Sporadic-E on the 50 MHz band - 12th Jan 2023

I received an email from Chris, IX1CKN to let me know about an opening on the 50 MHz band on Thursday the 12th of January 2023. The opening was a little unusual in that it was short lived and took place late in the evening at 20:50 UTC.

The map shows the FT8 contact with John, EI2FG on south coast of Ireland, a distance of about 1300kms.

In a later correspondence between IX1CKN and EI2FG by email, John reports that he worked about 20 stations in a short period of time and nearly all within the same geographic area in Italy.

As for the propagation mode, it was almost certainly Sporadic-E even if it's late in the evening in the Winter as opposed to the more usual daylight openings during the Summer months. There is a small peak in Sporadic-E activity in the middle of the Winter which a lot of people don't expect.

Paul, MI3LDO reports that there have been several Sporadic-E openings after sunset in the last few days with reception of low-band VHF signals from France in the 30-35 MHz range.

There has also been a recent opening from Ireland to Brazil on 50 MHz which was most likely a single Sporadic-E hop to the south and then linking into a TEP opening to South America.

The take home message is that there is plenty of activity on the 50 MHz band at the moment, you just need to spend some time listening and calling on the band.

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.

Analysis of Sporadic-E propagation with WSPR reports by KN6DAD

In a recent article titled 'Detecting Putative Sporadic E Propagation in WSPRNet Spot Records ' for TAPR, Jeanette Zhou, KN6DAD outlined how she used data from the WSPRnet website to investigate Sporadic-E propagation.

She writes... "WSPRNet propagation data were downloaded from http://wsprnet.org/drupal/downloads  and solar indices were from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) (gfz-potsdam.de) in February, 2021. 

WSPRNet spot records of 28, 50, and 144 MHz transmissions during 2020 were then used for the analysis, combining related spot records with the same timestamp and sender call sign to remove duplicates.

Putative sporadic E propagations were identified as when a transmission’s distance was about 1200 km in the above identified bands; the total number of records used for the analysis was 1,118,989. "

She then used the data to general the chart above which clearly shows the Summer peak of the Sporadic-E season although I suspect that many of the reports on 144 MHz in July, August & October were due to tropospheric propagation. The 144 MHz data may also be skewed from the fact that there aren't that many people using WSPR on 144 MHz in Europe or North America.

It was interesting that she found that a high Kp index resulted in poor Sporadic-E conditions.

"In conclusion, the putative sporadic E propagation in the WSPRNet spot records seems to be consistent with known seasonal variations of sporadic E propagation and corresponding geographic distribution, which suggests that these records provide a large number of observations that could be used to study sporadic E formation.

Exploratory data analysis also suggests that Kp index may be negatively correlated with recorded sporadic E propagation."

This corelates with the theory that quiet geomagnetic conditions are better for Sp-E formation. 

In summary... I found this article interesting not only because it shows the Sporadic-E season but also it shows the perils of using WSPR spots for analysis. 

For example, look at how poor the numbers are for April on 28 MHz and yet we know that there are always plenty of Sporadic-E openings at the end of April. 

The reason there are so few WSPR spots for April is because there are so few people using it on the 10m band. Once the propagation starts getting better in May then a lot more people start using WSPR on the band. 

In other words, a lot of the data is due to human activity rather than actual conditions. If a band looks dead then people are less likely to have WSPR transmitters active which means many openings generate no reports.

A million plus WSPR records sounds impressive but a lot of the data in there will be skewed by assumptions about the propagation mode, a lack of WSPR stations on the higher VHF bands and human behaviour.

WSPR reports can probably be used for propagation analysis but you would need to be very careful about what data you select to use.

The full article can be seen on Page 7 of the PDF document HERE

Backscatter on 40 MHz - 19th May 2021

Wednesday 19th May 2021: The day started with a comment by Joe, EI3IX on a Facebook post that he wasn't hearing the new EI1CAH 40 MHz beacon even though he is only 64kms from it. That set me off checking why that was the case and I ended going down a rabbit hole that saw me on the 8-metre band for most of the day!

Both the EI1CAH (40.016 MHz) and the EI1KNH (40.013 MHz) beacons are about 200kms from my location with plenty of hills and mountains in the way. I listened early on the morning of the 19th and I couldn't hear either beacon although I did get a meteor burst from EI1CAH so I knew that it was still operational.

A few hours later, I tried listening again and I found I could now hear EI1CAH all of the time! What had changed? As the signal was buried in the noise with a Signal to Noise ratio of -26dB, my initial thought was that it might be tropo? However, I couldn't rule out that it may have been to Sporadic-E backscatter either.

It was only later when I saw the signal improve to -6dB over the space of a few minutes then I knew it was Sporadic-E related. While there are no doubt slight tropo enhancements at 40 MHz, large changes like this are almost certainly due to Sp-E.

Later when I checked the EI1KNH beacon near Dublin, I could that as well. At that stage, I was 100% sure it was backscatter. Lloyd, EI7HBB reports hearing both beacons by backscatter as well.

Backscatter Sporadic-E: What is it? Refer to the diagram below...

The signal from the EI1CAH beacon (TX) is being propagated forward by an intense Sporadic-E region about 100-110kms above the Earth. The signal is then being reflected off something maybe 500kms or so away... maybe a range or mountains? The signal then returns by pretty much the same path and I hear it at my location (RX).

I've heard backscatter via Sporadic-E several times before on 10m and 6m. Back in the 'old days' when everyone was on either on SSB or CW, I remember beaming South to work stations in the UK on 50 MHz.

The signals seem to have a certain characteristic in that they are pretty constant but just at a very low level. This is what I was hearing... EI1CAH was a weak but constant signal for most of the time with the occasional jump.

The truth is that backscatter is probably there all of the time during Sporadic-E openings but we're not aware of it as the signals are so weak. When there is an intense Sporadic-E with the skip distances much shorter (e.g. <700kms), signals get a LOT stronger.

Imagine a signal being reflected off a distant mountain range which is 1500kms away which is a pretty normal skip distance for Sporadic-E at 40 MHz. Now imagine the range reduces to 500kms under intense Sporadic-E like there was on the 19th of May. Obeying the inverse square law, the transmitted signal at the mountain range would appear 9.5dB stronger. But crucially, this also applies to the reflected path resulting in an additional 9.5dB enhancement. This adds up to a 19dB improvement overall in signal which is a really big jump. 

Back in the 'old days' with SSB/CW, backscatter via Sporadic-E was something that was observed on an occasional basis. Now that we have digital modes like FT8 and PI4, we are 'hearing' signals that are much much weaker.

Assumptions about Propagation: It is for me a reminder that we should always question our assumptions about a propagation mode when we hear a weak signal. Is a weak signal from someone say 200-400kms away on 28/40/50 MHz really tropo, short skip Sporadic-E or via Sporadic-E backscatter?

