worked G9PUV who was not heard here. ZF1EJ then called CQ until 1612 without an answer.

11th Jan 2024 - ZF1EJ(EK99) logged between 1337 and 1341 UTC Calling CQ with no answers. Signal Strength -14 to -18DB.

12th Jan 2024 - ZF1EJ (EK99) called CQ from 1444 UTC to 1518 UTC on 40 MHz FT8 on Jan. 12, 2024. No one answered. Signals ranged from -21DB to +23 DB.

 

13th Jan 2024 - EI2IP (IO52) logged calling CQ between 1403 and 1411 UTC on 40.680 MHz FT8. No answers. Signal strength -4 to -18 DB.

14th Jan 2024 - EI2IP (IO52) logged between 1624 and 1638 UTC calling CQ. No answers. Signal Strength ranged from -17 DB to 3DB on 40.680 FT8.

15th Jan 2024 - ZF1EJ (EK99) called SV1DH in Greece (KM27) at 1457 UTC with no contact. SV1DH not heard here. ZF1EJ then worked G9PUV (JO00). G9PUV not heard here. ZF1EJ was -18DB.  EI2IP (IO52) called  CQ from 1610 to 1628 with  strength ranging from -20 to 2 DB. EI2IP then worked VA2CYX in Quebec, Canada (FN46). VA2CYX not heard here. EI2IP Worked S59F in Slovenia at 1639 UTC, and 9A5CW in Croatia at 1644 UTC. Unfortunately, I was not at home to shift antenna toward southern Europe so did not hear either station.

16th Jan 2024 - ZF1EJ (EK99) called CQ once at 1426 UTC. No answer. Strength -17 DB; EI2IP (IO52) called CQ at 1805-1807 with no answer; strength -17DB; LX5JX  in Luxembourg (JO30) called CQ from 1808-1811 and worked VA2CYX (FN46) at 1812. Strength -3 DB. After both calling CQ between 1813 and 1817, EI2IP and LX5JX worked at 1829 UTC. LX5JX was strength 1 DB. LX5JX called CQ until 1855 UTC with no further answers.

19th Jan 2024 - ZF1EJ (EK99) calling CQ from 1543 to 1546 UTC on 48.680 MHz FT8. No answers. Signal ranged from -7 to 19 DB.

21st Jan 2024 - EI2IP (IO52) called CQ at 1423 UTC Signal Strength -18 DB; at 1517 UTC EI4GEB (IO52) called CQ, strength -14 DB.

29th Jan 2024 - ZF1EJ (EK99) called CQ from 1823 UTC to 1827 with no answer. At 1828 called PJ4MM with no reply. PJ4MM in Bonaire (FK52) was not heard here. ZF1EJ then called CQ until 1839. No answers. ZF1EJ signal strength ranged from -14 to -18 DB. 

***

In summary... As can be seen from the map above, the path to the stations in Europe was about 5000-6000kms and was most likely two F2 layer hops. ZF1EJ in the Cayman Islands was about 2700kms to the south and was likely one F2 layer hop. VA2CYX in Quebec, Canada is about 500kms to the north and is too close for F2 layer propagation.

Thanks for the report Bill!

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

40 MHz report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for Dec 2023

Thanks to short wave listener Bill Smith, W1-7897 for sending on his reception report for December 2023.

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.

Bill reports slim pickings on the 40 MHz band of late but did manage to log Jack, LX5JX in Luxembourg on the 27th of December 2023 calling CQ from 13:34 to 13:39 UTC. Bill reports that the FT8 signal strength was from -9dB to -17dB on 40.680 MHz.

As can be seen from the map above, the path was about 5,800 kms and was most likely two F2 layer hops.

Thanks for the report Bill!

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

Opening on the 40 MHz band from Ireland to Australia - Oct 2023

I noticed in the last few days that there has been a path open on the 40 MHz (8m) band from Europe to Western Australia in the morning hours.

