2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - VA1VM 10th Jan

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.

QRSS are very slow morse code transmissions where the dots and dashes are several seconds long and the signals are decoded by looking at a waterfall display on a screen rather than listening to the signal.

The QRSS signals are usually just below the WSPR signals on the amateur radio bands. This means it's possible to have your PC decoding WSPR signals up around 1500 Hz while you look at the QRSS signals about 500 Hz or so lower in the audio spectrum at the same time.

2024 #2 - VA1VM... The first signal I captured in 2024 was from Vernon, VE1VDM in Nova Scotia, Canada back on the 8th of January. This is outlined in this previous post.

Conditions on the 28 MHz band were better on the 10th of January and the 'VDM' QRSS signal was in again but stronger as can be seen above. For this beacon, Vernon was using a QrpLabs U3S with low pass-filter into a QrpLabs power amplifier delivering 1-watt on 10m. The antenna was ground mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical.

In the last 24-hours, Vernon has put a second QRSS transmitter on the air with the callsign VA1VM. You can see this as a weaker signal in the image above.

The VA1VM signal is from a 150 milliwatt transmitter into a  Hustler 10m 1/4 wave resonator mounted on a 1.37-metre long Hustler mast extender. It really is amazing that a 0.15 watt signal can make it across the Atlantic.

Both beacons are located in the town of Truro in Nova Scotia and are just a few kms apart. The antenna on my side was a simple CB type half-wave vertical.

The map above shows the location of the transmitter and receiver. The distance is about 4000kms which is ideal for 1-hop of F2 layer propagation.

Even though it's the same person, it's a second QRSS signal. That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 2-callsigns & 1 DXCC.

08 Jan 2024: VE1VDM
10 Jan 2024: VA1VM

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - VE1VDM 8th Jan

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.

QRSS are very slow morse code transmissions where the dots and dashes are several seconds long and the signals are decoded by looking at a waterfall display on a screen rather than listening to the signal.

The QRSS signals are usually just below the WSPR signals on the amateur radio bands. This means it's possible to have your PC decoding WSPR signals up around 1500 Hz while you look at the QRSS signals about 500 Hz or so lower in the audio spectrum at the same time.

2024 #1 - VE1VDM... The first signal I captured in 2024 was from Vernon, VE1VDM in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Vernon was using a QrpLabs U3S with low pass-filter into a QrpLabs power amplifier delivering 1-watt on 10m. The antenna was ground mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical.

The antenna on my side was a simple CB type half-wave vertical.

The map above shows the location of the transmitter and receiver. The distance is about 4000kms which is ideal for 1-hop of F2 layer propagation.

So that's the QRSS tally so far for 2024... 1-callsign & 1 DXCC.

Backscatter on 28 MHz - 2nd Nov 2023

For well over 12-months, I have had my radio tuned to the WSPR frequency of 28.1246 MHz on the 10m band and I feed the decoded signals up to the WSPRnet website.

While I can see the WSPR signals clearly on the waterfall display, I can also see the very slow morse QRSS signals as well just a few hundred Hz below.

The image above shows the QRSS signals I could see on the 2nd of November 2023 and the locations of the stations are shown in the map at the start of the post.

The screenshot above shows a good capture of AE0V in the USA at about a distance of 6000kms. Ned, AE0V reports using a solar powered transmitter with no battery storage running 100mW into a 1/4 lamba stainless whip about 8m above the ground.

The signals from the USA and Canada are easily explained as they are via F2 layer propagation. The signals I find unusual are the ones from the England which are in the region of 500 to 650kms.

The trace from the 0.2-watt signals of G0PKT and G0MBA are there nearly all the time when the band is open. It's not F2 propagation in the usual sense as it's too close and it's not Sporadic-E.

I believe that it's backscatter just like what the military use for their over the horizon radar systems (OTHR). 

In this case, the 28 MHz band is open with F2 layer propagation and the signals from G0PKT & G0MBA are being reflected back towards my location from some distant point.

As an example of how consistent these signals are, I have decoded the WSPR signal of G0PKT about 1,000 times in the last 3-weeks. And that's a signal that's supposed to be in my 'skip zone' where it's supposed to be hard to reach.

There's nothing new about this, it's just that in this modern age of weak signal modes and waterfall displays, we can now see these very weak signals more clearly. 

