Tracking the AF6IM Pico-Balloon on 28 MHz from the USA to China - Oct 2023

For the last 12-months or so, I have been being monitoring the WSPR beacon frequency of 28.1246 MHz nearly every day and uploading the reception reports to the WSPRNet site.

I noticed recently an unusual signal out in the Mid-Atlantic.. AF6IM. I thought at first it was a bogus WSPR report but then I noticed that I had heard the signal several times and it was moving!

After some checking, I discovered that the signal was actually from a Pico-Balloon with a 13-milliwatt WSPR transmitter underneath it. It was launched by Mark, AF6IM in California at the end of Sept 2023 and it has been slowly drifting eastwards since. At the time of writing on the 26th of October, it is over China.

The map above shows my reception reports of the 13mW beacon. It only operates for a few hours every day as it is solar powered and has no battery. That's why the signal is shown as small batches of signal locations in a row.

The pictured is further complicated by the fact that Mark actually had two 28 MHz Pico-Balloons in the air over the last few weeks.

The design of the WSPR transmitter is shown above and you can find more information about it HERE

The antenna for this 28-MHz transmitter is a very thin wire which is 2.54 metres long which is a quarter wave on 10m.

This photo by AF6IM shows the pico-balloon at launch. As the balloon gains altitude and the pressure reduces, the size of the balloon will get larger.

The solar cells are not shown.

Even though the original balloon looks very small, it's still able to keep a very small payload aloft at a high altitude. The chart above shows the launch of the balloon and floating along at an altitude of about 12,500m or 40,000ft. This is well into the Jet Stream and this is what is now carrying it  around the world.

The temperatures at this altitude are well below zero as can be seen in this image above. One obvious advantage in not carrying a battery other than additional weight is that there are no problems with a battery trying to survive at these low temperatures.

In conclusion... There have been plenty of other pico-balloons operating on lower frequencies in the past like on 14 MHz but I really don't have much interest in those bands. This is the first time I recall seeing one operating on 28 MHz.

What I find fascinating is that I have heard the little 13-milliwatt 28 MHz transmitter over 450 times over the last few weeks while it was hanging below a little balloon up in the Jet-Stream.

If you want to track it, you can follow it HERE

6,100km TEP opening on the 144 MHz band from Uruguay to the Caribbean - 21st Oct 2023

As we head towards the end of October 2023, there have been reports of some TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation) openings in South America on the 144 MHz band.

Carlos, CX5CBA in Montevideo, Uruguay writes... "As of the 21st of October 2023, there have been TEP openings every night for two weeks between South America and the Caribbean.

I have been able to make several contacts on 144 MHz on SSB and Q65 with a 4.7m long Yagi antenna and 50W. The stations worked are:

SSB: HI8D, HI8AN, HI8GSP, NP4BM
Q65: HI8D, HI3I, HI8T, NP4BM, PJ4GR."

The map above shows the path of one of these contacts between CX5CBA and HI8D. Note that the Geomagnetic Equator is almost equidistant from both stations and the path is at right angles to the Geomagnetic Equator as well. This is pretty much the ideal path for a TEP opening at 144 MHz.

The other stations NP4BM (Puerto Rico) and PJ4GR (Bonaire) are also located in the western part of the Caribbean. This follows the typical pattern for TEP openings in South America at 144 MHz... i.e. stations in Uruguay and Argentina work the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Bonaire whereas stations in the south of Brazil usually work the eastern part of the Caribbean - Martinique, Guadeloupe, etc.

This is a log extract from CX5CBA...

It shows several contacts made on SSB which means the signals must have been reasonably strong.

You'll notice the one CW contact on the 50 MHz band to V31XX in Belize. With lower frequencies like 50 MHz, signals that are not as close to right angles can propagate.

This screenshot from Carlos shows that some on the contacts were made with the Q65 mode.

This screenshot shows the callsigns, signals and time. Note the time... about midnight UTC which is about 9pm local time in Uruguay.

Comment... Thanks for Carlos for the report and images. While these TEP openings at 144 MHz are pretty common, we should still remember that we are looking at contacts that are over 6,000 kms in length.

