144 MHz signal from the Faroe Islands heard 3000kms away in Bulgaria during Geminid Meteor Shower - Dec 2020

Every year, the Geminid meteor shower peaks around the 14th of December and many VHF radio amateurs make contacts by bouncing signals off the meteor trails left behind. The maximum distance tends to be similar to Sporadic-E i.e. in the region of 2300 kms.

During this years Geminids, Stamen LZ1KU announced a suprise reception on 144 MHz of Jon OY9JD on the Faroe Islands, a distance of 3075 kms!

A composite of the screenshot from LZ1KU is shown below...

As can be seen, the mode used was MSK144 and there is one decode from OY9JD.

On an online forum later, OY9JD did confirm that he was on air at that time...

According to info provided by SO3Z, Jon OY9JD is using an ICOM IC970 with 500W into an 8 el Yagi 3m long. LZ1KU is using an array of 4 x 12 elements and 1.7kW.

Even though there was no two way contact on this occasion, it is still an impressive distance for 144 MHz. Remember that 3075 kms is roughly the distance across the North Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland.

In fact, 3075 kms to the west from OY9JD actually reaches the remote areas of Labrador in NE Canada.

Mode of Propagation??? (Updated)... 

(Theory 1) Double Hop Meteor Scatter... Most meteor trails capable of supporting propagation of 144 MHz signals last for a fraction of a second at best with the occasional one lasting several seconds.

Was it a case that that on this particular occasion, two meteor trails were in just the right spot happened at the same time?

In other words, the MSK144 signal from OY9JD was reflected off the ionised trail of one meteor, then hit off another trail several hundred kms later and then was picked up in Bulgaria.

As you might imagine, this isn't that common as it requires there to be two meteor trails to be just in the right place and at just the right time.

(Theory 2) Tropo Assist?... As for did tropo play a part in the path? The conditions looked pretty poor as can be seen from the image below.

It seems unlikely that any sort of tropo ducting played any part in this reception report.

Theory 3... Refection from the International Space Station??? It would seem as if the International Space Station (ISS) was above the horizon at the same time.

In response to my original theory that it was double hop meteor scatter, Alejandro LU8YD from Argentina writes... 

"My opinion is that the QSO analysis is not correct. You have to check the location of the ISS space station at the time of the QSO and you will see that it was crossing the path between stations LZ and OY. In my opinion it is a QSO by Spacecraft scatter and not by meteor scatter. Reflections of amateur radio signals by the ISS as a passive reflector has occurred before. Despite this, it must be considered an extraordinary QSO and achievement by LZ1KU and OY9JD for which I congratulate them.

Please send my regards and congratulations to Stamen and Jon

Kind regards Alejandro LU8YD"

After receiving Alejandro's message, I checked out the position of the ISS on the morning of the 14th of December.

The beam heading from the Faroe Islands to Bulgaria is 147 degrees. The time stamp on the MSK144 signal was 11:03 UTC.

It's not a perfect match but the ISS was certainly in the same general area of sky at the time. The ISS reached a maximum elevation of 10 degrees during that pass and it was probably around 4-5 degrees at 11:03 UTC.

This is the view of the pass from Bulgaria...

From the Bulgarian perspective with a higher pass, the time and beam heading seem closer aligned. The Faroe Islands are on a beam heading of 327 degrees from Bulgaria.

Considering the size of the ISS and the size of the reflective surface, it has to considered a strong contender for the reception report.

However, I still have some questions. What about doppler shift? Would the doppler shift have moved the signals outside the receive passband of the receiver? What impact does doppler have on a MSK144 signal and the ability to decode it?

Conclusion (Updated)... My original thinking was that it was probably double hop meteor scatter. After all, there must be occasions when two meteors trails just happen to line up in the correct position at the same time.

The fact that the International Space Station was in the same area of sky at the same time must make this the most likely reason although in retrospect, I don't think we can be absolutely certain but it does seem likely.

I'd be inclined to say 90:10 in favour of refection off the ISS as opposed to double hop MS but others may have different opinions.