Here are the WSPR spots from the Irish beacon EI1KNH which is just south of Dublin.

 y-m-d txCall txGrid rxCall rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km
2023-10-18 09:44 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014505 20 -29 0 14969

2023-10-16 09:44 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014511 20 -21 0 14969
2023-10-16 09:34 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.01451 20 -21 0 14969
2023-10-16 09:14 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.01451 20 -20 0 14969
2023-10-16 08:54 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.01451 20 -26 0 14969

2023-10-15 10:34 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014509 20 -33 0 14969

2023-10-09 11:34 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014499 20 -29 0 14969
2023-10-09 11:14 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014498 20 -22 0 14969
2023-10-09 10:54 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014498 20 -23 0 14969
2023-10-09 10:44 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014499 20 -25 0 14969

2023-10-08 10:44 EI1KNH IO63ve VK6JR OF76mi 40.014498 20 -24 0 14969

EI1KNH transmits four times every hour using the WSPR mode and the power is about 20-watts into a vertical half-wave antenna. The receiving station was Wayne, VK6JR to the south of Perth in Western Australia. The distance was 14,969kms.

The signals are very weak and they are in the range of -20dB to -33dB. This would mean that they are inaudible to the human ear.

The path seems to have been open on five days from the 8th to the 18th of October 2023. The times range from 08:54 to 11:34 UTC.

Sunset in Perth is about 10:30UTC so it's likely there was some enhancement due to some tilting of the ionosphere. With the solar flux at about 140, the propagation mode may have been multi-hop F2 layer with perhaps some chordal hop as well.

Greece to Australia on 40 MHz... VK6JR also heard the WSPR beacon of Costas, SV1DH in Greece.

y-m-d txCall txGrid rxCall rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km
2023-10-09 08:02 SV1DH KM18 VK6JR OF76mi 40.681494 10 -24 -2 12412
2023-10-09 07:38 SV1DH KM18 VK6JR OF76mi 40.681492 0.01 -28 -1 12412
2023-10-09 07:30 SV1DH KM18 VK6JR OF76mi 40.681492 0.01 -25 -2 12412
2023-10-09 07:26 SV1DH KM18 VK6JR OF76mi 40.681492 0.01 -23 -2 12412
2023-10-09 07:16 SV1DH KM18 VK6JR OF76mi 40.68149 0.01 -21 -1 12412
2023-10-09 07:10 SV1DH KM18 VK6JR OF76mi 40.681491 0.01 -19 -3 12412
2023-10-09 06:58 SV1DH KM18 VK6JR OF76mi 40.681491 0.01 -22 -1 12412

According to the data above, SV1DH was using around 0.01 watts or 10-milliwatts for the majority of his transmissions! The last one was at 10-watts. The distance was 12,412kms. 

In general, the path from the south-east of Europe to Australia is easier as the path is shorter and the signals stay closer to the equator.

In summary... We have seen plenty of other openings on the 40 MHz band between Europe and Australia over the last 12-months. I have details of these in previous posts which are linked from my 40 MHz page.

It's very likely that we will see more openings like this over the next few months. Serious 50 MHz operators should take note of these 40 MHz openings as they suggest that an opening on the 6m band may be possible.

Belgium to get 40 MHz allocation

It looks as if radio amateurs in Belgium are about to get a small allocation on the 40 MHz (8m) band.

Update 21st May: This information was released by the UBA on Sunday 21st May 2023...

"After more than a year of "silent diplomacy", on 21 April UBA submitted a proposal to BIPT to gain access to a small band segment around 40 MHz in Belgium.:

The UBA proposes to grant the radio amateur service access to the frequency range 40.660 – 40.690 MHz under the following conditions:

On a secondary basis
For holders of a class A operating certificate (HAREC licence)
A power limit of 5 W ERP
A bandwidth limit of 3 kHz
On individual basis, after prior approval from BIPT
It is mandatory to keep a logbook in which all transmissions are noted

These last 2 measures allow BIPT to act quickly and adequately in the event of interference reports from other services.

At the annual UBA meeting, the chairman of the BIPT Council indicated that BIPT is in favor of our proposal. We therefore expect BIPT to hold a consultation on this shortly.

The period of this consultation is at least 1 month. Only at the end of it BIPT can,  provided that the consultation proceeds favorably for us, publish a decision granting us access this band segment.
So it will probably take a few months before we are actually allowed to transmit on the 8 meter band.
Until then, any amateur radio activity from Belgium around 40 MHz is illegal! "

Analysis... This is an important development as Belgium now joins Ireland (EI), Slovenia (S5) and South Africa (ZS) with official amateur radio allocations on the 40 MHz band. 

