18,760km opening on the 50 MHz band between Trinidad and Indonesia - 25th Apr 2022

Monday 25th April 2022: It was was interesting to see there there was an 18,760km opening on the 50 MHz band between Trinidad in the Caribbean to Indonesia. 

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)

9Y4D YB1AR 6m FT8 18763 km 15:25:59
YB1BA 9Y4D 6m FT8 18673 km 15:10:27
4X1TI 9Y4D 6m FT8 10001 km 18:28:57
9Y4D 4X4DK 6m FT8 9986 km 18:33:26
9Y4D 5B4ALJ 6m FT8 9702 km 18:15:29
9Y4D SV9CVY 6m FT8 9023 km 18:32:59
9Y4D EA8RH 6m FT8 5058 km 17:25:26
9Y4D EA8TL 6m FT8 5051 km 17:33:26

With the solar flux up at 157, it looks as if the maximum usable frequency (MUF) in these southerly latitudes is reaching the 50 MHz band.

Historic first Trans-Atlantic contact made on 432 MHz - Tues 7th April 2020

On Tuesday the 7th of April 2020, a remarkable contact was made with the FT8 digital mode on 432 MHz between D4VHF on the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa and FG8OJ in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.

This was the first 70cms trans-Atlantic contact without using satellites or the moon. The most likely mode of propagation was marine ducting with the signal being trapped close to the ocean.

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Update: Saturday 11th April 2020 - D4VHF in Cape Verde and WP3ND in Puerto Rico complete a contact with FT8 on 432 MHz. This extends the trans-Atlantic distance to approx 4,367 kms. Full info further down this post.

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(Make sure to scroll down for updates)