North Atlantic on 144 MHz??? ... Here is an intriguing thought: If the signal at 144 MHz can get 3075 kms from the Faroe Islands to Bulgaria was via double hop meteor scatter then why not across the North Atlantic from Ireland/UK to Newfoundland?

Remarkable 13,000 km opening on 6-metres between Australia and South America - 12th Dec 2020

At the moment, our colleagues in the southern hemisphere are in the middle of their summer Sporadic-E season and there are of course plenty of openings on the VHF bands.

On the 12th of December 2020, there was a remarkable opening on 6-metres between Australia and South America. For example, the map below from the PSK Reporter website shows the sent/received reports for VK3BD in the SE of Australia.

What is truly remarkable about this is the sheer distance and the path of the signals.

For many, the distance between the stations in Australia and the stations in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay was in excess of 13,000 kms! 

To put that into perspective for European readers, the distance from say the UK to Japan is about 9500 kms. Every year, there seems to be multi-hop Sporadic-E openings from Europe to Japan on 50 MHz which cause a lot of excitement. This opening from Australia to South America was significantly further.

The second interesting point was the path. In some instances, the Great Circle path crossed part of Antarctica with the most southerly path going as far as 78 degrees south. Again to put that into perspective for European readers, 78 degrees is about as far north as say the island of Svalbard to the north of Norway.

Far northern or far southern latitudes are not areas normally associated with Sporadic-E.

To get a view from the South American side, I took a screenshot of the map for CP6UA in Bolivia.

As the map shows, the stations in New Zealand (ZL) were also getting in on the action and the distance to them was an impressive 11,000 kms or so.

Mode of propagation???... The million dollar question. I presume it was multi-hop Sporadic-E but it was a lot of hops! One of the longest paths that I saw was between VK5BC and PT9FD, a distance of 13,530 kms.

VK5BC PT9FD 6m JT65 13530 km 22:17:50

The maximum distance for one Sporadic-E hop is about 2300 kms. Was it six hops of 2255 kms? Seven hops of 1933 kms? If it was multi-hop Sporadic-E then a lot of patches of Sporadic-E had to line up in a row and at the correct distance for it to work.

Addendum... Someone suggested that Polar Mesospheric Summer Echos (PMSE) with electrons gathering around ice crystals may have been responsible for this opening. I include it here for reference reference.

Contacts... I'm sure many contacts were made but the purpose of this post is just to highlight the fact that the opening occurred.

Looking at the PSK Reporter website, these were the stations that I saw listed...

Australia...

VK1JA

VK2ZQ

VK3OT, VK3BD, VK3DUT, VK3OER, VK3WE, VK3KU

VK5PW, VK5BC, VK5PJ, VK5RM

Brazil - PY5HOT, PT9FT, PY5KD, PY5EK

Paraguay - ZP5DPC, ZP4KFZ

Bolivia - CP6UA

Argentina - LW2DAF, LU3CQ, LU9DO

Chile - CE3SX, CA3SOC, XQ3MCC

Uruguay - CX6DRA

DX-Cluster... Here are a selection of spots from the DX-Cluster...

PT9FD 50276.0 VK3OT 22:19 12 Dec JT65A GG27OR <> QF12ag TU 73 Australia

PT9FD 50276.0 VK5BC 22:00 12 Dec JT65A gg27or PF95jj tks 73 Australia

CE3SX 50276.0 VK5PJ 22:00 12 Dec FF46<>PF95MK TU Peter Australia

CP6UA 50276.0 VK3DUT 21:35 12 Dec Thanks New One Norm. 73 Australia

PY4AQA 50276.0 VK4QG 22:18 10 Dec JT65A -24 dB Australia

VK3OER 50276 PT9FD 23:24 12 Dec 20 JT65 -25 CQ Brazil

VK3OT-@ 50277.3 PT9FD 22:18 12 Dec 20 QF12ag GG27 jt65 qso 73 Brazil

VK3OT-@ 50277 PT9FD 22:14 12 Dec 20 cq pt9fd gg27 jt65a -19 Brazil

VK3OT-@ 50277 PY5HOT 21:42 12 Dec 20 cq gg46 jt65a Brazil

VK3OT-@ 50279 PT9FD 21:34 12 Dec 20 jt65 cq -23 Brazil

VK3OT-@ 50277 ZP4KFX 20:55 12 Dec 20 wow thanks JT65A Paraguay

VK3OT-@ 50277 ZP5DBC 20:50 12 Dec 20 JT65A thanks -19 Paraguay

I also kept a record for some of the Australian stations logs of the signals that they heard from South America for this opening. PSK Reporter normally wipes all records after 24 hours so it's nice to have some record of the opening. See below...