It's also a reminder that the TEP season is in full swing in South America and it's time to check out 50 MHz, 88-108 MHz and 144 MHz.

It would also be very interesting to see some stations doing TEP experiments on the 432 MHz (70cms) band.

Link... For more examples of long distance 144 MHz contacts, see my 144 MHz page.

27,300km Long path opening on the 50 MHz band from Italy to Hawaii - 16th Oct 2023

Now that we have reached October and at this stage in the solar cycle, the 50 MHz band is starting to open up with some remarkable paths. This is especially true for stations in the south of Europe.

Riccardo, IZ5BRW in Italy reports a very interesting long path opening on the 50 MHz band on the 16th of October 2023 to Hawaii, a path of about 27,300kms.

IZ5BRW writes... "The opening occurred mainly on Monday 16th Oct. (09 to 11 UTC +/-) and on Tuesday 17th. (8 to 10:30 UTC +/-).

I only worked KH6HI on Monday 16th. There were also other friends able to work the KH6 stations here in Zone 5 – Tuscany.

Tuesday was stronger even though I was not at home to work KH6. My friend Steve IK5MEJ worked 3 different stations on Tuesday 17th., KH6HI – KH6WI – NH6Y.

Anyway, all qsos made in FT8 and Long Path, which is more or less 170° from my qth JN53OP. My setup is FT-5000 + 7L Yagi EF0607X home made + 500W.

It’s a 27,000Km+ path and for me, KH6 was a new one on 6m as well as a new grid and new WAZ!

Albert, KH6HI has already confirmed the qso on LOTW."

Thanks to Riccardo for the report.

Comment & Analysis... As can be seen from the screenshot above, the contact was made with FT8 and the signals were in the region of -9 to -13dB. This is just about audible to the human ear and it would be difficult to have a CW QSO at this signal level. Obviously, those signal levels are not a problem with FT8.

No doubt there were others who made similar long path contacts like this on the day but this one is a good example of what the opening was like and that others should be looking for this path as well. Note the time and beam heading.

As for the mode of propagation, it was probably multi-hop or chordal hop F2-layer.

Sunset in Hawaii was about 18:00 local time or 10:00 UTC. It's no great surprise that the opening was about 30 mins after sunset and the F2 layer would have tilted at this stage to the west of Hawaii. This allows propagation of higher frequency signals and at a lower angle.

The takeaway message from this is to look at the sunset for a region you're interested in working and try beaming long path to see if an opening is possible. 

Links... 1) See my 50 MHz page for examples of other long distance openings on the 6m band.

Madeira HF beacon CS3B destroyed in wildfire - Oct 2023

The radio beacon CS3B on the Portuguese island of Madeira was destroyed in a wildfire on the 12th of October 2023. The image above shows the destroyed radio and what the original ICOM 7200 would have look like. This new radio was only installed in September of 2023

The CS3B was part of the International Beacon Project which is a series of HF beacons operating on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930 & 28.200 MHz.

The location of CS3B is shown above off the north-west coast of Africa and it was an ideal location for testing radio propagation on the HF bands to Europe and to North America.

The amount of fire damage to the site was quite extensive as the building housing the beacon was destroyed as well as the antenna as can be seen below.

It's very likely that any traps on the antenna will have been damaged as well by the heat and I suspect the whole antenna will need to be replaced.

The chart above from the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) site shows the beacon operating on the 12th of October 2023 until it stopped suddenly around 15:00 UTC.

As can be seen from the chart above, the last reception reports were for 14:57 UTC.

Considering the extensive damage to the beacon and building, this HF beacon is likely to be off air for some time.

Link... IARU International Beacon Project

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Upcoming 145 MHz Activity Period in the UK & Ireland - Sat 30th Sept 2023

145 Alive Event... On Saturday 30th Sept 2023, there will be an activity period on the 145 MHz band in the UK & Ireland and it will run from 3pm to 5pm local time.

This isn't a contest, it's just an activity period where people will be just testing out what kind of range they can get on 2m FM. There should be a mix of stations on the air, some operating from home and some from high ground.

David, EI3IXB sends on the following... 145 Alive - The 145 Alive event is coming to Ireland for the first time on Saturday 30th September from 13:00-15:00 local me on 2m FM.