When we look at those FT8 or WSPR maps at the end of the day, how were we hearing all of those stations in the 200km-500km skip zone? Meteor Scatter? Tropo? Back-Scatter? I think the real picture is a lot more complicated than we assume.

Practical Application: It's all very well wondering about the propagation mode but most people will want to know what is the practical application? Imagine say you are a serious 50 MHz station and you want to work a new country which is only 400kms away and there are mountains in the way. You should never assume that just pointing your beam at a wanted station will always result in a stronger signal. If the signal is weak but constant then it may be via backscatter and you'll have to look for the direction which gives the strongest signals.

Addendum

For Reference: This map from DXMaps shows the suggested maximum usable frequency (MUF) at around 12:00 UTC on the 19th of  May.

It clearly shows one area over the south of England. Note however that this map is generated by users reports and areas of Sporadic-E out over the ocean are not shown. There could be an intense area to the west of Ireland and it would go unreported.

This was the Jet Stream at the time...

Changes in the direction of the Jet Stream are associated with Sporadic-E openings.

Data: Just for my own benefit, I've kept a list of the PI4 decodes below.

Looking back at the start of the Sporadic-E season on 28 MHz - April 2021

For every day during the month of April 2021, I listened from about 08:00 to 22:00 UTC every day for FT8 signals on the 28 MHz band. For the first few days, I heard only a few countries every day. The chart below shows from the 7th to the 30th of April.

As can be seen from the chart, the second week of April continued at a low level with just a few countries heard every day. The 10th was one of those exceptions in that I didn't hear a single signal  despite listening all day. 

The chart clearly shows that the Sporadic-E season started on the 15th of April with the third week being in marked contrast to the second week.

Lyrid Meteor Shower: For Sporadic-E to occur, there needs to be a supply of metallic dust from the residue of meteors burning up in the atmosphere at a height of about 100kms. The first real meteor shower of the Spring is the Lyrids which goes from the 18th to the 25th of April and peaks on the 22nd.

Was the early arrival of the Lyrids responsible for the Sporadic-E season starting on the 15th and 16th. The exact start and finish of the shower seems to be different depending on what source you look at.

The 23rd of April is for me always a main date for Sporadic-E. I just noticed every year from my logbook that it was a date that stood out. It's probably no accident that it comes just a day after the peak of the Lyrids.

Methodology & shortcomings: In hindsight, I probably should have recorded the number of stations and countries on a day by day basis but I wasn't really planning to record the start of the season. The chart was just an idea I had once the month was over.

I was able to extract the number of countries heard on FT8 from my previous blog posts but the exact number of stations heard wasn't good enough that I would have confidence in the data for a chart.

As we are still near the bottom of the solar cycle, most of the signals that were heard were via Sporadic-E. It might be more difficult to repeat this test near the sunspot peak as there could be a F2 propagation in the mix as well.

I'll make a note in my calendar and I might repeat the exercise in 2022 and see if the results are the same.

Example of a 3600km+ opening on 144 MHz from Ireland to Russia - June 2020

I'm always interested to hear about exceptional VHF contacts or reception reports and I like to keep a record of them here on the blog to encourage more people to get active on the bands. I meant to put up this post months ago but it kind of got delayed! 😄

Back on the 16th of June 2020, there was a Sporadic-E opening on 144 MHz over eastern Europe with stations in the south of Russia working into Poland and the Czech Republic. What was really unusual was that it coincided with another opening further west from the UK & Ireland to the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine.

The map above shows the signals that were heard by Mark, EI3KD on the 2m FT8 frequency of 144.174 MHz. 

This is a log extract of what EI3KD heard...

20200616_060700 -21 0.3 866 ~ CQ UC6A KN84
20200616_060730 -15 0.3 865 ~ CQ UC6A KN84
20200616_061200 -11 0.5 705 ~ CQ SQ9IVD KN09
20200616_061330 -14 0.2 1397 ~ EI3KD UX2SB -18
20200616_061330 -12 0.1 724 ~ YO6OBK UW8SM KN28
20200616_065200 -5 0.3 1562 ~ OE5JFL RZ6DD -18
20200616_065400 -19 0.2 1126 ~ CQ OK1VOF JN89
20200616_065430 -11 0.4 1800 ~ US5FZ RA6C -12
20200616_065430 -20 0.2 1126 ~ CQ OK1VOF JN89
20200616_065800 -22 0.0 1486 ~ CQ RX6DN KN94
20200616_065930 -26 0.1 1485 ~ EI3KD RX6DN R-07
20200616_070330 -11 0.3 1088 ~ CQ 9A2RI JN65
20200616_070400 -7 0.3 1089 ~ CQ 9A2RI JN65
20200616_070430 -22 0.2 1090 ~ CQ 9A2RI JN65

The normal maximum distance for single hop Sporadic-E is in the region of 2300 kms. What is highly unusual here is that EI3KD heard four stations in the south of Russia which were in the region of 3500kms!

The longest distance was RZ6DD at 3638kms.

The propagation mode was double hop Sporadic-E and this is clear from the fact that stations at the mid-way point were being heard as well. What's not so clear is if the signal was reflected off the ground at the half-way point or if it was chordal hop with the signal going between two Sp-E clouds without touching the ground. Whatever it was, it's an exceptional distance for 144 MHz.

This is an extract from DXMaps showing the DX-Cluster reports on that day on 144 MHz which were over 2500kms...

First a word of caution! As we all know, some mistakes occur with DX spots with people putting in the wrong band or info data. However, there are enough reports there to show that something special was going on that day.

You'll note that G4RRA in the SW of England also heard RZ6DD but at the slightly lower distance of 3356kms. See addendum below.

Why does this matter?... Because if someone in Ireland can hear a station in Russia on 144 MHz who is 3600+ kms to the east then why not across the North Atlantic to Newfoundland which is even closer at 3200kms?

Surely even if the chance of double hop Sporadic-E over the North Atlantic is incredibly small, there must be times when there are single hop Sporadic-E openings from either side with 1000kms of tropo making up the difference?

Wouldn't it be interesting to have a permanent online receiver based in Newfoundland with a beam pointing east and listening all of the time on 144 MHz? Stations in western Europe could then beam west and listen for their own signals online to see if the path is open. Or people could just log in and check if the receiver is hearing one of the Trans-Atlantic beacons?

At the moment, the North Atlantic path could open up on 144 MHz and nobody will ever know because there is no-one listening at the Canadian end.

Addendum: Thanks to Paul G4RRA for the following info...

Here's how my screen looked during that event. Both Mark and I are always looking out for events like this which are very rare indeed in my experience.

This was only the second one I've participated in in over 40 years, at least I managed a QSO in the first one !