If you're using FT8 on the higher HF bands and you see lots of reports from stations that about 200-600kms away then F2 backscatter is probably the reason.

Winter 2022 release of the QRSS Compendium 5th Edition

Every year, the Knights QRSS Group release their annual compendium. You can view the Winter 2022 (5th edition) HERE

The Knights QRSS Group promotes the use of very slow mode code beacons to carry out propagation experiments on the HF bands. Often signals that are 15 to 20 dB below the noise can be seen on a computer screen as opposed to being heard by ear.

While newer digital modes can now be used for detecting very weak signals, they don't really show propagation effects. Either the digital signal was decoded or it wasn't. QRSS signals like the one shown below shows propagation over a 15-minute period.

In that image, you can see how signals fade with the Sporadic-E footprint moving and the polarisation changing. It also shows up slight doppler effects.

You can find out more about QRSS signals by visiting the QRSS Knights Groups.io page... https://groups.io/g/qrssknights/topics

Mid-Winter Sporadic-E opening on 28 MHz - Mon 19th Dec 2022

Normally the main Sporadic-E season normally lasts from May to August every year but there is also a smaller secondary peak during the Winter months. While I was listening for WSPR signals on 28 MHz yesterday, I noticed that there was a Sporadic-E opening on the band.

While this isn't that unusual, what caught my attention was the fact that the skip distance was short for 10m and I was hearing stations in England. The map above shows some of the European stations that I heard on WSPR including a batch in England.

Most of these English stations were in the region of 500-700kms which is reasonably short and unusual. It's much easier for me to hear say German stations during a Sporadic-E opening as they are around the 1200-1500km mark.

What alerted me to the short skip was the sound of the QRSS signals from England coming through on the WSPR frequency of 28.1246 MHz.

QRSS is a very slow form of morse code where a single callsign is sent over a period of a few minutes and the call can be decoded by looking at the audio spectrum on a screen. Signals that are up to 20dB below the noise level can be seen and in a way, this was the original 'buried in the noise' signal mode before the likes of FT8 and WSPR arrived on the scene.

In the example above, the 10m QRSS signals are about 500Hz below the WSPR signals and in the same audio passband.

It's likely there will be more Sporadic-E openings on 28 MHz and 50 MHz over the Christmas period, have a listen.

QRSS signals heard on 28 MHz - 1st Nov 2022

Every day, I leave my HF radio on the 28.1246 MHz to listen for WSPR signals. My PC then decodes these and sends the reception reports up to WSPRNet website for others to see.

The QRSS (very slow morse code) band is just a few hundred Hz below the 10m WSPR band and I noticed in the WSPR waterfall that two QRSS signals were present so I had a look.

The image above shows the QRSS signals that I was hearing over a period of about 20-25 minutes on the 1st of November 2022.

VE1VDM in Canada and G0PKT in the east of England had reasonable signals and they were the two I had noticed initially. G6GN in England is also present but quite weak. There are other very weak QRSS signals as well but I was unable to ID these.

The locations of the relevant stations are shown on the map below.

VE1VDM in Nova Scotia is 4000kms from my location and is easily explained as it's an ideal one F2 layer hop away on 28 MHz.

The signals from G6GN at 400kms and G0PKT at 650 kms are not so easily explained. If it was the Summer months then we might think it was Sporadic-E but, this was the first of November AND G0PKT is pretty much there all of the time every day when the band is open.

I suspect that I am receiving these signals via F2 layer backscatter. In the past (pre digital days), backscatter signals were pretty much buried in the noise with the SSB and CW modes. Now however, WSPR has no problem decoding signals that are 20dB below the noise level and I can see QRSS signals which are in the region of -15 to -20dB.

I think a lot of those 'close in' signals that we are now seeing on WSPR or FT8 on 28 MHz are in reality via backscatter.

You can see from the map above all of the WSPR stations I heard on 28 MHz on the 1st of November. Meteor Scatter? Forward scatter via Sporadic-E? I'm opting for F2 layer backscatter.

I'm using an omni-directional vertical on 28 MHz so I can't beam headings. Maybe someone else wants to do some tests? See which direction those 'close in' signals are strongest. The direct path OR beaming in some other direction at a potential back-scatter point?