The idea is to promote the use of VHF in a short friendly event, it is also being run in the UK at the same time which should add to the fun! We plan to set up a network of Control staions on high ground around the country & callers to the staions will then be passed on to the next control staion, if there is one within range. We now need clubs & volunteers to help set up a chain of staions around the country.

Please contact David  EI3IXB,email ei3ixb AT gmail DOT com if you can help.

Limerick 2m repeater EI2REG back on air

The Limerick repeater on 145.725 MHz is one of the oldest FM repeaters in Ireland and originally came on air back in the 1980's. It went off air back in 2018 when there were access issues with the site on Tountinna to the north-east of Limerick City.

It is now back on air from a new site which is 40kms to the south-west of Limerick city.

Info from Limerick Clare Radio Club... "The  Limerick Clare Radio Club 2m Repeater back on Air After a five year silence, the Limerick Clare Radio Club 2 metre repeater returned to air on Thursday June 2nd. The new site is located at Rooskagh East near Ardagh in West Limerick and the club is extremely to Ray Elgy EI3DQB for allowing the club to relocate the repeater to his QTH. ComReg have issued the callsign EI2REG for the new location. The frequency remains the same as it was for Tountinna. The Repeater Channel is R5. Transmission is on 145.725 MHz and it receives on 145.125 MHz. Modes are FM and C4FM. Reception reports would be appreciated by the club and can be sent to ei4lrcclub @ gmail DOT com"

The new repeater is on an elevated site which should give good local coverage of County Limerick. It is however badly screened by local hills to the west and south. Hills and mountains about 60kms away screen it from much of the rest of Ireland.

This repeater is 85kms from my elevated location near Cork City and when I listened, it was very weak and buried in the noise.

It's possible that this repeater may be heard in the western part of the UK under lift conditions but it's likely that conditions would need to be very good as opposed to a slight enhancement.

Belgium to get 40 MHz allocation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results of the Low Band VHF Propagation Tests - Sat 13th & Sun 14th May 2023

Over the last few months, Phil EI9KP in the west of Ireland has been carrying out some low-band VHF propagation tests. On the 13th & 14th of May 2023, he had a beacon action at 32 MHz, 34 MHz and 36 MHz.

This is his report...

Local reports: EI3GYB Michael in IO53OT (30kms) reports receiving the beacon on all three frequencies, signal strength from 5/1 to 5/3 for the CW component.  He was using an ICOM IC-7200 and a horizontal V antenna.

EI3IX Joe in IO53IU (40kms) reports receiving the beacon on all three frequencies.  He was using an Icom IC-7300 and an Antron-99 antenna. 

Both would be "over the hills" from my QTH, via diffracted ground wave.

Sporadic-E reports from Europe: SWL Hugh HC02 in IM67BB (1900kms), south Portugal, on all three frequencies, with FT8 SNR from -2dB to -20dB.  A total of 95 spots over a period of 3 hours and 22 minutes. He was using an AOR AR 8000 and a 2.4m sided square loop coupled into a tunable FET preamp.

PA3GHQ Kees in JO21LT (965kms), the Netherlands, on 32Mhz with FT8 SNR from -14dB to -19dB.  He was using an Elad FDM DUO SDR and a home made dipole.  A total of 8 spots over a period of 57 minutes.  Likely via Sporadic-E.

Both are for 13/05/2023.  No EU reports were received for 14/05/2023.

EI9KP to carry out Low-Band VHF Propagation Tests on Sat 13th & Sun 14th May 2023

Back in January, February and Arpil of 2023, Phil EI9KP carried out some propagation tests on the 34 MHz band. These tests are possible because the radio amateurs in Ireland are allowed to use a large part of the low band VHF spectrum.

Jan 2023 results HERE

Feb 2023 results HERE

Apr 2023 results HERE

On Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th May 2023, EI9KP will be carrying out more propagation tests but this time on three frequencies on 32 MHz, 34 MHz & 36 MHz. 

His supervised 1-watt beacon will operate from 08:00 UTC to 19:00 UTC on both days. The purpose of these tests is to investigate F2 layer propagation at this point in the solar cycle. There is a possibility of some Sporadic-E propagation as well.