R6DB also mentioned seeing me on KST chat.  ...de Paul, G4RRA

Video: VHF Propagation Presentation by Jim Bacon, G3YLA

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Club are continuing with their successful Tuesday night lecture series. Recently, they had an interesting talk on VHF Propagation from meteorologist Jim Bacon, G3YLA.

Video...

The video above can be broken down as follows...

00:00 to 07:00... Introduction

07:00 to 10:25... GB2RS VHF Propagation Report - A brief outline of how the weekly bulletin is put together for the RSGB news.

10:25 to 28:30... Tropospheric Propagation - In this section, Jim covers elevated and surface ducts as well as the best time to watch any high pressure weather systems.

28:30 to 1:12:30... Sporadic-E - This section covers meteors which are the fuel for Sporadic-E and the various trigger mechanisms like atmospheric gravity waves due to mountains, thunderstorms and changes in the Jet Stream.

1:12:30 to 1:13:50... Rainscatter - This mode of propagation at microwave frequencies is briefly covered.

1:13:50 to 1:21:20... Propquest - Sporadic-E prediction website

1:21:20 to 1:23:30... Pulling it all together - GB2RS VHF Propagation Report

1:23:30... Q&A

Unusual Sporadic-E opening on 144 MHz in N Europe hints at possibility of Trans-Atlantic contact

In this post, we'll look at a recent Sporadic-E opening on 144 MHz in northern Europe and what it might mean for a trans-Atlantic contact on 2 metres.

First, the opening...

There was an extensive opening on 144 MHz on the evening of Monday the 13th of July 2020 as can be seen from the graphic above from DXMAPS.COM

Sporadic-E openings on 144 MHz are reasonably common in Europe but they are usually much further south. Radio amateurs in say the UK or Ireland are likely to catch several openings to say Spain or Italy during the months of May, June and July every year.

It is very unusual to have a Sporadic-E in northern Europe and it is rare for the radio amateurs in the UK or Ireland to hear the likes of Finland or the Baltic states on 144 MHz via Sporadic-E.

While the graphic above gives an illustration of the extent of the opening, let's have a look at some specific examples. The maps below generated by FT8 reports on the PSKReporter website are useful for examining the extent of the opening.

EI2FG on the south coast of Ireland was one of the most westerly stations listening on the FT8 frequency on 144 MHz for the opening.

The longest path was to UA1ALD at 2416 kms and the signal was +9dB which was certainly strong enough for an SSB contact. Note the beam heading... 55 degrees. OH6KTL was up at 44 degrees.

Note also that the path was open only to the northern part of Estonia, there was nothing further south.

UA1ALD... This is the FT8 sent/receive map for UA1ALD.

Note how concentrated the footprint is in the UK. There is no-one from the south-east of England shown.

ES4RM... Note how the results for ES4RM in the north of Estonia are pretty much the same with nothing from the south-east of England.

OH2FQV... This is the map for OH2FQV in the south-east of Finland.

Note the difference in the footprint in the UK compared to UA1ALD. This time, there are a lot more stations in the south-east of England except for an area south of London.

This suggests that the Sporadic-E cloud responsible for the 144 MHz opening was probably somewhere over the north of Denmark. What each station worked or heard was dependent on where they were relative to this Sporadic-E hot spot.

It's also amazing to see just how many stations in England are using FT8 on 144 MHz!

GI6ATZ... This is the map from GI6ATZ in the north-east of Ireland.

The more northerly location of GI6ATZ results in stations in Lithuania and Latvia being heard.

G7RAU... The send/receive map for G7RAU in the south-west corner of England shows that there was a 2445 km path open to OH6CT in the north of Finland, just three degrees or so south of the Arctic Circle.

Again, note the beam heading from G7RAU to OH6CT which was 35 degrees. The signal was -2dB which would have been enough for a CW contact.

OH6CT... From OH6CT's viewpoint, he was hearing the south-east of England this time and the rest of the UK and Ireland was missing.

Trans-Atlantic on 144 MHz??? .....First of all, lets recap.

a) Both G7RAU and EI2FG heard or were heard by stations on FT8 in Finland at beam headings of 35 and 44 degrees respectively i.e. very far to the north.

b) Both G7RAU and EI2FG heard or were heard at -2dB and +9dB respectively at a distance of about 2400 kms. Note that this is about the maximum distance for one hop Sporadic-E.

Now lets look at the path from St.John's in Newfoundland to the south-west of Ireland and the north-west of Spain.

First off, the beam headings of 68 and 80 degrees are a lot further south than the beam headings experienced by EI2FG and G7RAU. If there is a Sporadic-E opening on 144 MHz in the north of Europe then why wouldn't it also happen out over the North Atlantic?

I know some might argue that Newfoundland is closer to the geomagnetic pole and that might impact on Sporadic-E formation but Newfoundland is also further south than Ireland.

While the one hop of 2400 kms ends up in the Atlantic, the remaining distance to span isn't huge. Just another 800 kms or so would reach the south-west of Ireland. Just another 1000 kms would reach Spain. Both of these distances could be easily bridged by a tropo duct forming over the ocean to the west of Ireland or Spain.

Surely there must be times when there are Sporadic-E openings on 144 MHz to the east of Newfoundland? And there must be times when these openings coincide with tropo over the eastern part of the Atlantic? I would argue that there must be times when the path across the North Atlantic on 144 MHz is open although I would acknowledge that these openings are pretty rare.

I'd suggest that one of the biggest problems is the lack of activity on the western end. I don't believe there is anyone in Newfoundland transmitting or listening on 2-metres for signals across the Atlantic. For all we know, some of the trans-Atlantic CW beacons in Ireland, England or France may well have made it across the ocean to Newfoundland but there was nobody there listening to report it.

Look at the distance from Newfoundland to the Azores (CU). That's within Sporadic-E or meteor scatter distance and yet as far as I am aware, there has never been a contact on 144 MHz from Newfoundland to the Azores.

Solution... The most obvious one to me is the establishment of a station on Newfoundland that can be operated remotely, just like D4VHF on the Cape Verde Islands. Something like two stacked 5-element Yagi antennas beaming at 70 degrees with 100 watts?

Digital modes like FT8 could be used to see if the path was viable by transmitting and receiving on the 2-metre frequency of 144.174 MHz.

It is of course easy to say how it might happen, it's another thing for a group to implement it.

RSGB presentations on Sporadic-E propagation

For anyone with an interest in the low VHF bands, Sporadic-E is the main mode of propagation during the summer months.

During the RSGB conventions of 2017 and 2018, there were presentations on the subject which are shown below. One of the take away points from the videos is the importance of the Jet Stream and how it can trigger Sporadic-E over certain points.