A lot of licencing authorities will just look at their spectrum allocations and flatly refuse any amateur radio operation at 40 MHz because there is no allocation for amateur radio there. However if other countries grant limited access then it sets a precedent. It sets a case for radio amateurs in other countries to approach their relevant licencing body to grant some access.

As for the proposed allocation in Belgium, the 30 KHz wide band is inside the ISM band of 40.660 to 40.700 MHz. It's highly likely that the dominant mode will be FT8 on 40.680 MHz. Even with just 5-watts, the 8m signals from Belgium are likely to be heard all over the world next Winter as we're close to the maximum of the current solar cycle.

Link...
For more information on the 8m band, visit my 40 MHz page.

Opening on the 40 MHz band between California and Europe - 9th & 10th March 2023

Over the last few weeks and months, there have been a lot of excellent openings on the 40 MHz (8m) band (reports HERE). While the really long distance paths are impressive, some of the shorter East-West paths in the same hemisphere can be equally difficult.

While there have been many 40 MHz openings from the eastern half of the USA to Europe, openings to the west coast have been largely absent. There were hints though that things were getting close. 

Paul, MI3LDO in the north-west of Ireland reported hearing CHP (California Highway Patrol) stations at 39 MHz in late February 2023. In early March, Robbie EI2IP in the south-west of Ireland reported hearing SNOTEL traffic on 40.670 MHz which is usually associated with the west coast of the United States.

On the 9th and 10th of March 2023, the elusive California to Europe opening on the 40 MHz band finally happened.

Thursday 9th March 2023: Tom, K6EU near San Francisco in California reports hearing Robbie, EI2IP and Paul, G9PUV on FT8 on 40.680 MHz.

174700 -15  0.2  495 ~  CQ EI2IP IO52      EU
174730 -15  0.2  495 ~  CQ EI2IP IO52      EU
181630 -18 -0.0 1464 ~  CQ G9PUV JO00      EU
181700 -21 -0.0 1464 ~  CQ G9PUV JO00      EU
181715 -19  0.3  502 ~  CQ EI2IP IO52      EU
181730 -18 -0.0 1464 ~  CQ G9PUV JO00      EU
181745 -15  0.1  503 ~  CQ SSB EI2IP IO52  EU
181800 -17 -0.0 1464 ~  CQ G9PUV JO00      EU
181930 -19 -0.0 1464 ~  CQ G9PUV JO00  

Chris, N3IZN near Los Angeles and who is the holder of the experimental licence WM2XCC also reported decoding EI2IP and G9PUV on 40.680 MHz.

No reports were shown on the PSK Reporter website.

Friday 10th March 2023: Conditions were very good again on the 8m band and both G9PUV and EI2IP were reported on the west coast of the USA. This time, there were reports on the PSK Reporter website.

G9PUV... The reports over 8000kms for G9PUV in the SE of England are shown below while the map is shown above.

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC) SNR
ZS6OB G9PUV 8m FT8 8964 km 12:17:59 1
G9PUV WM2XCC/JTDX 8m FT8 8822 km 19:02:43 -19
G9PUV ZS6WN 8m FT8 8799 km 11:28:59 -8
ZS6WN G9PUV 8m FT8 8799 km 11:24:29 -7
G9PUV K6EU 8m FT8 8704 km 19:02:12 -17

While the path to South Africa is longer in some cases, it is also easier as it's north-south. The thing to note here is how far north towards the Arctic region the signal has to travel. The maximum distance to the US was to WM2XCC near Los Angeles, a distance of about 8820kms.

EI2IP... As Robbie was about 600kms further west than G9PUV, the path to California is slightly shorter and doesn't have to travel so far to the north.

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC) SNR
EI2IP VK4TVL 8m FT8 15766 km 09:28:15 -13
EI2IP ZS6AYE 8m FT8 9480 km 10:43:44 -13
ZS6OB EI2IP 8m FT8 9406 km 11:29:26 -4
ZS6WN EI2IP 8m FT8 9254 km 11:06:56 -15
EI2IP ZS6WN 8m FT8 9254 km 11:04:14 -9
EI2IP HC2FG 8m FT8 8942 km 18:28:30 -24
EI2IP HC1BI 8m FT8 8681 km 15:21:11 -12
EI2IP WM2XCC/JTDX 8m FT8 8244 km 18:48:13 -17
EI2IP WM2XCC 8m FT8 8244 km 18:35:44 -17
EI2IP K6EU 8m FT8 8152 km 18:46:12 -11

As you can see from the reports above, EI2IP was heard again in the north-east of Australia. I've covered previous openings from Europe to Australia in previous posts.