Winter 2021 release of the QRSS Compendium 4th Edition

Every year, the Knights QRSS Group release their annual compendium. You can view the Winter 2021 (4th edition) HERE

The Knights QRSS Group promotes the use of very slow mode code beacons to carry out propagation experiments on the HF bands. Often signals that are 15 to 20 dB below the noise can be seen on a computer screen as opposed to being heard by ear.

While newer digital modes can now be used for detecting very weak signals, they don't really show propagation effects. Either the digital signal was decoded or it wasn't. QRSS signals like the one shown below shows propagation over a 15-minute period.

In that image, you can see how signals fade with the Sporadic-E footprint moving and the polarisation changing. It also shows up slight doppler effects.

You can find out more about QRSS signals by visiting the QRSS Knights Groups.io page... https://groups.io/g/qrssknights/topics

IW0HK QRSS beacon heard on 28 MHz - 12th Nov 2021

Friday 12th November 2021: Normally it's during the Summer months and the main Sporadic-E season that I have a look for QRSS signals on the 28 MHz band (QRSS - Very slow visual form of morse code).

During a short Sporadic-E opening on 28 MHz the 12th of November, I noticed that I was hearing the IW0HK beacon near Rome on 28.3219 MHz. I didn't recognise the callsign and I had to check the cluster to see that I last heard it back on the 25th of May 2019.

I noticed on the beacon list that it was also a QRSS beacon so I fired up Spectrum Lab and grabbed the screen shot above.

As you can see, the QRSS ID is 'H K' which is sent over the space of about 1-minute.

The power is listed as 1-watt and the antenna is a vertical.

The distance as seen from the map below is about 1900kms which is pretty normal for Sporadic-E. It's just a little unusual to get it at nearly 9pm local time in November.

Trans-Atlantic opening on 28 MHz (QRSS signals from VE1VDM & N8NJ) - 19th June 2021

19th June 2021: After getting an email from Vernon VE1VDM, I fired up the Spectrum Lab programme and managed to grab TWO trans-Atlantic QRSS signals on 28 MHz...

(QRSS are morse code signals sent very slowly over a period of several minutes. This is an analogue method of reading signals that are buried in the noise)

It was probably the strongest capture I've got to date of VE1VDM and the first time I've managed to capture N8NJ. His power was 2-watts.

N8NJ is also the longest distance QRSS signal on 28 MHz I've captured as well. His power was 1-watt.

These are the WSPR reports around that time so you can compare what the QRSS signal looks like against the WSPR signal report.

2021-06-19 13:20 VE1VDM FN85ij EI7GL IO51tu 28.126151 2 -15 0 4001
2021-06-19 13:20 N8NJ EN81go EI7GL IO51tu 28.126069 1 -20 0 5574
2021-06-19 13:30 VE1VDM FN85ij EI7GL IO51tu 28.126151 2 -13 0 4001
2021-06-19 13:30 N8NJ EN81go EI7GL IO51tu 28.12607 1 -24 0 5574
2021-06-19 13:40 VE1VDM FN85ij EI7GL IO51tu 28.126151 2 -15 0 4001

VE1VDM at -13 to -15dB was at a level which would be barely detectable by ear. It's too weak for CW sent at normal speed.

N8NJ at -20 to -24dB was buried well into the noise.

In truth, there's nothing that remarkable about hearing Canada or the USA on 28 MHz during the peak of the Summer Sporadic-E season but it was still nice to get a screen capture of two low power stations from the other side of the Atlantic.

28 MHz Report for Sun 9th May 2021

Sunday 9th May 2021: While the 9th didn't seem to be as good as the 7th & 8th, there were still lots of Sporadic-E signals on 28 MHz for most of the day. Again, I spent most of the day on WSPR with the receive map for me shown above.

This time, I heard 7 stations running 50mW or less.