EI9KP writes... "Six weeks on from the last test, I will be repeating my experiment over the weekend of 13/14th May 2023, from 0800UTC till 2200UTC om both days.

Propagation may be diverse and include diffracted groundwave, tropospheric scatter, ionospheric scatter, sporadic-E and F2 layer.  The Solar Flux forecast is 160 and Kp index 2.

For this test there are three time slots:

TS    Frequency  USB dial (kHz)
[00]  32013         32012.200
[01]  34013         34012.200
[02]  36013         36012.200

Each 1-minute sequence is 2*FT8, 2*CW and a short carrier.  The beacon power is 1W.  The antenna is a vertical dipole consisting of a 33MHz feeder dipole and a 36MHz coupled dipole."

Coverage Area: Considering that the tests will be done in mid-May, the main propagation mode will likely be Sporadic-E. This should allow the signals to be heard at the 1000-2000km range in Europe. e.g. Germany, Spain, N Italy, S France & the Nordic countries.

F2 propagation may be more difficult although a key target would be the SE of the USA. The lower 32 MHz frequency is likely to be more successful than say 36 MHz for F2 layer propagation.

Antenna: The antenna that Phil is using is shown on the left.

The element on the right is a half-wave dipole for 33 MHz with an adjustable capacity hat.

The element on the left is a dipole is parasitic dipole for 36 MHz which is coupled by its proximity to the main 33 MHz dipole. The purpose of this element is to extend the VSWR bandwidth of the antenna so that it can cover from 32 MHz to 36 MHz.

The antenna is mounted on a fibreglass mast.

The coax feed is probably a little bit too close and may distort the radiation pattern somewhat but Phil reports that the VSWR is acceptable at 1.6 and below.

Reports: Reports to EI9KP on QRZ or you can leave a comment here.

ZS6WAB 40 MHz beacon heard in Western Australia - 5th April 2023

Over the last few months, there have been plenty of long distance propagation paths reported on the 40 MHz band but nearly all involve at least one station in the northern hemisphere. In this post, we'll look at a recent East-West path in the southern hemisphere.

5th April 2023: Short wave listener Tony Mann in Perth, Australia reported reception of the ZS6WAB beacon in South Africa on 40.675 MHz. The distance was about 8320kms.

Tony Mann writes... "To my surprise the South African 8m beacon on 40.675 MHz, ZS6WAB, made an appearance here for over 2 hours after 0615 UTC. I am amazed it was detectable, and for so long here.

The receiver is an Icom IC-R75 with audio via usb mode. The beacon was first heard around 0615 UTC on a north facing 6m broadband dipole at 5m agl. When I rotated the dipole around to face east-west the signal was much stronger.  

The signal was audible for over an hour, peaked again 0645-0655 UTC and was visible on Spectrum Lab past 0800 UTC. The decoded morse revealed the callsign ZS6WAB and grid locator KG46RB. The great circle distance is 8320 km (5200 miles)."

Tony posted this video on his YouTube channel...

In response to this reception report, Willem ZS6WAB reports... "All my beacons from 40.675mhz /50.025mhz /70.025mhz /144.400mhz is beaming to Australia for the last month now. Ure report is the very first report since my antenna are turned to VK land."

I think there was a report of a VK8 station in the north of Australia hearing this beacon in the last 12-months but it wasn't really documented or reported on.

Analysis... While this opening was ongoing, Tony Mann took a screenshot from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website which shows the predicted F2 layer critical frequency. This is the frequency that is returned from the F2 layer in the ionosphere when a signal is sent straight up.

The actual maximum usable frequency (MUF) is roughly three times the critical frequency i.e. a signal at perhaps an elevation of about 5 degrees above the horizon. The map suggests a MUF of maybe 3 x 11 MHz / 12 MHz = 33-36 MHz. It's not exact but it suggests that a path in the low VHF spectrum (30-40 MHz) might be possible.

The second thing to note from the graphic above is that conditions in the ionosphere are now better in the southern hemisphere now that we have passed the equinox. 

If we consider how many good east-west paths there were in the northern hemisphere in January to March then there should be similar east-west paths on the 40 MHz over the next few months from South Africa to Australia and South America and from Australia to South America.