Where next??? The next obvious question is if there is a path from the UK and Ireland to the NW of the USA? Up in Washington state or near Vancouver in Canada?

For stations in California, is there a path further east into Europe? The OZ7IGY beacon Denmark? S5 and 9A stations in Slovenia and Croatia?

Can stations in continental Europe hear the experimental stations on the US west coast?

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

40 MHz band report - 19th Feb 2023

Sunday 19th February 2023: Due to interference on 10m from the ARRL CW contest, I switched over to the 40 MHz from about noon onwards and had left the radio monitoring 40.680 MHz for the rest of the day. As shown above, I heard three new stations for me... WM2XAN in the USA, VA2CY in Canada and 4X1BG in Israel.

These are my FT8 reception reports for the day in order of distance.

 Txmtr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC) SNR
WM2XAN 8m FT8 5472 km 18:01:11 -18
VA2CY 8m FT8 4426 km 17:50:26 -10
4X1BG 8m FT8 4076 km 15:14:29 -13
G9PUV 8m FT8 594 km 17:19:11 -19
EI4GNB 8m FT8 214 km 17:29:42 -18
EI4GEB 8m FT8 79 km 20:56:48 2
EI2IP 8m FT8 62 km 18:02:12 -10
EI9FVB 8m FT8 14 km 15:50:42 20

This was just a very small part of the activity on the 40 MHz band for the day with many FT8 reports exchanged across the North Atlantic and from South Africa to Europe. 

What really stood out for me was just how many stations in Europe are now listening on the 40 MHz band. The image above shows the stations in Europe reporting reception of ZS6OB on FT8.

It's worth remembering that there is no DXCC, no awards, no grid square hunting, no DX-peditions on the 40 MHz band, this is just people curious about propagation conditions on this low-VHF band.

The image above shows stations in Europe reporting reception of VA2CY in Canada on 40.680 MHz. Notice the relatively large number of stations in the UK and Ireland.

I have included a list of stations that heard VA2CY below if you want to have a look. For more information on the 8m band, have a look at my 40 MHz page.

4X1BG from Israel appears on the 40 MHz band - 15th Feb 2023

15th February 2023: I think most people were surprised when Nimrod, 4X1BG in Israel popped up on the 40 MHz (8m) band. Israel is about 4000kms from the UK and Ireland and is the ideal distance for F2 layer propagation. 4X1BG was using 100-watts into a Stepp-IR antenna.

The map above shows the paths on FT8 from 4X1BG and as you can see, two stations in the USA managed to decode the FT8 signals as well on 40.680 MHz. The distance to the US stations was just over 10,000kms.

The full list of FT8 decodes is shown at the end of this post and they show that 4X1BG decoded a lot of FT8 signals as well.

Robbie, EI2IP in the SW of Ireland completed a SSB contact on 40.670 MHz...

Full list of FT8 decodes in order of distance...

15,700km opening on the 40 MHz band between Ireland and Australia - 12th Feb 2023

12th February 2023: With the solar flux just above the 200 mark, some interesting paths are beginning to appear on the 40 MHz (8m) band. On the 12th of February 2023, Lloyd, VK4TVL in the north-east of Australia received the FT8 signals on 40.680 MHz from Tim, EI4GNB and Robbie, EI2IP in Ireland.

 Txmtr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC) SNR
EI2IP 8m FT8 15766 km 11:11:44 -16
EI4GNB 8m FT8 15587 km 11:00:14 -17

The signal reports of -16dB and -17dB suggest that the signals were very weak indeed and just below what is really audible to your ear. It is however stronger than what would be required for a successful FT8 contact.

Lloyd reports using an off-centre fed dipole for the 80m band up about 6-metres. No doubt with a dedicated antenna for the band, the signals would have been even stronger.

Analysis... This opening happened just after sunset in NE Australia and that no doubt was a factor in the opening. The primary mode of propagation was likely F2 with possibly some help from TEP to the north of Australia.