Mid-Winter Sporadic-E opening on 28 MHz - Sun 13th Dec 2020

The map below shows the FT8 signals that I heard on 10-metres on Sunday the 13th of December 2020.

With the Solar Flux at 82, there were some weak F2 openings to the USA, South Africa, Thailand and Australia. Interesting but much less than say the end of November when the flux was over 100.

What was interesting about the Sunday the 13th was the number of signals from Europe.

As the map shows, I was hearing a lot of stations from Germany and Poland, all in the region of 1000 to 1800 kms. These signals were via Sporadic-E.

While the main Summer Sporadic-E season in the northern hemisphere lasts from about May to July, there is a much smaller Sp-E season in the middle of the Winter in December and early January.

Geminid Meteor Shower... The Geminid Meteor shower peaks around the 12th to the 14th of December every year. The dust left by meteor showers acts like a fuel for the formation of Sporadic-E layers at about 105 kms above the Earth.

It might be just a coincidence but the Geminid meteor shower may well have been the reason for this Sporadic-E opening.

With a meteor shower in progress, there is always a possibility that all I was hearing were 15-second reflections coming off a succession of meteor trails. However, there seemed to be a complete lack of stations from Spain and Italy which kind of discounts that theory. I'd be pretty sure it was mid-Winter Sporadic-E.

Columbian radio station on 93.1 MHz heard 4580kms away in Chile by TEP - Nov 2020

Over the last month or so, I've had several posts up on the blog about recent Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings on 144 MHz between Brazil / Argentina and the Caribbean. Most of these contacts have been in the range of 4500 to 6000kms. See my 144 MHz page.

Today, I came across a post on a forum about a commercial FM radio station on Band 2 (88-108 MHz) in Columbia being heard in Chile, a distance of some 4580 kms.

Radio Rumba is a radio station in the city of Caucasia in Columbia in South America. It's FM transmitter is on 93.1 MHz and it has as far as I can tell an output power of 5 kW.

On the evening of the 20th of November 2020, Mauricio Toro in the town of Villa Alemana near Santiago, Chile heard Radio Rumba on 93.1 MHz, a distance of some 4580 kms.

Considering that both the radio station and Mauricio were both equidistant from the Geomagnetic Equator, were at right angles to it and the local time was 21:30, the most likely mode of propagation was Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP).

Mauricio was using a SONY XDR-S10HDIP receiver with a 7-element horizontally polarised Log Yagi.

Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP)

With Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP), zones of high ionization occur either side of the geomagnetic equator in the F layer of the ionosphere. What makes the mode so interesting is that it can allow propagation on the VHF bands from 50 MHz to 144 MHz. As the zones of ionization is roughly 400kms above ground level, the propagation paths achieved are in the region of 4000 to 5000 kms, much greater than what might be usual with Sporadic-E.

Links...
1) YouTube channel of Mauricio Toro.

28 MHz gets quieter as the Solar Flux drops - 11th Dec 2020

 

In the last few days, I noticed a noticeable drop in the level of activity on 28 MHz as the Solar Flux drops. There is still evidence of F2 propagation as can be seen from the opening to the USA and Israel as shown in the map above but this is in marked contrast to say the 26th of November 2020 when I was hearing lots of stations from the United States.

Back in December 2019, the sunspot cycle was at its minimum when the solar flux was down around 70. In October of 2020, solar cycle 25 really woke up when the solar flux began to rise reaching a peak of 116 on the 29th of November 2020.

After that, there was a gradual decline and it was back down to 83 on the 11th of December 2020. Hence the drop in radio conditions on the HF bands including 28 MHz. 