It really is just a case of getting more people transmitting and listening.

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

Results of the Low-Band VHF Propagation tests by EI9KP - 1st & 2nd April 2023

In a previous post, I outlined how Phil, EI9KP was carrying out propagation tests on 32 MHz to 36 MHz on the 1st & 2nd of April 2023.

Phil, EI9KP send on the following report... "I ran the time slot beacon test 32...36 MHz over the weekend of 1-2 April 2023, unfortunately few reports.  

F2 propagation favoured a north/south path, mainly a zone across north Africa (simulation).  SFI (Solar Flux Index) was in a trough at 125 and MUF over Ireland was very low at 25MHz, touching 28MHz by late afternoon.

I have N3IZN in California and K9MY in Illinois reporting they were listening but nothing heard. 

Michael EI3GYB reported on your blog that he could receive the beacon on all frequencies, from his QTH it would have been a diffracted ground wave.

The beacon software, hardware, dipole and band pass filter all performed without any problem.

I am planning a repeat test in about 4 to 6 weeks, hoping for higher SFE and perhaps sporadic-E."

*****

Michael, EI3GYB is located about 30kms to the south-east of EI9KP and sends on the following report... "I monitored the beacon on both days during several hours of the days at my QTH in locator io53ot.

I used two transceivers- an ICOM IC-7200 and a YAESU FT857D. Both TRX had Windom antennas for reception.

I copied the signals on all 5 frequencies with both TRX. The signals on the Yaesu were a bit weaker than on the ICOM. The signal meter showed no bar on the Yaesu- while on the ICOM I had at least one bar, sometimes two.

33,34,35 and 36 MHz all had the same signal strengths- I'll give it a 51 on the Yaesu and a 52 on the ICOM. The signal on 32 MHz was weaker- on both TRX. I'll give it a 31 on the Yaesu and a 41 on the ICOM.

There was a noticeable fading on all 5 frequencies. Slow QSB, not too deep though."

Larry, VO1FOG in Newfoundland reports listening on both days on CW and hearing nothing. Over the last few days, I have heard the WSPR signal on 28 MHz from VE1VDM in Nova Scotia many times but this was often after 19:00 UTC. Perhaps the test beacon at 32-36 MHz was turned off a little early for the path to North America?

Paul, MI3LDO in the north-west of Ireland reports that the last decent trans-Atlantic opening at 34 MHz in his location was back on the 21st of March so perhaps the test was a little too late in the season for good east-west F2 layer propagation.

Analysis... As we're now in April, F2 layer propagation in the northern hemisphere is getting noticeably worse as we head towards the Summer. While there was plenty of propagation on 28 MHz over the weekend, it did seem to struggle to get up into the low band VHF region especially on east-west paths.

It seems like the test period was a bit late for F2 propagation and too early for the summer Sporadic-E season. Hopefully that will have changed for the next test in May when there should be plenty of Sporadic-E to Europe.

It was interesting to note that EI3GYB was getting slow fading over a short 30km path.

Opening on the 50 MHz band from Europe to Fiji - Short path or Long Path?

Andreas, SV2JAO in Greece sent on a report of his JT65 signal being heard by 3D2AG in Fiji in the Pacific on 50 MHz (6m) band on the 31st of March 2023. This then raises the question... Was it short path or long path?

The screenshot above was taken by Andreas from the PSK Reporter website just after the signal was heard. That site will always by default show the shortest path but it doesn't mean that it's correct.

3D2AG to Europe... First of all, I checked the PSK Reporter website myself and I had a look at the paths from Fiji to Europe.

As you can see from the map above, there were three stations in Europe. These were the reports in the last 24 hours...

31st March 2023...
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC) SNR
IZ8FWN 3D2AG 6m JT65 17124 km 22:02:50 -21
SV2JAO 3D2AG 6m JT65 16634 km 22:02:50 -23

1st April 2023...
3D2AG SV9CVY 6m FT8 16801 km 07:39:44 -19

Long path or Short path??? ...If it's on the higher HF bands or 50 MHz then the guide is to follow the sun. The JT65 signals from IZ8FWN in Italy and SV2JAO in Greece were heard in Fiji at 22:02 UTC UTC, the sun is now somewhere over the Pacific and the short path over Asia has been in darkness for quite a few hours. Conclusion, it's most likely long path.