2018... In this presentation, Jim Bacon G3YLA gives an overview of where we are with current understanding of Sporadic E.



2017... In this presentation, Jim Bacon, G3YLA gives an outline of Sporadic-E while Chris Deacon, G4IFK talks about the polarisation of signals.

Reception of the OZ7IGY beacon on 40 MHz - Fri 6th July 2018

Both 28 MHz and 50 MHz were wide open on Friday the 6th of July 2018 with plenty of strong Sporadic-E signals on the bands. One of the best things about monitoring FT8 signals on 28 MHz is that I can get a very good idea of where the band is open to.

Since I started listening in mid-May, the 28 MHz band has been open every day but openings from Ireland to Denmark are the exception rather than the norm. Openings from Ireland to the South to Spain / Portugal or the South-East to Italy/Germany seem a lot more common.

Today was an exception and as soon as I saw FT8 spots from near Copenhagen on 28 MHz, I listened on 40.071 MHz for the OZ7IGY beacon.  As can be see from the decoded PI4 spots below, I was hearing the 40 MHz beacon from about 13:20 UTC till 21:00 UTC with some gaps.

The 40 MHz signal was never that strong although my use of an indoor 50 MHz antenna probably has a lot to do with that.

This is currently the only signal in Europe on the 40 MHz band.

OZ7IGY beacon decodes below... (Signals stronger than -10dB sigal to noise ratio in bold)

French Guyana worked on 28 MHz...

Tues 8th May 2018... The Sporadic-E season is now well under way with plenty of signals being heard on the 10 metre band. On Tuesday the 8th of May, the band was open to part of Europe like Germany, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, North Italy and Spain. As Sporadic-E signals go, it was nothing out of the ordinary with most around the 1200 to 2000km distance.

FY5KE... In the evening (16:45 UTC), there was an opening to South America which was interesting. I heard a station in Brazil on SSB and I worked FY5KE in French Guyana on CW with the first call.

Perhaps not the rarest of calls but interesting all the same. It's great to have the 10 metre vertical working properly again after repairing it last weekend.

The distance was 6600 kms which was pretty good. Almost certainly, the first hop from Ireland was via Sporadic-E out into the North Atlantic...maybe 1500kms or so... and the rest of the roughly 4000 kms was via other multiple hops.

Even though the Solar Flux is down around 70, F2 layer propagation might be possible from more southern latitudes like Spain, hence the need for the first Sp-E hop from Ireland.

Fishing buoy... I also came across a fishing buoy beacon on 28.420 MHz. This one was giving out a 5 second carrier followed by the letter 'D' (I think as it was very weak) and then would stay silent for 2m 25s. As far as I know, these are used to mark the location of fishing nets. Even though they are illegal, they seem to be pretty common and I would guess that this one was probably operating somewhere out in the Atlantic? The fact I heard it around the same time as the opening to South America would suggest this to be the case.

18th July...another opening on 50 MHz

18th July......The summer Sporadic-E season seems to be on the wane a bit with more days on 50 MHz with no openings. The 18th of July was an exception as the band seemed to be open to somewhere most of the day with brief surges in activity.

I worked 20 stations in 15 locator squares over 4 seperate activity periods. Much of the activity seemed to be from Scandanavia and I even managed to pick up 2 new locator squares up there....something that is unusual considering that I have been on 50 MHz for about 18 years ;o)

The most unusual contact was when W3UR in Maryland called me! I had to ask him to repeat his call as I was sure I had made a mistake...but no, it was W3UR in FM19. It's kind of funny to think that W3UR would end up calling someone in Europe on 50 MHz with home made 2 element wire beam in the attic of their house pointing the wrong direction!

It makes me wonder what could I work if I had an antenna for 50 MHz outdoors?? Maybe next year...

26th June 2009...Big opening to NA on 6m

Big opening on the 26th of June to North America and the Caribbean. Needless to say, with a 2 element beam in the attic pointing east, signals were incredibly weak here.

Opening 26th June 2009...Yellow tracks (50 MHz), Blue tracks (28 MHz)

To put it into context.... 1) My take off to the west isn't great so height above local ground has a big impact. With the antenna in the attic, local houses are also in the way. 2) The 2 element has a front to back ratio of about 10-12 dB so signals coming from the west were getting attenuated a lot. 3) The antenna is indoors.....a loss of probably another few dB. Taken all together, the losses are probably around 15dB when compared to say a 2 element outdoors at the same height pointing west. (15dB is the difference between someone running 5 watts and 150 watts). 

In the early part of the evening, I could really hear very little....only German stations from the east via 1 hop Sporadic-E beaming this way towards North America. Eventually, signals improved slightly and I could just about hear FM5AA (2/1) and V29JKV (319). From North America, some of the stations that I heard were VE1YX (4/1), K1TOL (519), N9XG (519) and K4PI (529) among some others. Just to prove the point that the beam has a reasonable front to back, I could hear G and GW stations on tropo from the east (~300 kms) and were much stronger all evening. Highlight of the day however was the one and only contact I managed to make! I called KY5R in EM64 who was just above the noise level and somehow he managed to hear my 50 watts on cw. Alabama from Ireland on 6 metres with an antenna in the attic pointing the wrong direction.....amazing. 