The ARRL 10-metre contest is on this weekend and conditions for it are likely to be modest at best but not as good as it would have been two weeks earlier.

It'll be interesting to see what the flux is like around say the equinox in March 2021. We'll be a few more months into the new cycle and the sun might hopefully be a bit more active.

4-Element Yagi for 40 MHz (8-metres) by YU7EF

Thanks to Dragan, 9A6W for sending on this YU7EF design for a 4-element Yagi antenna for the new 40 MHz (8-metre) band.

The design with dimensions is shown below.

The calculated gain in free space is about 6.2dBd and has a front to back ratio in excess of 20dB.

Recent 5000km+ TEP contacts made on 144 MHz by LU1DL in Buenos Aires

Recently on the blog, I had several posts about some remarkable Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) contacts made on 144 MHz between stations in the Caribbean and South America. Most of these were in the region of 5000 to 6000 kms. See my 144 MHz page for a list of posts. 

Gabriel, LU1DL in Buenos Aires has kindly sent on some information about his 144 MHz TEP contacts during the months of November & December 2020 and it's interesting to see what can be worked from someone on the southern end of the TEP path.

You'll notice that all of the TEP contacts that LU1DL made were at right angles to the Geomagnetic Equator.

Here is the log from Gabriel...

What's interesting is that while stations in Argentina were able to work the Dominican Republic (HI8), Curacao (PJ2) and Aruba (P4) on 144 MHz, stations in the south of Brazil were working the likes of Martinique (FM) and Guadeloupe (FG) in the western Caribbean. The paths were parallel to the paths from Argentina as they were also perpendicular to the Geomagnetic Equator.

With Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP), zones of high ionization occur either side of the geomagnetic equator in the F layer of the ionosphere. What makes the mode so interesting is that it can allow propagation on the VHF bands from 50 MHz to 144 MHz. As the zones of ionization is roughly 400kms above ground level, the propagation paths achieved are in the region of 4000 to 5000 kms, much greater than what might be usual with Sporadic-E.

Equipment... For these 5000-6000km contacts on 144 MHz, LU1DL was running 180 watts into a single 10-element Yagi with a 5m boom.

This is the antenna system for P41E in Aruba...

HI8DL in the Dominican Republic...

Video... Have a listen to this TEP contact on 144 MHz and note the distortion on the audio...

Links...
1) A list of long distance contacts made on 2-metres can be seen on my 144 MHz page.

Athlone Community College to make contact with the International Space Station on Mon 7th Dec 2020

Press Release... Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Athlone Community College, Athlone, Ireland and astronaut Shannon Walker, amateur radio call sign KD5DXB. 

Astronaut Shannon Walker

Amateur radio station EI1ISS will be the ground station for this contact. About 800 people will be onsite for the event. Students will take turns asking Walker questions and English is the language expected to be used during the contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz.  

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for December 7, 2020 at 2:50 pm GMT (Athlone), (14:50 UTC, 9:50 am EST, 8:50 am CST, 7:50 am MST and 6:50 am PST).    

The public is invited to watch the livestream at: https://youtu.be/viVQBI4WzKs

Television report from Irish state broadcaster RTE...

Students from a secondary school in the midlands are hooking up with an astronaut on the International Space Station this afternoon to try and find out how space travel is affecting life on earth. https://t.co/ljwoI4jaOW pic.twitter.com/T3wTcRTdEi

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 7, 2020

Athlone Community College has 1,200 students, ages 12 to 18, from a diverse range of backgrounds, and from both rural and urban areas. Mathematics, science and engineering subjects occupy a special place in the school curriculum for both the junior and senior levels, and students have enjoyed studying the ISS and space. In preparation for the ARISS contact, teachers have conducted lessons that involve science and physics studies.

Video from Athlone Community College showing the preparations for the contact ...

