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

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

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.

Good conditions on the 40 MHz band - Mon 6th Feb 2023

Several stations have reported good conditions on the 40 MHz band on the 6th of February 2023.

These are the FT8 paths for Paul, G9PUV / G7PUV in the SE of England.

Robbie, EI2IP in the SW of Ireland experienced similar conditions.

Martin, PJ4MM was heard by quite a number of stations across the Atlantic on the 40 MHz band. This makes a pleasant change from just a year or two ago when the number of stations listening on the band was a lot lower.

PJ4MM writes... "Today's reports 8m, everybody thanks for the reports! All ft8 except 9a5cw

TEP opening on the 40 MHz band between the Caribbean and South America - 24th & 25th Jan 2023

While there have been plenty of reports of propagation on the 40 MHz (8m) band recently, there have been very few reports from South America.

Martin, PJ4MM on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean reports the following...

"This evening (24th January), I turned my antenna to the South and I received 8 reports from Chile (CE), Argentina (LU) and Brazil (PY).

Date  - Time in UTC - Reports from - Locator Square - Signal / Notes
24/01/23    23:58:00    PT9FD    GG27OR    -20dB    
        23:58:00    PU2MBY    GG47GU    solid trace    No decode, TEP distortion

25/01/23    00:07:00    LU8YD    FF51XB    -15dB           
        00:10:00    CE3VRT   FF46PI    solid trace    No decode, TEP distortion
        00:03:00    LW2DAF    GF05RK    -8dB        (-18dB on 6m)
        00:37:00    LU7FTF   FF88WI    loud audio   
        00:38:00    CE3VRT   FF46PI    -16dB       
        00:48:00    CE3SOC   FF46RJ    -14dB "

Analysis... With TEP signals, they are generally at right angles to the Geomagnetic Equator and especially at the higher VHF bands. At frequencies about 100 MHz, the paths are usually from Chile to Colombia, Argentina to Bonaire, Curacao and Puerto Rico and from the south of Brazil to the eastern part of  the Caribbean... e.g. Guadeloupe and Martinique.

On a lower frequency like 40 MHz, signals can be quite a bit off from being at right angles and still get through. Hence you can see that PJ4MM could be heard in Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

As the map above shows, most of the reports came from stations in the region of 4000 to 5,500kms which is pretty normal for TEP paths. The time was around midnight UTC which is about 9pm. 8-9pm local time is usually the time for evening TEP openings.

There have been some reports of TEP openings in South America at 144 MHz so it should be no great surprise that it was open at 40 MHz as well. It just took someone to try some tests on the 8m band.

I think it is especially welcome to see so many reports from South American stations and it will hopefully generate more interest in that part of the world in the 40 MHz (8m) band.

It would be interesting to see if the South American stations could hear some of the experimental 40 MHz stations in the USA? I think it might be possible in April when the TEP and Sporadic-E seasons overlap.

USA... Martin did also mention that he thinks there are more radio amateurs in the USA now listening on the 40 MHz band as well. These were the US stations that heard his FT8 signal on the 40 MHz in a 24 hour period.

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

Addendum: 27th Jan 2023 - Martin ,PJ4MM reports... "Today again reports from LU/CE/PY and first time from Ecuador (HC). Also reports from the "Usual suspects" in the USA, and a first time report from WM2XCC in San Diego."

Reports from South America...

Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)

HC2FG 8m FT8 2049 km 02:40:15

LU3HO 8m FT8 5302 km 02:39:29

CE3SX 8m FT8 5080 km 02:09:28

PU8YPL 8m FT8 2203 km 01:36:58

PP2RON 8m FT8 3833 km 01:24:29

Report for activity on the 40 MHz band - Wed 18th Jan 2023

As the map above shows, there was plenty of activity on the 40 MHz band on Wednesday the 18th of January 2023. One of the pivotal stations on the band is Martin, PJ4MM in the Caribbean. With the high MUF due to solar activity, he is ideally placed to put a good signal into the eastern part of the USA and Canada as well as into Europe.

According to PSK Reporter, PJ4MM was involved in the three longest paths reported on the 8m band on the 18th.

 Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
UW8SM PJ4MM 8m FT8 9303 km 14:56:11
PJ4MM SR4DON 8m FT8 8830 km 11:55:30
G9PUV TI5N5BEK 8m FT8 8757 km 15:15:13

Reports...

Paul, G7PUV (G9PUV) in the SE of England reports... "My tally for this afternoon was heard and flagged by 12 US stations, 4 Canadians, PJ4MM and TI5N5BEK. I worked WM2XEJ, VA2CY, PJ4MM and heard WM2XAN plus had 22 F2 backscatter reports from Europe."