Here is a selection of EI related dx spots from the night... EI7IX 50208.0 K9UHF en53io53 tnx 0038 27 Jun United States W1DYJ 50140.0 EI7IX FN42IO53 0013 27 Jun Ireland N3CR 50140.0 EI7IX 0000 27 Jun Ireland N5DG-@ 50095.0 EI1IP 2354 26 Jun Ireland N4GN 50095.0 EI2IP IO61 2354 26 Jun Ireland N1BAA 50140.0 EI7IX IO53 > FM16 2353 26 Jun Ireland W3ATO 50140.0 EI7IX FN20IO53 2343 26 Jun Ireland K8YTO 50095.2 EI2IP IO61<>EN82 2342 26 Jun Ireland VE3DO-@ 50140.0 EI7IX IO53>EN94 huge e/c pileup 2337 26 Jun Ireland N2CG 50140.0 EI7IX IO53 59 into NNJ FN20wv 2332 26 Jun Ireland VA3XJ 50140.0 EI7IX EN82MHIO53 loud in en82 2320 26 Jun Ireland K1DAT 50051.8 EI0SIX/B 549 >FN42 2248 26 Jun Ireland EI9FVB 50167.5 KB8U EN71sw, Washtenaw cty MI 2236 26 Jun United States EI9JF 50089.9 K4BI Jim EM74 2221 26 Jun United States EI9FVB 50178.1 WD5K EM12nr, Dallas cty TX 2211 26 Jun United States VE3EN 50150.0 EI0CL tnx ! 2205 26 Jun Ireland EI9FVB 50208.4 KB8U EN71sw, Washtenaw cty MI 2202 26 Jun United States EI7GL-@ 50005.3 K1TOL FN44IO51 cq..in the bcn sectio 2202 26 Jun United States EI9FVB 50150.0 EI9FVB Clg cq dx NA 2155 26 Jun Ireland EI9FVB 50187.7 K8MD EN82bq, Livingston cty MI 2152 26 Jun United States EI9FVB 50200.0 N8CJK EN84gg, Iosco cty MI 2148 26 Jun United States EI9FVB 50128.4 WC2K Clg you here 2125 26 Jun United States VO1KVT 50167.0 EI3GYB IO53<>GN29LF 2123 26 Jun Ireland EI9JF 50081.0 AA1ON 579 2122 26 Jun United States K4YMQ 50146.0 EI2JD EM63IO63 2111 26 Jun Ireland NZ3M 50205.0 EI4EY 2111 26 Jun Ireland W5THT 50215.0 EI4EY 2109 26 Jun Ireland W2YR 50147.0 EI2JD 2105 26 Jun Ireland W2YR 50205.0 EI4EY 2102 26 Jun Ireland VE1SKY 50205.0 EI4EY FN74<>IO52 2046 26 Jun Ireland IK4IDF 50147.0 EI2JD 2031 26 Jun Ireland EI2IP 50110.0 WP4G cq cw 2008 26 Jun Puerto Rico EI2IP 50122.0 8R1DB cq still here 2007 26 Jun Guyana W4UDH-@ 50185.0 EI4EY 55 in EM52 2000 26 Jun Ireland FM5AA 50120.0 EI9FVB FK94> EI9FVB 50120.0 FM5AA FK94IO51QV 1957 26 Jun Martinique EI7GL-@ 50045.4 OX3VHF/B GP60qqIO51 2510 kms 1952 26 Jun Greenland EI7IX 50045.0 OX3VHF/B 599 over 1 hour 1944 26 Jun Greenland EI7IX 50104.0 V29JKV fk97io53 up .5kc 1939 26 Jun Antigua & Ba EI7IX 50104.0 V29JKV cq 539 1913 26 Jun Antigua & Ba EI2IP 50117.0 TZ6EI Still in most evening 1843 26 Jun Mali EI7IX 50175.0 WB4SLM em82io53 tnx 1842 26 Jun

Sporadic-E on 144 MHz...

Saturday, 20th June........In the evening, I noticed that stations in the UK (G/GW) were working EA/CT on 144 MHz on the Dx-cluster. Having no antenna for the band, I sent Alan EI3EBB a text to notify him and went back to 50 MHz.

Not long afterwards, I noticed that EI stations were now working CT/EA on 2m so I decided to have a listen....

I wired up my old Yaesu FT290R.....pulled out the telescopic whip on the front of it......held it up in the air with one hand......while tuning around with the other ;o)

Heard EI3EBB about 5/9 working CT2GUR and what was amazing was that I could hear CT2GUR!!

Got the microphone and plugged it in........called the CT2 station........'Who is EI7 station?'

Called him again..........he got my full call this time and gave me a 5/2 signal report.

CT2 from EI on 144 MHz using 2.5 watts into a telescopic whip on a rig that was indoors! If I had the rig next to a window with a good view to the south then I'd say it was fair enough. But it wasn't! To the south was a concrete wall about 1 metre away and the view out the window is to the west. Imagine what my signal would have been like with any type of outdoor antenna!

Amazing conditions. It must be one of the strangest contacts that I ever had on 144 MHz.



Postscript.......Message from Paulo....
Hi  John...I've been watching your blog and noticed in our fabulous contact at 144, that since their conditions FT290 2.5W with whip antenna! Spathe! I register it at the time the contact but I never thought that their conditions were such, my setup at the time 2x17el in. H +800 W + LNA


My new 144 setup: 4x12LFA+1.6K+LNA

Thank you for the wonderful contact...maybe in a next listen sporadic!

73´s de Paulo, CT2GUR

Nov 2008...10 metres in Cork, Ireland (EI)

Now that I have a reasonable aerial again for 10 metres, I am going to record my observations for the month....

Solar Flux figures (Red line) for May 2008 to Nov 2008. More or less at or just below 70.

Solar Flux figures....
As of the start of November, we are just coming out of the sunspot minimum and conditions are very poor. Probably not the best time to get going on 10 metres again ;o)
The solar flux at the start of the month is around 69 which is very low. Direct F2 propogation would seem to be unlikely at the moment.