Preparation for our live space call on Monday starts at 1:30 pm with great music, guest speakers and more, before the direct contact is made at 2:50 pm 🚀☄️ https://t.co/yy6T8TOlEB pic.twitter.com/aMQaDVsnfh

— Athlone Community College (@ccathlone) December 4, 2020

As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. Did you enjoy the launch into space?
2. Tell us something about current experiments on the ISS?
3. What is your favourite area in the ISS?
4. What activities do you do in your spare time?
5. What is the most interesting thing you have seen on Earth from the space station?
6. What evidence of climate change can you see from space?
7. How many years of training does it take to become an astronaut?
8. Where does the ISS get its energy from?
9. What happens if you are in a space suit and your nose becomes really itchy?
10. When you return home what will you miss most about the ISS?
11. What was the most difficult challenge you had to overcome during training?
12. When you first saw the earth from space what was your reaction?
13. Has something useful on earth come from space experiments?
14. Are your muscles weak when you return from micro gravity?
15. If there was a manned mission to Mars would you consider going?
16. Will it ever be feasible to travel to another solar system?
17. How do you keep fit with the low gravity in space?
18. Does your sense of taste and smell change in space?
19. While on the ISS are you able to communicate with family?
20. When did you decide you wanted to become an astronaut - from a young age or did your interest develop at a later age?

Profile of astronaut Shannon Walker...

ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Continuous Amateur Radio Operations on the ISS

About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org

Croatia becomes the latest country to grant access to the new 40 MHz band - Dec 2020

We now have welcome news that Croatia has joined the small number of countries that has allowed operation on the new 40 MHz (8-metre) band.

In a message by email, Dragan, 9A6W writes...

In April I have applied for an experimental license to transmit on 40 MHz hoping to be QRV for the E-sporadic season. To make a long story short, national telecom authorities have just issued me an experimental license for 8 m band, 40,66-40,70 MHz. I am QRV with FT-897 (100 W) and a dipole antenna at the moment. 

The license is valid for a year and then it could be renewed. There are rumors that some other stations will follow my example.

I received EI1KNH and OZ7IGY beacons this summer (2020) on many occasions. I am monitoring 6m these days for any openings (TEP or Es) and would like to be in touch for a possible QSO. I will use 40,680 for FT8. 

* * *

Croatia is now the fifth country in which it is possible to operate legally on 40 MHz. Ireland, Slovenia & South Africa already have allocations on the band while Lithuania is willing to allocate spot frequencies for experimental purposes.

The frequency allocation that 9A6W has obtained is from 40.660 MHz to 40.700 MHz. This 40 kHz wide slice of spectrum is referred to the Industrial, Scientific & Medical (ISM) band.

There are a number of ISM bands but this is the one nearest to 40 MHz. In many countries, much of the low band VHF spectrum is allocated to military or other services. Licensing authorities may be unwilling to grant radio amateurs an allocation that hasn't been agreed internationally. 

The ISM band at 40 MHz is an exception and it might be a good way for other countries to proceed i.e. individual licenses in the ISM band.

Range... As the map shows above, 9A6W is at an ideal distance for Sporadic-E openings to Ireland and Lithuania. As the most southerly 8-metre station in Europe, there is a possibility of some TEP openings to South Africa or perhaps via F2 near the peak of sunspot cycle 25.

The distance to Slovenia is about 200 kms which might be spanned by tropo or even meteor scatter during the major showers.

Links...

1) For more information of 40 MHz, visit my 40 MHz page... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html

2) 9A6W on QRZ.COM

Update 3rd Dec 2020... 9A6W reports that 9A2WB heard his JT65 transmission over a distance of 114 kms.

Taiwan heard on 28 MHz as the good conditions continue - 1st Dec 2020

 

The map above shows the FT8 signals that I heard on 28 MHz on Tuesday the 1st of December 2020. As well as evidence of some Sporadic-E signals from around western Europe, there were plenty of F2 signals from southern Russia, SE Europe, South Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the USA.

The one unusual signal of note for me was BV6CC in Taiwan. I have heard Thailand, Indonesia and Australia on 28 MHz over the last few days but Taiwan is the most northerly of the 'eastern' F2 signals that I have heard for this new cycle.

We still have some way to go yet before we start hearing Japan and California on 28 MHz here in NW Europe.

The solar flux on the 1st of December 2020 was at 104, a big change from 12-months ago when it was down around the 70 mark at the bottom of the sunspot cycle.