The other path was from SV9CVY on Crete to Fiji at 07:39 UTC which is about 10 hours after the other reports. Now, the Pacific path is in darkness and the path over Asia is in sunlight. Conclusion, it's most likely short path.

This doesn't rule out that the path may have been skewed somewhat but we can't come to any conclusion about that with some information about the various beam headings from the respective stations.

In conclusion... I know the above will sound obvious to a lot of experienced radio amateurs but I do think there is a tendency for newer operators to just look at a map, see the line presented and take it as fact.

The reality is that PSK Reporter 'suggests' the most likely path, you have to use your own experience and knowledge to decide if it's correct. A good guide is to follow the sun and then decide if it's long path or short path.

Links
1) Other examples of long distance paths on the 6m band can be found on my 50 MHz page.

Irish DX expedition V26EI on Antigua worked on 28 MHz - March 2023

A few weeks back, I saw a news item on the IRTS news about an upcoming Irish DX expedition to Antigua in the Caribbean. Usually, I just ignore any news items about DX but the fact it was an Irish team caught my interest.

I checked the DX Cluster a few times to see if they were on 28 MHz CW but to no avail. One day, I saw them being spotted by European stations but there was no sign of them in my location.

On the 30th of March 2023, I finally worked them.

As for whether it was a new country or not, I have no idea. I suspect not as I've worked well over 200 countries on 28 MHz and Antigua isn't that rare as far as I know.

As for the distance, it was just under 6000kms which is about right for two F2 layer hops.

According to the Proppy HF propagation website, the path seems to have been reasonably easy on 28 MHz as expected. The challenge really is getting through the pile up of stations from Europe and North America rather than just being heard.

Link:  V26EI website... http://v26ei.eidxg.com/

9X5RU from Rwanda worked on 28 MHz - March 2023

With the Irish V26EI expedition to Antigua now on the air, I was wondering if I could hear them? I had a look at the DX Cluster and there was no sign of them when I checked, However, I did notice that 9X5RU in Rwanda was active on CW on 28 MHz.

After a few minutes of setting up the morse key again and the various settings on the radio, I finally managed to work them after several calls.

When I wrote the contact into the logbook, I was surprised to see that my last contact on the HF bands was back in June of 2020.

It's not that I haven't been active, my radio has been decoding either FT8 or WSPR signals on 28 MHz practically every day for the last 3-years and feeding the reports up to their respective websites. It's just that I have no interest in chasing DX.

The CW contact was at 16:24 UTC on the 29th of March 2023. As can be seen from the map above, it was a 7000km north-south path and it's likely it took two F2 layer hops.

The HF propagation website Proppy predicted that my 80w signal from my half wave vertical would be above the noise in Rwanda and it looks about right.

I have no idea if Rwanda was a new country for me or not, I'm really not too bothered. I have no interest in working them on any other band or mode, I worked them on CW on 28 MHz so the box is ticked.

Using morse code is like playing a musical instruments like a guitar, if you don't practice on a regular basis then you get rusty and you get very rusty if you haven't used it in 3-years. I'll have to start using it more.

Link... 9X5RU website.

EI9KP to carry out Low-Band VHF Propagation Tests on Sat 1st & Sun 2nd Apr 2023

Back in January and February of 2023, Phil EI9KP carried out some propagation tests on the 34 MHz band. These tests are possible because the radio amateurs in Ireland are allowed to use a large part of the low band VHF spectrum.

Jan 2023 results HERE

Feb 2023 results HERE

On Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd April 2023, EI9KP will be carrying out more propagation tests but this time on five frequencies from 32 MHz to  36 MHz. 

His supervised 1-watt beacon will operate from 08:00 UTC to 19:00 UTC on both days. The purpose of these tests is to investigate F2 layer propagation at this point in the solar cycle. There is a possibility of some Sporadic-E propagation as well.