Reports........
Tues 4th November 2008.....
Nothing at all heard on 10 metres. Listening to 11 metres, I heard some weak signals from North Italy and Spain. This was probably weak Sporadic-E, unusual for this time of year.
Wed 5th November 2008.....
Around mid-day, there was a weak Sporadic-E opening on 10 metres. I heard...
OK0EG on 28.282.46 MHz (1,690 kms). Signal about 419 (OK0EG beacon ten watts)(OK Beacon Website = 28,2825. OK0EG, nr Hradec Kralove, LOC JO70vf, ASL 240m, Ant Dipole omni, ERP 10w)
DL0IGI on 28.205.13 MHz (1,460 kms). Signal about 419. (DL0IGI JN57mt BEACON PWR 48W). The website suggests that it was 150 watts but the DX cluster confirms that I heard it ok.
I1M on 28.180.50 MHz (1,490 kms). This one was very weak, about 319. Nearest town = Bordighera. Locator = JN33UT. 5 watts to a 5/8 GP???
On 11 metres, weak German and later Spanish CB stations were heard. All signals heard were typical of single hop Sporadic-E.
Thursday 6th November 2008........
Very quiet today. Nothing at all on 10 metres. Heard a very weak Spanish station on 11 metres. Most likely weak Sporadic-E.
Friday 7th November 2008........
Another very quiet day. Nothing at all heard on 10 metres. On 27 MHz around noon, there were a few weak stations. One from Germany, one from France and one Spanish. There was very little activity and very little was heard at any one time. It was almost as if there was weak Sporadic-E conditions and only occasionally, it would get strong enough to allow propogation. Almost as if the footprint was very small and it would change very fast.
Saturday 8th November 2008.......
There seemed to be a good bit more activity today. Even the DX cluster had loads of spots. When I first checked, 10 metres was dead yet there were signals on 11 metres. As usual, it is very difficult to identify where these CB stations were coming from but they sounded Italian and Spanish. A CB station from Poland was also heard. Most of the signals were pretty weak, s '1' to '2'. The strongest station heard was s '5' but that was exceptional.Eventually, 10 metres opened up but the signal were a lot weaker than those on the CB band. I heard a ZS6 in Johannesburg but at best, he was 3/1. On the CW portion of the band, there was a OK/OM contest on as I heard CT1JLZ (max 419) and 7X0RY (max 419). An OK station was heard as well calling one of these stations.All of these signals were probably Sporadic-E although the ZS station was probably a combination of Sporadic-E for the first hop to the South and then F2 after that. Listening for the last few days, the band seems to open around mid-day. With the Summer Sporadic-E, it often seemed to open in the early morning or evening as well.
Sunday 9th November 2008.......
It was very poor today. Even though I could not listen at midday, both 10 and 11 metres sounded completely dead. Even the DX cluster had very few spots, especially from the UK or Northern Europe.
Monday 10th November 2008......
Nothing on 10 metres today, even the cluster seemed quiet. Down on 27 MHz, there seemed to be the typical weak signals around midday.....Italy, France? and Spain. The guy in Italy was running 400 watts!! Crazy power for what is supposed to be 'Citizen Band' radio :o( Anyway, even with his 400 watts, he was pretty weak so the band was just barely open. No big signals...just a few 3/1 to 4/1 signals.
Tuesday 11th Novenber 2008......
Today turned out to be pretty reasonable on the radio. Around 10:30am, I had a look around the CB band and there was a strong signal from someone near Paris in France, Sporadic-E without a doubt. Checked the Dxcluster...not much on 10 metres. Tuned around 28.2 MHz and starting hearing beacons...open at last!
Beacons....I heard the OE3XAC beacon (JN78sb - 1750 kms) on 28.188.15 MHz, DL0IGI beacon (JN57mt - 1460 kms) on 28.205.19 MHz and the DM0ING beacon (JN49ax - 1170 kms). All of these beacons are more or less due East (95 deg) from here. Then the band began to open up to the South-East. Next signal heard was the F5ZWE beacon (JN02tw - 1240 kms) on 28.242.9 MHz. It is a very distinctive beacon with it's slow cw and pips between messages. This turned out to be the most consistent beacon of the day making an appearance on and off for around 2 hours. Next signal heard was the DK0TEN beacon (JN47nt - 1330 kms) on 28.258.03 MHz. This was just after 11am and that was the last German signal that I heard for the day. Just as I was tuning up out of the beacon band, I came accross 2 QRSS or very slow speed beacons. The first one was I1YRB (JN33sf - 1530 kms) on 28.322.19 MHz, weak but audible when it gave it's ID at normal speeds. Almost on the same frequency (28.321.95 MHz), there was another QRSS beacon but because it was so weak and because the other beacon was so close in frequency, it was impossible to identify it. As far as I can tell....all I got were "iv....jn55v....qrss....3".
SSB......so on up to the SSB part of the band. F4FAZ was there with a big 5/9 signal from a location to the East of Marseilles. That was it...one big signal! Either no one was on or the footprint of the Sporadic-E propogation was small?
Beacons....Back down to check the beacons. Heard the EA4Q beacon (IN80wc - 1400 kms) on 28.263.0 Mhz near Madrid. Heard the F5ZUU beacon (JN24il - 1270 kms) on 28.241.62 MHz with only 5 watts from the South East of France.
DX....time to look around the cw portion of the band. Came accross a signal on 28.024 MHz....weak cw but the transmissions were very short...like a DX or contest station would be. Call sounded unusual so I knew it must be different....listened 2 to 3 times before I got the call 100%....7Q7BP in Malawi, Southern Africa!!...somewhere in the region of 8500 kms!! Even though he is not too strong, I give him a call with 100 watts...get him first call...exchange reports...7Q7 in the log!! My 1st contact on 10 metres in about 5 years ;o)
Tune around again...hear F5JLH on cw. Keep tuning...another weak cw signal...sounds unusual again and it's long! Listen a few times again to make sure....3B8DB in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean!! Give him a call...get back 'EI7??'...try again...gets it, exchange reports and 3B8DB is in the log! So maybe this CB half wave isn't so bad after all? Certainly, in the direction of 7Q7 and 3B8, the antenna is not clearing the house and is obstructed somewhat by the house itself. Without a doubt, working them on cw made the contacts possible. If it had been on SSB, I might have worked the 7Q7 but I doubt if I would have worked 3B8, the signals were just too weak for that. The unusual thing is that later when I checked my logbook, I had worked 3B8DB before on SSB on 10 metres...back in July 1988...20 years ago!! I see that back then I was using a home brew J-stick half wave so my aerials haven't improved much in that time ;o)
50 MHz....time to have a look around on 6 metres even though the CB half wave is poor on that band. Tune around...EI0SIX is there as usual....keep tuning..another signal! It's the EA3SIX beacon in JN01vo (1370 kms). Although that was the only Sporadic-E signal I heard on the band, conditions must be reasonably good if the MUF has gone as high as 50 MHz.
Back to 10m...and this period from 12:00 to 13:00 was the busiest part of the opening with the following heard.....IZ1GLX (cw), EA1ABT (ssb), F4DPT (ssb), CT1BH (ssb) and EA4GL (ssb). Eventually the signals began to fade out. Around 13:20, I found an unusual beacon.... C30P on 28.256.0 from the Principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees (JN02sm - 1280kms). I found this beacon by accident because it is very easy to miss it. It transmits for a short period giving it's ID and message and then it stops for about 1 minute....no dots, no signal, nothing! Unless you happen to be listening at the right time, you would never know it was there.