6000km TEP path on 144 MHz opens up between Buenos Aires and the Dominican Republic - Nov 2020

Hot on the heels of the last post about the 5400km TEP opening on 144 MHz between Argentina and the island of Aruba, we have details of some more contacts that reached in excess of 6000kms!

In a message, David HI8DL reports... Last night (Nov 29th 2020), Edgar, HI8PLE and I (HI8DL - FK58AL), contacted LU2EPO on 144.300 MHz at 23:57 UTC. 

The mode was SSB and the distance was 6102kms. 

On Nov 26th at 00:57 UTC, I (HI8DL) made a QSO with LW2DAF on 144.174 MHz. The mode on that occasion was FT8 and the distance was 6011kms. 

Otra excelente noche de TEP en 144MHz, record de distancia personal 6020Km, trabajado con @HI8DL, en FT8, gracias David!!! pic.twitter.com/AUkvjFptjf

— Diego Alejandro Feil (@LW2DAF) November 26, 2020

73's  David, HI8DL

In the map above, the geomagnetic equator is shown in Purple. Both the HI8 and the LU stations are at right angles to it which is important at 144 MHz.

With Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP), zones of high ionization occur either side of the geomagnetic equator in the F layer of the ionosphere. What makes the mode so interesting is that it can allow propagation on the VHF bands from 50 MHz to 144 MHz. As the zones of ionization is roughly 400kms above ground level, the propagation paths achieved are in the region of 4000 to 5000 kms, much greater than what might be usual with Sporadic-E.

Normally on 144 MHz, both the northern and southern stations are equidistant from the geomagnetic equator. The stations in the Dominican Republic seem to be slightly further away on this occasion so it's possible that there was a slight tropo extension of a few hundred kms across the Caribbean.

A 6000km contact on 144 MHz is really incredible. To put that into perspective, that is twice the distance across the North Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland!

Link...

1) I have details of some other long distance 144 MHz contacts on this page... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/144-mhz.html

5400km TEP opening on 144 MHz between Argentina and the island of Aruba - Nov 2020

In two recent posts, I covered some recent 144 MHz TEP openings from Guadeloupe to Brazil during October 2020 and from  Curacao to Argentina in early November. 

P41E on the island of Aruba has been also been busy during the month of November 2020 and has worked several stations in Argentina via TEP.

One of the longest contacts was with LU2EPO with a claimed distance of an impressive 5449 kms.

In the graphic above, the geomagnetic equator is shown in Purple. Both P41E and the LU stations are equidistant from it and are also at right angles to it, both factors which are important at 144 MHz.

With Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP), zones of high ionization occur either side of the geomagnetic equator in the F layer of the ionosphere. What makes the mode so interesting is that it can allow propagation on the VHF bands from 50 MHz to 144 MHz. As the zones of ionization is roughly 400kms above ground level, the propagation paths achieved are in the region of 4000 to 5000 kms, much greater than what might be usual with Sporadic-E.

Here are a selection of videos showing the contacts made during the month of November 2020...

Contact with LU4FW on SSB...

pic.twitter.com/xIF1uxhcPF

— P41E (@Etiennechat1) November 26, 2020

Contact with LU3FCI and great to see the vintage Yaesu FT-480R in action! ...

And of course we did some FM again. pic.twitter.com/eDlcLfiLR4

— P41E (@Etiennechat1) November 26, 2020

Contact with LU3FCI...

pic.twitter.com/RYdG1YNIBr

— P41E (@Etiennechat1) November 26, 2020

P41E was using 100 watts into a 13-element Cushcraft Yagi.

* * *

Addendum: Thanks to Etienne, P41E for sending on the following information.

This is a photo of the antennas used for 144 MHz and 50 MHz

P41E is using an old an old Yaesu FT-767GX and a Tokyo HL160V running about 100 watts.

Etienne has very kindly sent on a log extract of what he has worked on 144 MHz from the 17th to the 28th of November 2020.

There are a total of 33 contacts in total. Looking through them, some are repeat contacts on different days or on a second mode. The log contains 17 separate stations from Argentina and most of these would have been in the 4500km plus range.