The distances of 15,587 kms and 15,766 kms are the longest paths that have been reported on the 40 MHz band so far for amateur radio or experimental stations. Could it go further?

The next obvious step is for someone down around Sydney & Melbourne to receive the 40 MHz DX signals. Even though it's about an additional 1000kms or so, the path is a little more southerly so the chances of success are high.

New Zealand to Europe on 40 MHz??? The problem here is that the short path and long path start getting close to the polar regions. This is especially true for stations in the UK or Ireland.

The path above shows the path from the centre of England to the north tip of New Zealand. i.e. location of ZL1RS. The path from Ireland is even worse. From the UK, the SE of England looks like the best spot i.e. G9PUV.

Perhaps a 40 MHz path from New Zealand to the OZ7IGY beacon in Denmark or the stations in Slovenia or Croatia might be more likely? The short path and long path routes certainly don't get as close to the poles.

Link: For more information on the 8m band, visit my 40 MHz page.

13,318km opening on the 40 MHz band from the Caribbean to New Zealand - 10th Feb 2023

10th Feb 2023: This was another good day on the 40 MHz (8m) band as shown from the map above showing the FT8 paths from Martin, PJ4MM on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean.

The 8m signal from PJ4MM went well into Europe and reached as far as Poland and Greece. The one path that caught my attention was the opening across the Pacific to New Zealand. I believe this is the first time a 40 MHz signal from the Caribbean has been heard in New Zealand.

These are the FT8 reports for PJ4MM in order of distance.

 Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
PJ4MM ZL1RS 8m FT8 13318 km 22:51:41
PJ4MM SV8CS 8m FT8 9094 km 15:43:44
PJ4MM SR4DON 8m FT8 8830 km 14:26:30
PJ4MM SP9TTG 8m FT8 8755 km 14:35:11
PJ4MM 9H1TX 8m FT8 8563 km 15:39:44
PJ4MM DG0OPK 8m FT8 8173 km 14:51:12
PJ4MM DK8NE 8m FT8 8136 km 14:50:14
PJ4MM G9PUV 8m FT8 7438 km 14:52:44
PJ4MM EI4GNB 8m FT8 7083 km 14:28:14
WM2XCC PJ4MM 8m FT8 5485 km 19:00:56
PJ4MM CE3SX 8m FT8 5080 km 20:24:43
PJ4MM WB0DBQ 8m FT8 4453 km 18:04:41
PJ4MM VO1SIX 8m FT8 4072 km 15:05:41
PJ4MM VE2BI 8m FT8 4025 km 15:59:11
PJ4MM XE2OR 8m FT8 3826 km 18:04:44
PJ4MM WW1L 8m FT8 3595 km 15:08:44
PJ4MM K5YT 8m FT8 3557 km 18:01:44
PJ4MM K2ZD 8m FT8 3348 km 14:51:11
PJ4MM N4WLO/3 8m FT8 2901 km 20:52:11
PJ4MM PJ4GR 8m FT8 10 km 22:43:41

Bob, ZL1RS mentions that his 8m Yagi is permanently fixed at about 70 degrees.  With just 3 elements, the -3dB beam width is about 70 degrees (+/-35 deg).  So it covers 040 to 110 degrees quite well. PJ4MM is at 96 degrees.

Just for reference, the solar flux on the 10th of February was back over 200.

Bob confirms that there many decodes of PJ4MM on the day and he has kindly sent on a list of decodes to me. I have them listed below for reference.

Even more Trans-Pacific openings on the 40 MHz band - 6th to 9th Feb 2023

In previous posts, I reported on some impressive 40 MHz openings across the Pacific Ocean. On the 28th of December 2022, there was a 12,000km+ opening on the 40 MHz band from California to Australia. On the 25th of January 2023, there was a 10,470km opening on the 40 MHz band from California to New Zealand.

The common element in both posts was that the station in California was WM2XCC, the experimental 40 MHz station which is operated by Chris, N3IZN. Now we have reports of two other experimental stations being heard across the Pacific.

WM2XEJ: The first report is of Bob, ZL1RS in New Zealand receiving the WSPR signal from WM2XEJ in Georgia in the USA. This is interesting not only because of the 13,129km distance but WM2XEJ is a lot further east than the previous reception reports of WM2XCC in California.

These are the WSPR reports...