This short video from Paul shows reception of WB4JWM/WM2XEJ ON 40.680MHz.

Patrik, 9A5CW reports the first contact on the 40 MHz band between Croatia and Bonaire, a distance of about 8419kms.

Robbie, EI2IP reports the following... "SSB Contact Worked PJ4MM, Martin in Bonaire Island on 8M/40MHz"

and... "SSB Contact WM2XEJ, Tom in Georgia, North America on 8M/40MHz"

Miha, S51FB reports that the 8m beacon in Slovenia, S55ZMS/B was heard by Tim, WW1L in the state of Maine in the USA (FN54).

***

DX Cluster reports are at the bottom of this post.

All reports... All of the 40 MHz paths are shown below. I have removed BG0GE who was almost certainly reporting the wrong band. The WESSEXSDR seems to generate a good few bogus spots as well and I have marked these and other suspect ones with a question mark.

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)

Report from PJ4MM in the Caribbean about 40 MHz activity - 25th to 30th Dec 2022

In a previous post on the 24th of December 2022, I wrote about how Martin, PJ4MM on Bonaire in the Caribbean had received permission to use the 40 MHz and 70 MHz bands - see HERE

Martin has sent on a short report for the six days from the 25th to the 30th of December 2022 inclusive with a list of stations worked on 8m, stations heard on 8m and reception reports of PJ8MM on 8m.

Worked on 8m:
25/12 G9PUV (JO00AU), WM2XAN (EN74OH)
27/12 DL5WP (JO43CD), S50B (JN65XU), G9PUV, WM2XAN
28/12 ZS6WAB (KG46RC) in FT8 and SSB
30/12 WM2XAN (decoding >1.5hr)

Heard on 8m:
24/12 WM2XEJ (EM83JI), WM2XAN
25/12 EI2IP (IO52QJ), WM2XEJ
27/12 WM2XEJ, WM2XCC (DM13JI)

Listener reports on 8m:
23/12 FG8OJ (FK96HG)
27/12 DK8NE (JO50AL), NL8992 (JO32FL), ON7EQ (JO21FC), EA8/DF4UE (IL38BP), EA8BFK (IL38BO), VE1PLZ (FN85PR), KA9CFD (EN40OM), N8PUM (EN66DL), VA2CY (FN46LW), PJ4RF (FK52UD), VE3MMQ (FN14PR), KC0IYT (FN42KJ), W4TAA (EL87VB), PJ4BZL (FK52UC)
30/12 N8PUM, PJ4RF, K5YT (EM22NV), WW1L (FN54OM), EA8BFK , KA9CFD (EN40OM), KE8PFV (EN82JG), WB0DBQ (EN46BW)

Most of the propagation paths are probably F2 and the solar flux was up around the 150 mark for the period in question.

It's gives a nice insight into what is propagation is possible on the 40 MHz (8m) band.

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

Opening on the 40 MHz band from the Caribbean to Europe - 27th Dec 2022

In a previous post a few days ago, I gave details about how Martin, PJ4MM on Bonaire in the Caribbean had received permission for the 40 MHz and 70 MHz bands. With the Solar Flux up around the 150 mark, it looks as if the F2 MUF (maximum usuable frequency) for some paths is well above 30 MHz and into the low-VHF region.

The map above shows the paths on 40 MHz from Bonaire and the list below shows extracts of the 8m FT8 log from the PSKReporter website.

The furthest signal to the east was to S50B in Slovenia (8435 kms), the furthest to the west was to WM2XCC in California (5485 kms).

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
PJ4MM PJ4RF 8m FT8 10 km 17:14:41
PJ4BZL PJ4MM 8m FT8 12 km 17:33:26
PJ4MM PJ4BZL 8m FT8 12 km 17:32:41
WM2XEJ PJ4MM 8m FT8 2803 km 16:07:59
PJ4MM KC0IYT 8m FT8 3370 km 17:25:14
PJ4MM VE3MMQ 8m FT8 3709 km 17:16:41
PJ4MM VE1PZ 8m FT8 3765 km 16:26:44
PJ4MM KA9CFD 8m FT8 3846 km 17:14:44
PJ4MM VA2CY 8m FT8 3873 km 17:14:44
PJ4MM WM2XAN 8m FT8 3906 km 17:28:41
PJ4MM N8PUM 8m FT8 4229 km 17:14:44
WM2XCC PJ4MM 8m FT8 5485 km 19:44:44
PJ4MM EA8BFK 8m FT8 5896 km 16:22:00
PJ4MM EA8/DF4UE 8m FT8 5896 km 14:20:29
PJ4MM G9PUV 8m FT8 7438 km 14:01:59
PJ4MM ON7EQ 8m FT8 7748 km 13:49:27
PJ4MM NL8992 8m FT8 7899 km 13:40:29
PJ4MM DL5WP 8m FT8 8022 km 13:47:29
PJ4MM DK8NE 8m FT8 8136 km 13:38:28
PJ4MM S50B 8m FT8 8435 km 13:45:26