Signals slowly get weaker until the only signal left on the band is the EA3TEN beacon in JN01vo (1370kms) at around 13:40. Eventually even that fades until there is nothing left on the band. Tune down 1 MHz and there is a French station on the CB band at 5/7! Also heard over the next hour were some Spanish and Portugese stations until even these fade away.
Conclusions on todays opening...
1) The Sporadic-E started in the East and slowly moved to the South East and then South. I've seen this happen before on 6 metres during the Summer months.
2) Like the other days in November, the Sporadic-E signals seemed to peak around noon. During the Summer months, there are often 2 peaks...one in the morning and one during the evening.
3) The 7Q7 and 3B8 contacts were no doubt due to a Sporadic-E hop from Ireland to somewhere near Spain and from there via F2 to the DX stations. It really does emphasise the importance of Sporadic-E for DX contacts on 10 metres during sunspot minima. Sporadic-E allows stations at my latitude (~52 deg N) to get access to F2 propogation which is possible from Southern Europe.
4) My cw is rusty!! Ooooo... ;o)
Wednesday 12th November 2008.....
Today was in many ways almost the same as yesterday except that there were fewer signals. The CB band began to open up around 11:00 with a station in Belgium heard. Checked out the beacon band on 28 Mhz and the following beacons were heard....DL0IGI (JN57mt ), DM0ING (JN49ax) and DK0TEN (JN47nt)...all pretty weak signals. Eventually, these beacons and the activity faded away around. The band seemed closed arond 12:00 except for a single French CB station down on 27 MHz, all alone with a 5/7 signal!! It was almost as if the footprint of the Sporadic-E propogation was coming down in a small area of France and there alone.
At around 13:00, the band began to open up again with a weak Italian CB station making an appearance. Back up to check the beacons and the French beacon F5ZWE in JN02tw makes an appearance on 28.243.0 MHz. It peaks at 529, not too strong but it was still the strongest beacon heard today. It is also seems, like yesterday, to be one of the most persistent as when I check back 30 minutes later, it is still there although it was bwginning to fade at that stage. I also had a listen for the C30P beacon as it is in the same locator square. It was audible when it made it's appearance but pretty weak.
After about 13:30, the signals faded out on 10 metres but the CB band seemed to be busy with weak Spanish stations for at least another 2 hours.
Overall today, the CB band stayed open longer but the signals on 10m and 11m were a lot weaker. Yet again, all signals seemed to be due to Sporadic-E propogation.
On a side note, I also heard a CB station from near Thurles in Tipperary on tropo. His signal was around only about 4/1 but at a distance of around 100 kms, it suggests that this old CB half wave may not be so bad after all.
For the record, the solar flux was at 71 today, no real change from last week.
Thursday 13th November 2008.....
The band opened up today just after 10:00 UTC. Some CB stations from Luxembourg and Sweden were heard around 10:20. That was the first time that I had heard a Scandinavian country this month. Checked the 10 metre band also and the following beacons were heard over the next hour....OE3XAC (JN78sb), DL0IGI (JN57mt), LA4TEN (JO28wl - 1160 kms), LA5TEN (JO59jp near Oslo), DK0TEN (JN47nt), SK5AE (JO89kk) and SK0CT (JO89xk). After this (11:20), signals began to fade. It was almost as if the band had been open but the the MUF was only high enough to support propagation to 2 areas....1) the Southern part of Norway and Sweden and 2) the southern part of Germany.
11:40..the German beacon DM0ING (JN49ax) makes an appearance. The French beacon F5ZWE (JN02tw) shows up as well indicating that the band is opening towards the South-East as well.
11:50...with the exception of a few weak beacons and some weak French CB stations, both 10m and 11m sound very quiet. A beacon from North Germany is heard....DB0UM in JO73ce, only 4 watts into a vertical!
12:04....the LA4TEN beacon is still there. It has been in and out for around 90 minutes.
12:10...another French beacon, F5ZUU in JN24il with only 5 watts to a vertical, F5ZWE is still sounding well (519).
12:20...the band begins to open up further South with EA4Q (IN80wc) in Cuenca near Madrid.
12:50...the F5ZWE beacon is now peaking 549, the strongest beacon all day. Considering it is in the same locator square, I tune and wait for the Andorran beacon C30P..it appears albeit weakly.
Bands seem quiet though and the propogation moves back East again...OE3XAC (419) and DM0ING show up. On SSB, DB1NT is heard.
13:40...check the CB bands...very quiet.
13:45...F5ZWE/B is back again!! What a great little beacon! After that, things fade away until around 15:00, both 10m and 11m seem dead.
I later found an interesting map which shows most of the beacons above.
18:30...check the DX-cluster and notice that EI2IP spotted a strong PY (Brazil) station around 17:30. Would I have heard it if I was here??? I doubt it as I have a hill in that direction. I have often seen that before on 6 metres and on 10 metres....anyone here on the South coast of Ireland seem to be able to exploit openings to South America when the band appears dead. It's almost as if the signals are coming in at an extremely low angle. Any hills in the way or if you move inland, you lose access to these openings.
Friday 14th November 2008.....
Band opened up around 10:30 with some very weak CB stations on 11m. Checked 10 metres and heard a very weak beacon just below 28.2 but was unable to ID. In the next 10 minutes, I heard a CB station from France and one calling himself 20ET??? which would suggest Norway?!?! If it was, it was the only signal I heard that far North all day.
10:47...The French beacon F5ZWE/B makes an appearance with a good 529 signal. A few minutes later, C30P appears. Also heard is a weak CB pirate on 28.235 MHz :o(
11:10...EA4Q near Madrid appears with it's 5 watts into a ground plane antenna.
11:20...Spots on the DX Cluster suggest that the EA4Q beacon is been heard near Berlin and in central Italy. This would suggest that Sporadic-E region is over France and to the South of it also.
11:30...The French beacon F5ZWE/B is still there but soon fades as the propogation becomes mainly from the South.
12:00....and 12:30....the EA4 beacon is still there, by far the most consistent beacon of the day.
13:00...I see a G3 station in England spotting some CT beacons on 50 MHz. I tune around (...with my CB half wave!) and heard CT0SIX weakly in IN51ne on 50.031.7 MHz.
13:20 and 13:55...EA4Q/B still going strong at 519.
14:14....Portugese CB station heard.
Not long after that, the band begins to close. Open for about 4 hours and mainly from the South to South-East.
Saturday 15th November 2008.....
Around 10:15, I started hearing some CB signals on 11 metres, all very weak. Around 10:26, I checked the DX Cluster and noticed that EI2IP (~40 kms to my North-East) had spotted IT9BLB in Sicily on 28 MHz SSB with a 5/9 signal at 10:06! I listened on this frequency (~10:28) and I could hear a very weak signal. Did the signal fade?....or was it that I just wasn't hearing it??? When I first saw the spot, I thought....Sicily on 10m at 5/9 = F2 propogation. But, it didn't fit.......1) Solar flux is down around 70 anddirect F2 from this latitude is unlikely 2) If there was F2, I'd have expected something further away, out around the 3,500 to 4,000 kms mark like TA or 5B4. Sicily is about 2,400 kms from here and angle of radiation for F2 propogation would be around 8 degrees. Most of the signals that I have been hearing recently on Sporadic-E are around 1,500 kms away which would suggest that they are coming in around 4 degrees. How come I wasn't hearing signals at 8 degrees elevation???