(y-m-d) TX txGrid RX rxGrid MHz W SNR drift km
2021-05-09 10:56 G4KPX JO02dj EI7GL IO51tu 28.126063 0.005 -6 
2021-05-09 09:06 DJ4RH JN49bx EI7GL IO51tu 28.126088 0.01 -23 
2021-05-09 10:06 PD0KT JO33le EI7GL IO51tu 28.126094 0.01 -23 
2021-05-09 09:56 OZ0RF JO65fr EI7GL IO51tu 28.125994 0.02 -23 
2021-05-09 08:36 DL1WER JN58cd EI7GL IO51tu 28.126116 0.05 -18 
2021-05-09 08:54 DK9ES JO31 EI7GL IO51tu 28.12608 0.05 -24 
2021-05-09 18:04 ON4LUK JO11  EI7GL IO51tu 28.126197 0.05 -23 

When the skip went short, I managed to get two QRSS (very slow morse) plots from two stations east of London, about 600kms from me.

I also spent some time monitoring the FT8 frequency and I heard 279 stations in 36 countries.

Winter 2020 release of the QRSS Compendium 3rd Edition

Every year, the Knights QRSS Group release their annual compendium. You can view the Winter 2020 (3rd edition) HERE

The Knights QRSS Group promotes the use of very slow mode code beacons to carry out propagation experiments on the HF bands. Often signals that are 15 to 20 dB below the noise can be seen on a computer screen as opposed to being heard by ear.

While newer digital modes can now be used for detecting very weak signals, they don't really show propagation effects. Either the digital signal was decoded or it wasn't. QRSS signals like the one shown below shows propagation over a 15-minute period.

In that image, you can see how signals fade with the Sporadic-E footprint moving and the polarisation changing. It also shows up slight doppler effects.

You can find out more about QRSS signals by visiting the QRSS Knights Groups.io page... https://groups.io/g/qrssknights/topics

QRSS reception reports on 28 MHz - Fri 29th May 2020

Friday the 29th of May 2020 was an extraordinary day with widespread Sporadic-E across Europe. While the various VHF bands up to 144 MHz were open, I spent some time listening for QRSS signals (very slow visual morse code) on 28 MHz.

To put the European stations heard in context, first see the map with distances below...

a) First Grab... The short skip on 28 MHz started early and I heard the usual stations near London, roughly 650kms.

M0BMN is a lot further west and as he is just 430kms away, I had trouble getting a good trace of his QRSS signal.

b) Doppler... This is another screen grab later on. Note the double trace on some of the signals.

Pay special note to the signal from G0FTD. On the left, it's weak but clear. On the right, there are two distinct signals from him. The upper trace is steady and is almost as if that signal is coming from a stationary Sporadic-E cloud. The lower trace starts to diverge more over time as if it that signal was coming from something moving at speed and creating doppler shift.

I suspect it was coming from a Sporadic-E cloud that was in motion and half-ways through the second trace, it either reached a point or ionization level that it no longer supported propagation.

The other theory might be that it was aircraft scatter although I still prefer the moving Sp-E cloud theory.

c) Iceland... There was also some good Sporadic-E conditions to the north and I got a screen grab from TF3HZ in Iceland for the first. time.

I also noted a signal up higher in the band but I'm unsure who it is? The amount of Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) seems to be lower than the rest.

(Update: The mystery signal is LB3AH in Oslo, Norway).

d) TF3HZ & M0GBZ clashing... In this screen grab, note the signal from TF3HZ. At first, he is in the clear and on his own. Then the short skip to the east improves and I note that TF3HZ in Iceland and M0GBZ near London are actually on the same frequency.

On a band where there are just 10 or so Hertz between stations, it's easy to end up on the same frequency as someone else especially if they are from a different area.

(Update: The mystery signal at the top is probably an image of G0FTD. The mystery signal at 620 Hz is LB3AH in Norway)

As this second grab shows, they were clashing for quite a while as the conditions were excellent.

e) M0GBZ in the clear again... In this grab, you can see how on the left, TF3HZ in Iceland and M0GBZ to the north of London are still clashing. I then lose the path to Iceland and the signal from M0GBZ becomes clear again.

f) Trans-Atlantic... VE1VDM... All of the QRSS signals from Europe are via one-hop Sporadic-E. To cross the Atlantic, the signal needs several Sporadic-E hops.

As I'm on the north-west edge of Europe, I'm within two Sporadic-E hops of Vernon, VE1VDM in Nova Scotia in Canada.

I first noticed VE1VDM's signal on WSPR on 28.1246 MHz and he transmits a QRSS signal as well just below it. He sends the letters VDM and the weak signal is shown below...