You will note that the majority of the contacts are on SSB with a few on FM and FT8.

Note also the times of the contacts which are around 00:00 to 02:00 UTC. This is around 21:00 to 23:00 for stations in Argentina and 20:00 to 22:00 for P41E in Aruba. This ties in well with Trans-Equatorial Propagation which is thought to peak at about 20:00 local time.

Solar Data... Just for reference purposes, I have included the solar data for the range of dates concerned...

#              Radio  SESC 
#              Flux  Sunspot
#  Date     10.7cm Number
2020 11 17   79     11
2020 11 18   77     11
2020 11 19   77     11
2020 11 20   82     11 
2020 11 21   85     23 
2020 11 22   88     35 
2020 11 23   96     38
2020 11 24  100     37
2020 11 25  104     40 
2020 11 26  106     43
2020 11 27  106     60
2020 11 28  110     67

Links...

a) I have a number of posts about long distance 144 MHz contacts on the blog and I 

keep a list of them here... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/144-mhz.html

Sun starts to sizzle as solar flux hits 100

After a long solar minimum slumber, the sun has really begun to wake up in the last few weeks. On the 24th of November 2020, the solar flux hit 100 for the first time in about three years. The last time the solar flux was over 100 was back on the 10th of September 2017.

The photo above shows some of the sunspots on the solar disk including region 2786 which has a dark core which is slight larger than planet Earth.

The chart below shows the dramatic change in the solar flux in the last 12-months...

The biggest change in the conditions on the HF bands is that the higher bands like 10-metres are now opening. At the end of 2019 at the sunspot minimum, there were some hints of propagation but mostly on north-south paths. Fast forward to the 26th of November 2020, you can see that there was a nice opening to the USA on the 28 MHz band.

It's been a long time since I heard signals from Texas on 28 MHz via F2 propagation.

Video: Guide to launching amateur radio payloads by balloon... by VE3KLX

 

At the virtual Radio Amateurs of Canada conference last September, teacher Kelly Shulman, VE3KLX gave an interesting presentation about launching amateur radio payloads on high altitude balloons.

As the video below highlights, high altitude balloons and scientific experiments can make amateur radio relevant to a younger generation. In terms of cost and technical ability, many schools might aspire to doing their own high altitude balloon experiments where as a cubesat / satellite would be out of the question.

Links...

1) Kelly Shulman's website... http://shulman.x10host.com/

Video: 6m FT8 DXing... by VE3VN

The Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) held their annual conference online this year and as part of the event, there was a talk by Ron Schwartz on FT8 DXing on the 50 MHz band.

The 64-minute video is shown below...

There is some interference and dropouts in the presentation during the first 28-minutes but the second half is much better.

This video gives an interesting perspective of what DXing on 6m looks like from a Canadian perspective and it should be of interest to anyone thinking of getting going on the 50 MHz band.

Radio amateurs in the UK unlikely to get 40 MHz allocation

 

Ofcom is the licensing authority for the radio spectrum in the UK and in a response to an informal query, they indicated to the Royal Society of Great Britain (RSGB) that an allocation at 40 MHz for radio amateurs in the near future was unlikely.

In an editorial comment in the VHF/UHF column of the November 2020 issue of RadCom from the RSGB, the VHF Manager John Regnault, G4SWX wrote... "In recent years, the RSGB has informally asked Ofcom about amateur access to 40 MHz. Ofcom responded that this was not amateur radio spectrum, whilst they would agree to the continuation of the GB3RAL propagation beacon on 40 MHz, they would not agree to further beacons or general access to 40 MHz by UK amateurs."

"Readers should also note that NoV access to unused spectrum at 71 and 146MHz was granted for innovative experimentation and not more of the same (CW/SSB/FM)."

"The view expressed by Ofcom is that UK radio amateurs have adequate VHF/UHF spectrum for these traditional activities." 

The GB3RAL 40MHz beacon first went on air back in 2007 and it was only operational for a short period. The RSGB are now looking to find a new home for this 8-metre beacon and getting it operational again.

As of November 2020, just Ireland, Slovenia, Lithuania and South Africa have some sort of access to the 40MHz band.