EI9KP writes... "The test beacon is now a time slot beacon and can run a different frequency for each time slot, from 32MHz to 36MHz. There are 5 time slots available, being minutes [00], [01], [02], [03] and [04].  Each time slot will have the sequence: 2*FT8, 2*CW followed by a short carrier.  The time slots repeat at 5, 10, 15, etc., minutes.

The time slots and frequencies are:

TS     Frequency   USB dial (kHz)
[00]  32013         32012.200
[01]  33013         33012.200
[02]  34013         34012.200
[03]  35013         35012.200
[04]  36013         36012.200

The CW and carrier should appear at 800Hz on the waterfall and the FT8 signal a little higher.  The beacon frequency is synchronised to GPS and should have an accuracy of 1Hz or better.  The antenna is a dipole in vertical polarisation, beacon power is still 1W."

Coverage Area: Considering that the tests will be done at the very start of April, there should be some F2-layer propagation still about. If my 28 MHz WSPR reception reports are anything to go by then a key target will be the eastern half of the USA.

The key difference between this test and the previous ones is of course the lower frequency of 32 MHz. Not only is that more likely to be propagated by the F2 layer in the ionosphere but it's also likely that a lot of people may be listening with antennas designed for the 28 MHz (10m) band and they might perform better at 32 MHz as opposed to 34 MHz.

As noted earlier, the Sporadic-E season in the northern hemisphere should be starting in April and there is a possibility of some Sp-E to Europe during the tests.

Antenna: The antenna that Phil is using is shown on the left.

The element on the right is a half-wave dipole for 33 MHz with an adjustable capacity hat.

The element on the left is a dipole is parasitic dipole for 36 MHz which is coupled by its proximity to the main 33 MHz dipole. The purpose of this element is to extend the VSWR bandwidth of the antenna so that it can cover from 32 MHz to 36 MHz.

The antenna is mounted on a fibreglass mast.

The coax feed is probably a little bit too close and may distort the radiation pattern somewhat but Phil reports that the VSWR is acceptable at 1.6 and below.

Reports: Reports to EI9KP on QRZ or you can leave a comment here.

40MHz reception reports from Bill Smith, W1-7897: 6th to 24th March 2023

Bill Smith, W1-7897 is a short wave listener in Douglas, Massachusetts in the USA. For listening on the 40 MHz band, he uses a Yaesu FT-847 with a 6-element beam for the 50 MHz band at 23ft / 7m above ground level. 

These are his reception reports for the 40 MHz band for the 6th to 24th of March 2023.

March 24: PJ4mm from 1457 to 1530UTC  high -7db  low -21db

March 23: ZR1ADI (South Africa) from 15:21 to 15:42 ranged from -18DB to 8 DB; PJ4MM worked EA7FL(not heard) at 17:02 with -1DB; all 40 mhz FT8 on 40.680 mhz.

March 22: PJ4MM noted from 15:38 UTC to 16:34 UTC  -13DB Low  3 DB High; PJ4MM worked ZR1ADI (not heard here) at 15:50 UTC; VA2CY Heard at 16:51UTC  -18DB; WM2XCC(CA) heard 19:20 to 19:25 UTC -7DB High -16 DB Low; Wm2XCC worked WM2XEJ (GA) also heard here.  All noted in FT8 Mode. 

March 20: EA1TX noted today (3/20) from 1603 to 1646UTC   -5db high and -18db low; EI2IP noted from 1826 to 1833  high -12db  Low -19db 40.680 mhz FT8. 

March 13: EI2IP noted from 1916 to 1954UTC March 13 on 40.680 Mhz FT8 high -11 low -21db.

March 9: EI2IP March 9th noted from 17:30 to 1830UTC with signals ranging from -17 to -4DB. EI2IP worked PJ4MM (not seen here) at 1759.  40.680 mhz FT8. 

March 7: EI2IP noted off and on March 7 beginning at 1301 and last noted at 1927UTC.  EI2IP worked PJ4MM (not heard here) at 1752UTC and  wm2xej at 1757, and WM2XAN at 1903.  Wm2XEJ worked CU3EJ (not heard here) at 1842. 

March 6: New station from Israel 4X1TI seen working EI2IP at 13:32 -8db on 40.680 mhz FT8. EI2IP also seen. WM2XEJ GA in all morning – very regular here. 