Additional report from PA3GHQ... "I received 9 times CQ from PJ9MM with Elad FDM DUO SDR, HM dipole in the attic & JTDX from 13:45 x 13:51 UTC. Signals from -9 tot -24 dB. ‘73 Kees PA3GHQ/ SWL BDXC CAS4147 Gorinchem The Netherlands"

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

PJ4MM in the Caribbean gets permit for 40 MHz & 70 MHz - Dec 2022

Martin, PJ4MM on Bonaire in the Caribbean reports that he has just received an experimental license for the 40 MHz (8m) and 70 MHz (4m) band.

These are the frequency allocations with equipment.

8m: 40.680 - 40.700 MHz, all mode, max 50W out, ant modified 4elm 6m yagi (elem length adjusted)

4m: 70.000 - 70.500 MHz, all mode, max 100W out, ant 8elm LFA, fixed to Eu

Martin reports that he has already been heard by FG8OJ on Guadeloupe and K9MU in Wisconsin. 

Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
FG8OJ 8m FT8 865 km 18:16:14
K9MU 8m FT8 4243 km 16:58:44

Martin also reports a signal of -22dB in IM67 in the south of Portugal on 8m but it wasn't reported on the PSK Reporter website.

Martin also says that for 4m, he will be following the Region 1 band plan (Europe) and will be mostly operating on FT8.

Analysis... This is really excellent news as it opens up the possibility of a lot of interesting paths from this southerly location.

On 40 MHz, there will be plenty of openings on F2 up to the USA and Canada and will allow some contacts with the experimental stations there as well as crossband contacts and reception reports. Ironically it may be easier to get reports from the NE of the USA (3500-4000kms) than the SE which may be a bit too close.

There should also be plenty of openings to Europe, especially to Spain and Portugal. It should also open eventually to the UK and Ireland and the question is how far east into Europe will the signal travel.

In the Summer months, there should be plenty of multi-hop Sporadic-E openings from May to July and may act as an early warning for 50 MHz openings to follow.

What I find really interesting are the possible openings on 70 MHz.

Will amateurs in the USA and Canada be interested enough to listen on the band now that there is someone on from the Caribbean on 4m?

Will there be multi-hop Sporadic-E openings on 4m to Europe during the Summer? Almost certainly to Spain and Portugal but further north to the UK and Ireland? How far into Europe? Is it possible to get as far east as Cyprus? Further?

Looking at the southern hemisphere, there are a lot of interesting potential paths.

TEP openings on 40 MHz and 70 MHz to Argentina and the south of Brazil are a given. Will anyone there listen?

From Bonaire to the Falkand Islands (VP8) on 70 MHz?? Is it possible?

Bonaire to South Africa on 40 MHz should be possible on F2 but is it even possible on 70 MHz with multi-hop Sp-E? 11,000kms is a long way on 4m.

And what about the really long paths? From Bonaire to New Zealand (ZL) and Australia (VK) on 40 MHz???

We can be sure that some really interesting paths are going to pop up from this location.

Links for more info...
1) My 40 MHz page
2) My 70 MHz page

Addendum: Martin provides the following information of his permit.

1) 8M license is for 40.66 - 40.7MHz, max 50W, all modes. 

2) 4M license is for 70.0 - 70.5MHz, max 100W, all modes, Antenna restricted direction to Europe. Probably because Venezuela still has multiple analog TV channels in use in this range. 

3) Valid until Christmas 2023.

Big opening on the 40 MHz band - 7th Dec 2022

Wednesday 7th December 2022: With the Solar Flux up at 148, the F2 MUF is now extending well above 30 MHz and into the low VHF spectrum. The map above shows some of the FT8 activity on the experimental 40 MHz band on the 7th of December.

The stations in South Africa (ZS), Slovenia (S5), Croatia (9A) and Ireland (EI) are radio amateurs who have permission to use this band. The stations in the USA, Canada and the UK are using experimental licences for transmitting.

I have a full list of the stations decoded at the end of this post. I'm not sure about a few of the transmitting callsigns as there may have been some mistakes and the wrong band was reported.