So, I had a look at the map again...the North-West corner of Sicily might be at the limit of 1 hop Sporadic-E. Checked out IT9BLB on the net and sure enough, he was located in Palermo on the North West corner of Sicily!! The signal that EI2IP had heard was practically near the limit of 1 hop Sporadic-E. It was coming in at an extremely low angle, probably 1 degree or less. Perhaps the signal had faded by the time I tuned in???........but I doubt if I would have heard it anywhere near as well with a vertical half wave only 4 metres above ground level and with obstructions in that direction.
It's a good reminder that 10 metres is almost in a way, the lowest VHF band. You have to get those aerials up high and in the clear so that you will have a low angle of radiation. To work serious DX on 10m, you need to exploit those low angle signals.
So, back to today...12:07...heard some Spanish CB stations on 11 metres. Overall, just bits and pieces but nothing consistent. I saw a G station spotting V51AS (Namibia) on 28 MHz SSB. I listened....I could hear something extremely weak, maybe 2/1 max. Then all of a sudden he came out of the noise...4/1 calling QRZ...I called him...nothing...and I mean nothing, he was gone. Did he turn off?? It was strange how he got so strong all of a sudden.
I began to wonder if it might not be a meteor burst that enhanced his signal between EI and say EA and then on to the F2 propogation? I know the Leonids meteor shower is supposed to peak next Monday and there are supposed to be increasing number of meteors from the 14th onwards. To check the meteor theory, I tuned to the frequency of the LA4TEN beacon that was a nice signal 2 days ago. I had heard nothing that far North today and I might hear some bursts. As soon as I tuned in though at 13:42, there it was! Very weak, about 2/1 but I got enough parts of the call for a positive ID. Meteor Scatter or Sporadic-E??? Who knows...
Certainly down on the CB bands today, I have heard bursts of signals which sound English and sound like they might be meteor scatter. Next Monday might be interesting...
Sunday 16th November 2008.....
I was missing for a lot of today. I see that an EI station spotted V51AS on 28 MHz cw so there must have been some Sporadic-E and F2 about to the South.
Monday 17th November 2008.....
First a general report....I had the radio on in the background and as far as I could tell there was no Sporadic-E all day. The DX Cluster was also very quiet.
Since today was supposed to be the peak for the Leonids Meteor shower, I had a listen this morning for 1 hour between 08:35 and 09:35 on 28.215.1 MHz for the GB3RAL beacon. I heard several pings and a very long burst but the signals were very weak and I was not able to get a positive ID. I sent an e-mail to someone about it so hopefully they can confirm what I heard.
Down on the CB bands around 10:00, I heard some evidence of some nice meteor scatter signals. One CB station in Cambridgeshire (5/7) mentioned that conditions were "very sporadic" ;o)....in other words, the signals were up and down. Also heard on 27 MHz ssb was someone mobile (5/3) on the M25 around London. I presume most of the CB stations just thought it was 'good skip conditions' without realising that their signals were coming off meteor trails left in the upper atmosphere!! I heard a few French CB stations as well but most were of short duration. Probably due to meteor scatter rather than Sporadic-E.
Tuesday 18th November 2008.....
Today was pretty dead on 10 and 11 metres. I heard bits of European signals on 11 metres but nothing much. I listened for the GB3RAL beacon again this morning and heard a few pings.
Wednesday 19th November 2008....
Real sunspot minimum stuff where 10 metres sounds more like 2 metres than a HF band. Bit's of Europeans heard on 11 metres. I heard one strong Swiss SB station but when I scanned around...nothing! Might have been just a meteor burst.
Thursday 20th November 2008....
Even quieter than yesterday.
Friday 21st November 2008....
Missed today. There were a few spots on the cluster for English stations so maybe the 10 metre band was open?
Saturday 22nd November 2008....
Weak opening for about 30 minutes around 11:30. Heard a few CB stations on 27 MHz, sounded French. On 10 metres, the band was open from here (Cork - IO51) to the South of France. Heard F5ZWE/B and C30P in JN02. Max 419.
Sunday 23rd November 2008...
I missed today. However I noticed that on the DX Cluster, Robbie EI2IP who is about 40 kms away had spotted several beacons in LA, SM, DL, OK. Even though I am only using a half wave, it's probably safe to say that I would probably have heard something and should count this day as an active one.
Monday 24th November 2008...
Missed today. Cluster looked pretty dead anyway.
Tuesday 25th November 2008...
Another dead day...
Wednesday 26th November 2008...
Very short opening today. 10 metres and 11 metres opened for about 30 minutes.
10:55....heard some weak CB stations in North France and Poland on 27 MHz.
11:04....heard the German beacon DB0UM in JO73ce on 28.278.7 MHz. Pretty weak, maybe 419 max. The mid point of this path was somewhere over ON/PA (Belgium/Netherlands). What was interesting was that a few minutes late, F5TMJ in the South of France spotted the SK5AE beacon in Sweden. The mid point for his path was roughly the same as mine. You often get this on 6m metres and 2 metres where there is one Sporadic-E hot spot and the propogation paths resulting from it are like spokes of a wheel.
11:25...bands dead again.
Thursday 27th November 2008...
Turned on at 10:00 and there was a weak opening in progress. Judging by the DX Cluster, it wasn't open too long anyway beforehand, maybe 20 minutes?
10:00 Heard weak Italian CB stations on 27 MHz.
10:19 Hearing weak French CB
10:40 Hearing the French beacon F5ZUU on 28.241.4 MHz. Signal is weak...perhaps 319 to 419 max.
11:15 Band has closed again. Nothing on 27 or 28 MHz.
The opening today was typical of what I have heard this month....band opens for maybe 2 hours or so, signals are weak. However, it was a bit unusual in that it seemed to open earlier than usual.
Friday 28th November 2008...
Dead quiet today.
Saturday 29th November 2008...
Today was the first day of the CQWW CW contest. It's amazing that when there are high powered stations constantly transmitting, every possible propogation path shows up. As a result, today was unusual in that while the CB band appeared dead, 10 metres sprung to life. Perhaps 'sprung' is a bit of an over exageration in that what was spotted on the DX Cluster made it obvious the limitations of using a CB half wave vertical antenna at only 4 metres above ground level.
11:25...The band opened for me with some Sporadic-E to the South. The Spanish contest station EE2W was heard very weakly, perhaps 419 max. It was obvious from the cluster that with a better antenna at a greater height, I would have heard a lot more.
12:10...The French beacon F5ZUU in JN24 was heard at around 319. At much the same time, EI2IP about 40 kms spotted a Portugese beacon at 599. Nothing audible here. South is a direction in which my local hill begins to get nasty. Again, more height on the antenna would have made a big difference.
Other than that, I was really hearing nothing other than the contest station 3X5A buried in the noise. From the snippets I was getting, I could tell that he was not too busy with plenty of CQ Contest calls. Just left the rig on the frequency while I worked away on something else until about 12:29, he popped up out of the noise to a 549. Quick call, quick exchange and 3X5A was in the log. And sure enough, he started to fade back down into the noise again. Other than that, nothing else was heard although stuff was getting spotted on the DX Cluster by EI and G stations. Todays lesson.......like 6 metres, you really need a beam and /or a good site to fully exploit openings on the band.
Sunday 30th December 2008...
I listened during the morning until 12:00. Even though the contest was in full blast, there wasn't a signal here on 28 MHz. Even the cluster didn't suggest that the band was open anywhere else in the UK or Ireland. When I checked again around 16:00, the cluster suggested that the band had opened during the early afternoon. Would I have heard anything???