Vernon also transmits a QRSS signal on 28.0008 MHz where the European stations are...

And that mysterious signal again?!?

During another grab, there was a brief opening to G6NHU near London and I could see that VE1VDM was almost on the same frequency.

Towards the bottom of the screen, there is a very faint record of the signal from OK1FCX in the Czech Republic. He sends a signal that has three levels so it can be easy to identify even if the signal is too weak to decode.

In conclusion... Another good day for QRSS signals on 28 MHz and it's interesting to note the way signals change over time. As noted in a previous post, I believe QRSS is the only mode where you can actually see the propagation changing visually.

At this stage, I'm running out of new stations to catch! I think I have seen most of the European stations at this stage.

Links...
1) Report from MW1CFN for 28 MHz QRSS signals heard in NW Wales on the same day.

First trans-Atlantic QRSS signal of 2020 on 28 MHz - Mon 25th May 2020

Monday 25th May 2020. For a change, I left the radio on the WSPR frequency of 28.1246 MHz this morning to see what could I hear. At the time, there seemed to be some unusual propagation in that I was hearing Iceland to the north-west.

Then I got two decodes of the WSPR signal from Vernon, VE1VDM in Nova Scotia, Canada!

Timestamp          Call MHz SNR Drift Grid Pwr Reporter RGrid km az
 2020-05-25 11:30 VE1VDM 28.126118  -24 -2 FN85ij 2 EI7GL  IO51tu  4001 59 
 2020-05-25 11:20 VE1VDM 28.126118 -22 -1 FN85ij 2 EI7GL  IO51tu 4001 59 

While 28.0008 MHz is the usual QRSS frequency on 10 metres, some stations transmit right next to the WSPR frequency of 28.1246 MHz so that receive stations can listen for both WSPR and QRSS signals without changing frequency.

It just so happened that I had the SpectrumLab audio analyzer programme running as I often use it to check the frequency of beacons on 28 MHz. When I looked, I could see the QRSS signal (very slow morse) from VE1VDM but it was slightly drawn out as I was using the 'QRSS 1' option. I switched to QRSS 3 and the screen grab is shown above.

I suspect the signal from Vernon may have been at its best when I was hearing the WSPR signals. I'd guess that the QRSS signal used to generate the plot shown above is certainly not stronger than the -22dB or -24dB WSPR signal.

VE1VDM was using a QRP Labs U3S and 5 watt PA combo sending 4 watts into a full size Windom hung as an inverted V at about 30' AGL at apex, I was using a vertical half-wave for 28 MHz about 4 metres above ground level.

Mode of Propagation???... How did this QRSS signal cross the North Atlantic?

A few days ago, VE1VDM had been heard on WSPR in Luxembourg and Germany, a distance of about 5000 kms. This was most probably triple hop Sporadic-E... i.e. 1700kms x 3 hops. The second hop signal that day was probably landing somewhere in the ocean about 600kms to the west of Ireland.

For the trans-Atlantic opening today, I think I was hearing VE1VDM via double hop Sporadic-E i.e. 2 x 2000km hops. It's likely that the signal may have reached only Ireland and the western part of the UK as that's close to the limit for two hops on 28 MHz.

For more information on QRSS activities, there is an active group HERE

QRSS Signals from the UK on 28 MHz - Tues 19th May 2020

QRSS is a mode where a morse code signal is sent very slowly so that it can seen on a screen rather than heard by ear. This allows signals that can be up 20dB below the noise level to be seen.

While it might seem outdated by some of the more modern digital modes like WSPR or FT8, what is really interesting about QRSS is that you can visually see the propagation moving around.

On Tuesday the 19th of May 2020, there was really intense Sporadic-E on 28 MHz with a very short skip opening from Ireland to the UK. This allowed me to hear the QRSS signals from stations near London as shown on the map below....

The key points here before we look at the QRSS plots are...

a) G6NHU, G0MBA & G0PKT are all very close to each other and about 650 kms from my location.

b) G0FTD is about as far but is 50 kms to the south of the cluster of three.

c) M0GBZ is along the same path as the group of three but is about 90 kms closer at 560 kms.

d) The shorter the distance then the smaller the Sporadic-E footprint tends to get.

As shown above, it tends to be long and narrow and this will be shown in the QRSS examples below.