Wellbrook Communications to cease trading in April 2023

The owner of Wellbrook Communications has announced that he is retiring at the end of April 2023 and Wellbrook Communications will cease trading.

The company was best known for its loop antenna which was very popular with short wave listeners, radio enthuasists and government and commercial entities that needed to monitor the short wave bands for whatever reason.

I think it's fair to say that they weren't the cheapest aerials but they did offer customers something that worked straight out of the box.

The website is... https://www.wellbrook.uk.com/

40 MHz page on blog passes 30,000 pageviews

In the last few days, the 40 MHz page on the blog passed 30,000 pageviews! 

The chart above shows the monthly pageviews that the page has gotten since July of 2018. At the moment (Q1 2023), it's getting about 800 pageviews a month or roughly 25 pageviews a day.

Before I set up the page, I had wondered if it would be worth setting up a dedicated website for 40 MHz activity and my conclusion was no. A dedicated website takes a lot of work and the volume of traffic wouldn't justify it.

The analogy I like to think of is that it's like setting up a nice shop in the middle of the woods. It looks great but if there's no-one there then there's no point. It's better to have a much smaller shop in a busy shopping area with lots of people.

The blog as a whole gets over 20,000 pageviews a month and many of those visitors will see the 40 MHz by accident. The general idea is that there is enough information there to give a new visitor an idea of what the 40 MHz band is and what is happening there. The purpose of the page is just to act as a primer for anyone interested and to be a reference for related information about the band.

The 40 MHz page is still very much a 'work in progress' but I hope to improve it over time.

If you haven't seen it or would like to read more about activity on the 40 MHz band, you can see the page HERE

Opening on the 50 MHz band from Antarctica to Europe - 21st March 2023

Tuesday 21st March 2023: Considering it was the equinox with equal day and equal night, it seemed appropriate that there was an opening on the 50 MHz band between Antarctica and Europe.

LU1ZV is located at the Argentine Esperanza base in Antarctica. As can be seen from the map above, the FT8 beacon on 50.313 MHz was heard by several stations in the south of Europe.

Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC) SNR
CT1FFU 6m FT8 12189 km 16:14:14 -19
EA6SX 6m FT8 12582 km 16:06:15 -19
CT1EHX 6m FT8 11974 km 16:06:14 -19
SV9CVY 6m FT8 13060 km 13:21:14 -12
IT9TYR 6m FT8 12955 km 13:21:13 -11
IT9RZR 6m FT8 12817 km 13:16:14 -17
SV2DCD 6m FT8 13425 km 13:15:14 -16
IZ8WGU 6m FT8 13029 km 13:15:14 -19
ZA/IW2JOP 6m FT8 13310 km 13:13:11 -18
SV2JAO 6m FT8 13476 km 13:08:14 -15
SV1DH 6m FT8 13299 km 13:06:14 -20

There have been plenty of long distance openings on the 50 MHz band recently but they tend to be East-West and not too far from the equator... interesting but nothing special.

What makes this unusual is that the 6m signal was coming from the polar regions. Admittedly the station is at about 63 deg S and about as far north as you can get on the Antarctic continent but it's an impressive journey all the same for a signal on the 50 MHz band to reach Europe.

Report from SV2DCD... Leonidas, SV2DCD in Greece sends the following report...

"Today, SV1DH and I copied the LU1ZV 50MHz FT8 beacon from the Esperanza Base in Antarctica. 

It is the first time for me to copy signals from Antarctica here. Beacon conditions - Antenna is a half wave sloper dipole to the north and power is 3w"

As can be seen from the screen grab above, the best signal that SV2DCD managed to get was -11dB which is a very noisy but audible signal to the human ear. These are the kind of signals that prior to the advent of FT8 would have gone unnoticed on CW or SSB.

Analysis... It looks as if the sun was pretty much at its highest point for the midpoint of this opening. It would seem to have been a multi-hop F2 layer opening. The solar flux was 152.

Thanks to Leonidas, SV2DCD for the report.

More reports on other long distance openings on the 6m band can be found on my 50 MHz page.

Addendum: Report from SV2JAO in Greece...