Martin, PJ4MM on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean sends the following report...

 Just copied multiple stations from EU on 8M:

G9PUV JO00 ft8 +20  S9 on meter)
EI2IP IO52 ft8 +22  S9 on meter
EI4GNB IO63 ft8 +12
S50B JN65 ft8 -6
S59F JN65 ft8 -1
9A5CW JN65 ft8 -8

The G and EI stations were loud enough for SSB. Opening started ~1530Z and lasted until 1629Z

Last Monday (5th Dec) copied:   144230  6  0.1  798 ~  CQ WM2XEJ EM83  (ft8). Opening lasted ~30min
And on Sunday 20221204 (wspr):
2022 -23  0.11  40.6814841  WM2XCC DM13 33
2040 -13 -0.15  40.6814851  WM2XCC DM13 47
2102 -27  0.15  40.6814844  WM2XCC DM13 33
RX: IC7300, Antenna modified 6m 4el with increased element length

Link: My 40 MHz page

Full log of activity is shown below...

Selective TEP opening on 144 MHz from the Caribbean to South America - 9th Feb 2022

9th February 2022: There was another TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation) opening on 144 MHz between the Caribbean and South America but this time, it was a bit unusual.

As the map above shows, nearly all of the signals shown on the PSK Reporter website were from Argentina to Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and the Dominican Republic. There was also some from Argentina to Puerto Rico. What was unusual was the lack of signals further east from Puerto Rico to the south of Brazil.

Usually there are two parallel TEP paths crossing the Geomagnetic Equator. For whatever reason, the eastern path to Brazil seems to have been mostly absent.

Spots on the DX Cluster show a small bit of activity from Puerto Rico to Brazil but it seems to have been at a very low level compared to the path further west.

Spotter  Freq.  DX  Time  Info  Country
NP4BM-@ 144180.0 LU2EPO 01:03 09 Feb tnks tep q65b qso Argentina
NP4BM-@ 144180.0 LW2DAF 01:01 09 Feb tnks tep q65b qso Argentina
PY5EK 144180.0 WP3DN 23:53 08 Feb Q65B -9 dB 994 Hz TNX TEP Puerto Rico

The path from PY5EK in Brazil to WP3DN in Puerto Rico was the only one I noticed on the PSK Reporter website.

As for why the western TEP path was better than the eastern TEP path???

144 MHz Report... Martin, PJ4MM in Bonaire reports working the following stations in Argentina...

2022-02-09,00:43:15,2022-02-09,00:46:31,LU2EPO,GF14FW,144.181550,Q65,+05,+03,1300,Q65 Sent: +05  Rcvd: +03,,TEP 
2022-02-09,00:47:15,2022-02-09,00:48:01,LU4DJC,GF05PO,144.181550,Q65,+06,+02,1300,Q65 Sent: +06  Rcvd: +02,,TEP
2022-02-09,00:48:30,2022-02-09,00:50:01,LU5CQC,GF05SK,144.181550,Q65,+04,+10,1300,Q65 Sent: +04  Rcvd: +10,,TEP
2022-02-09,00:51:45,2022-02-09,00:53:30,LU8EDA,GF05RJ,144.181550,Q65,-11,+05,1300,Q65 Sent: -11  Rcvd: +05,,TEP
2022-02-09,00:54:30,2022-02-09,00:55:01,LU2DPW,GF05GI,144.181550,Q65,-15,-09,1300,Q65 Sent: -15  Rcvd: -09,,TEP
2022-02-09,01:13:45,2022-02-09,01:14:31,LW2DAF,GF05RK,144.181550,Q65,+03,+00,1300,Q65 Sent: +03  Rcvd: +00,,TEP
2022-02-09,01:16:30,2022-02-09,01:21:01,LU9FVS,FF97NC,144.181550,Q65,-10,-01,1300,Q65 Sent: -10  Rcvd: -01,,TEP
2022-02-09,01:21:45,2022-02-09,01:24:01,LU5CQC,GF05SK,144.181550,Q65,+01,+03,1000,Q65 Sent: +01  Rcvd: +03,,TEP
2022-02-09,02:04:30,2022-02-09,02:07:00,LU8GMM,GG02MN,50.314400,FT8,+20,-14,35,FT8  Sent: +20  Rcvd: -14,,TEP

Most of these contacts were in the region of 5,000 kms.

For the TEP contacts with Argentina, PJ4MM was using 100-watts to a 13-element Tonna Yagi which is 13 metres above ground level.

Links...
1) More info about long distance 2m openings on my 144 MHz page.