***

Screen grab 1.....

In this image above, you can see all of the signals. G0FTD has two transmitters and is the weakest.

***

Screen grab 2...

In this image, the Sporadic-E footprint moves north and even though G0FTD is just 50 kms from the more northern stations, he moves outside the footprint.

The cluster of three remain remain the same while M0GBZ disappears as the skip lengthens for a while before coming back.

* * *

Screen grab 3...

In this plot, the Sporadic-E skip distance increases and M0GBZ disappears. G0FTD disappears for about two minutes before the footprint moves south again.

On the right hand side, all of the QRSS signals are there but they now become quite fuzzy which may indicate multipath. Perhaps the Sporadic-E has broken up into several clouds rather than maybe the single one before.

In conclusion..... This was the my first reception this year of the UK QRSS stations on 28 MHz and as you can see from what's written above, the plots show a lot.

From what I now, the QRSS mode is the only one where you can actually see on a screen how the propagation is moving around in real time.

Listen on 28.0008 MHz on CW for these stations running just a few hundred milliwatts.

Italian QRSS signals heard on 28 MHz - 11th May 2020

Conditions on 28 MHz on Monday the 11th of May 2020 were very good with some very strong FT8 and SSB signals heard on the band.

While the skip distance didn't get short enough for me to hear some of the UK QRSS stations (<600kms), I did hear two Italian QRSS beacons on 28.3216 MHz CW at about 22:00 UTC. See photo.

From the information that I have, I3GNQ/B runs 200mW into a vertical and uses the QRSS code 'GB'. IZ1KXQ/B runs 100mW into an inverted-V and uses the QRSS code 'SP'. As the image shows, there are about 143 Hz apart.

From what I can tell, these are the only two Italian QRSS signals on the 10m band.

I3GNQ beacon - 200 milliwatts (2N1711 transistor) into a 5/8 vertical antenna

Close up of the I3GNQ beacon

Thanks to Jack I3GNQ for the photo.

I3GNQ also mentions that this low power beacon will be turned off in July of 2020 as the property where the beacon is located has been sold.

Links...

1) QRSS Knights on Groups dot io

Winter 2019 QRSS Compendium

QRSS is a CW mode in which the receiver bandwidth is drastically reduced and the rate at which code is sent is slowed beyond that which would be normally be readable by ear. A typical signal has a dot length of three seconds and a dot length of nine. The signal is 'decoded' by looking at the trace on a computer monitor rather than by ear.

There is a dedicated group called the QRSS Knights promoting the mode and are very active during the Summer months on 28 MHz.

Andy, G0FTD has compiled  a Winter 2019 Compendium and it can be viewed in PDF format HERE

QRSS signals from the UK heard on 28 MHz - June 2019

QRSS is morse code sent at very slow speeds with users decoding signals by looking at the waterfall display on a screen. A dot is normally about 3 seconds long.

Update 20th June 2019
Just one lone 28 MHz QRSS signal at 28.0008 MHz from the island of Jersey.

Update 19th June 2019
Rather than putting up a new post, I have updated this one from a few days previous. There was some very good short skip to the UK on 28 Mhz on Wednesday the 19th of June 2019 and the QRSS signals were much stronger...

Most of these stations are using less than a watt into very basic aerials.

16th June 2019...
Conditions today on 28 MHz were very good and I noticed that I was hearing English stations to the east of London on WSPR. At roughly 600kms, this is a pretty short skip distance on 28 MHz and not that usual.

I listened on the QRSS frequency of 28.0008 MHz and recorded the following...

I think the bottom trace is from G0PKT. Above that is G6NHU. Above that I think is G0FTD. And at the top is GJ7RWT.

The audio frequency is shown at the side.

This is a map showing the locations...

The opening didn't last long before the skip went long again back to about 1000 kms and over.

Interesting to see QRSS signals via short skip. I suspect that if I hadn't been using WSPR and seen the callsign of G6NHU, I probably would have never thought to check for these signals.

Just a note of interest. When I heard G6NHU on WSPR, he had a SNR of -17dB and -20 dBd. I have no idea what the SNR of G6NHU was on QRSS but I'd guess it was about the same.

There is an active group of QRSS users at this forum... https://groups.io/g/qrssknights