For more information on the new 40MHz band, visit this page... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html

F2 opening to the USA on 28 MHz - 20th Nov 2020

 The map below shows the FT8 signals heard on 28 MHz on Friday the 20th of November 2020.

There was evidence of some Sporadic-E to central Europe as well as F2 signals out around the 3000km mark from Greece to Russia. Even a lone signal from the west of Australia made it through.

The signals that were of real interest to me however were the ones from the south-east of the USA. This is a classic example for me of a F2 layer opening on 28 MHz. A lone VO station appeared from the 1-hop zone near Newfoundland (~3000kms) and there was a group of stations clustered around the 2-hop zone near Florida (~6000kms).

During the sunspot minimum, F2 propagation via north-south paths on the 10-metre band are always possible. As we climb out of the minimum then we should expect to see more east-west openings on the band.

From my vantage point here in Ireland, the Great-Circle path to Florida is the most southerly of the east-west openings to the USA and it would be the first area I would expect to hear with a F2 layer opening on 10-metres.

The solar-flux on the 20th of November 2020 was around the 80 mark as opposed to say 67 around the time of sunspot minimum. We still have some way to go before we get F2 openings from NW Europe to say Japan or California on 28 MHz but at least we're on the way up.

I'd suspect that the conditions on 28 MHz in 12-months time in November 2021 should be dramatically better than now. Onwards and upwards!

RSGB PSC 28 MHz Propagation Study - Nov 2020

 

In this months RADCOM magazine from the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), there was an interesting news article about a new propagation study on the 10-metre amateur radio band. 

The RSGB Propagation Studies Committee are interested in looking at the modes of propagation responsible for signals in the 150km to 800km range.

For example, the map below shows some of the FT8 signals I heard on the 28 MHz band on the 17th of November 2020.

The signals from the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark (1000 kms plus) are easily explained as they were via Sporadic-E propagation. As the skip distance gets shorter however, it gets harder for the signal to return from the Sporadic-E layer.

Tropospheric propagation also happens at 28 MHz but it's a lot weaker than on the higher VHF bands. On the map above, the two stations about 100kms to the north of me and the station on the west coast of Wales who was about 200kms distant are probably via tropo.

The question then arises as to what is the propagation mode for the signals from England and Scotland in the 400km to 700km range? On the day, it seemed to be too close for Sporadic-E and too far for tropo.

This wasn't unique to just this particular day. It happens pretty much most of the time. Over the Summer months for example, I seem to hear G0OYQ near Hull (579 kms) on FT8 on 28 MHz practically every day.

Are these signals due to meteor scatter? Sp-E backscatter? Aircraft scatter? Tropo? The RSGB study hopes to address this.

The news article from RadCom is shown below...

* * * * *

RSGB's Propagation Studies Committee (PSC) has launched a new study to look at the mechanism behind long-distance inter-UK 10m propagation.

The study came about after PSC chairman Steve Nichols, G0KYA noticed that he was often seeing inter-UK 10m contacts on FT8 occurring between stations that were more than 100 miles apart.

"Normally you would expect 10 metres to give contacts out to about 30-50 miles at best," Steve said, "But these contacts, which are often fleeting, were over distances of about 150 miles. I also that they often appeared in the early mornings, but disappeared as the day progressed. We've had to wait for the Sporadic-E season to end to exclude Es as a possible propagation mode."

Steve said that the likely propagation mode was tropospheric, although aircraft scatter or ionospheric scattering can't be ruled out. Either way, it warrants closer examination.

To take part in the study, just log any UK stations heard via FT8 on 10 metres in excess of 100 miles, making a note of date, time, received SNR and the location of both you and the distant station. Please also include details of your antenna and any beam heading if applicable. Steve can then compare this with weather patterns and barometric information at the time.

PSKReporter.info and DXMaps.com can also be used to track contacts online. "We'd like to encourage new amateurs to take part as the reporting isn't too onerous, but the information you supply could be invaluable," Steve said. Steve can be contacted via email to psc DOT chairman AT rsgb DOT org DOT uk

Source: RadCom Nov 2020 Page 7