Local   (y-m-d) TX txGrid RX rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km
2023-02-08 23:34 WM2XEJ EM83ji ZL1RS RF64vs 40.68156 100 -18 0 13129
2023-02-08 23:40 WM2XEJ EM83ji ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681561 100 -1 0 13129
2023-02-08 23:46 WM2XEJ EM83ji ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681558 100 1 -1 13129
2023-02-08 23:54 WM2XEJ EM83ji ZL1RS RF64vs 40.68156 100 -1 0 13129
2023-02-09 00:08 WM2XEJ EM83ji ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681558 100 -9 0 13129
2023-02-09 00:14 WM2XEJ EM83ji ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681558 100 -17 0 13129

As you can see, the signal comes out of the noise and peaks at +1dB which is strong enough for say a good CW contact. After that, it fades away again. The opening possibly coincided with a sunset in Georgia. or a sunrise in New Zealand?

The other stations shown on the map above are from the last week and show plenty of F2 propagation on the 40 MHz (8m) band.

WM2XCW: The WM2XCW experimental 40 MHz station is located in the far north of Washington state and has now been received in New Zealand. This is significant because WM2XCW is the most northerly of the US experimental stations on the 40 MHz band.

ZL1RS... Again, most of the reports are from Bob, ZL1RS on the 6th and 8th of February 2023...

Local   (y-m-d) TX txGrid RX rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km
2023-02-06 21:48 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681533 10 3 0 11246
2023-02-06 21:58 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681533 10 -4 0 11246
2023-02-06 22:48 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681532 10 -7 0 11246
2023-02-06 22:38 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681534 10 -7 0 11246
2023-02-08 22:48 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681535 10 -10 0 11246
2023-02-08 22:58 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681535 10 -12 0 11246
2023-02-08 22:38 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681534 10 -12 0 11246
2023-02-08 22:18 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RS RF64vs 40.681532 10 -12 -1 11246

Note that while WM2XEJ in Georgia is listed as 100-watts, WM2XCW in Washington state is using a much lower 10-watts. The strong signal peaked at +3dB suggesting a weak SSB contact may have been possible.

ZL1RQ... There are several reports from Alan, ZL1RQ for WM2XCW but they are listed as being on 28 MHz. As WM2XCW only transmits on 40 MHz, it seems likely that ZL1RQ is listening on 40 MHz but his older version of WSJT-X software isn't configured for 40 MHz reports.

Local   (y-m-d) TX txGrid RX rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km version
2023-02-07 21:18 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RQ RF64 28.12616 10 -26 0 11318 2.5.2
2023-02-07 21:08 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RQ RF64 28.12616 10 -23 0 11318 2.5.2
2023-02-06 22:48 WM2XCW CN88lx ZL1RQ RF64 28.126157 10 -16 1 11318 2.5.2

There is also one report from ZLBEACON with the same frequency, short locater square and software version as ZL1RQ so I presume these were from Alan as well.

Local   (y-m-d) TX txGrid RX rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km version
2023-02-08 21:08 WM2XCW CN88lx ZLBEACON RF64 28.12616 10 -28 0 11318 2.5.2

WM2XCC: Unsurprisingly, most of the trans-Pacific 8m reception reports are for WM2XCC in California. Note that WM2XCC is using different power levels at different times.

VK4OTZ: There is one single report from VK4OTZ on the east coast of Australia on the 7th of February 2023.

Local   (y-m-d) TX txGrid RX rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km 
2023-02-07 23:38 WM2XCC DM13ji VK4OTZ QG62jo 40.681528 50 -24 1 11637 

ZL1RQ: There are several reports of WM2XCC from ZL1RQ but again, the frequency shown is 28 MHz rather than the correct 40 MHz one.

Local   (y-m-d) TX txGrid RX rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km version
2023-02-08 00:00 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126111 50 -25 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 23:56 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126111 50 -23 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 23:46 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126111 50 -11 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 23:42 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126112 50 -16 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 23:38 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126113 50 -12 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 22:56 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126113 2 -28 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 22:38 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126113 2 -21 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 22:18 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126113 2 -23 0 10550 2.5.2
2023-02-07 21:56 WM2XCC DM13ji ZL1RQ RF64 28.126113 2 -20 0 10550 2.5.2

ZL1RS: Bob has by far the most reception reports and these are shown below.