FM radio stations from Ghana are heard for the first time in Europe - 23rd July 2021

I only recently came across a report about how FM radio stations in Ghana on the 88-108 MHz band were heard for the first time in Europe on the 23rd of July 2021.

Mauricio Molano Sánchez is an active FM DXer in the west of Spain and on the 23rd of July 2021, he managed to log the following stations from Ghana in Africa...

88.3 MHz POTTERS FM Sunyani GHANA 3574 km 

88.5 MHz RADIO VISA  (AUDIO) Dunkwa-on-Offin GHANA 3734 km 

According to Mauricio, this was the first time that FM radio stations from Ghana have been heard in Europe.

He writes...."During a solid double hop sporadic-E opening towards Cape Verde, several weaker and more unstable signals appeared at 87.7, 88.1, 88.3 and 88.5 MHz. These last two stations are the ones that came a little stronger and for a longer time. It was possible to record identifications of both. The language used was English. After ruling out the Anglophone countries closest to CPV, the search ended in Ghana: the station at 88.5 was RADIO VISA from Dunkwa-on-Offin. 88.3 was POTTERS FM from Sunyani."

His full report can be found on his blog HERE

What I found of interest about this report was that someone in Spain managed to hear FM radio stations at a distance of about 3700kms. If we look at a map, this is what it looks like...

As you can see, the circle almost reaches Newfoundland. As far as I know, no-one in Spain or Portugal has ever heard a FM radio station from North America.

Back in June of 2021, Larry Horlick, VO1FOG in Newfoundland heard FM radio stations in Spain. At the time, some argued that it was not possible for anyone in Spain to heard North America because the band was too crowded. And yet, here we have an example of someone hearing double hop from Ghana in Africa.

If FM radio stations from Spain can be heard in North America then North American FM radio stations can be heard in Spain or Portugal. It's not a case of IF but WHEN will they be heard.

See my 88-108 MHz page for more examples of long distance reports.

Amateur radio exams in Ireland to recommence on the 11th of Sept 2021

From the IRTS...

The IRTS Examination Board is pleased to advise that the next HAREC examination will be held in the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on Saturday 11th September.  There will be two examinations held on that date, a morning sitting commencing 10.30am and an afternoon sitting commencing 2pm.  Each sitting will be two hours duration.

The fee for the examination is €50 and there is a concessionary rate of €25.  Full details can be found on the IRTS Website. Closing date for receipt of applications is Sunday 29th August.

All details are subject to Covid regulations in force on the published date of the examination.

7th August 2021

Exam website... https://www.irts.ie/exam

The Experimental Station WA2XMN on 42.8 MHz

In 1933, frequency modulation or FM radio was invented by Edwin H. Armstrong in the USA to reduce the static and interference associated with AM transmissions.

In June of 1936, Armstrong established the experimental station WA2XMN at Alpine, New Jersey and began experimental FM transmissions with a 40kW power level in the 42 to 44 MHz band.

After the second world war, the FCC moved the FM band up to 88 to 108 MHz and this is the one we are familiar with today.

To commemorates the pioneering broadcasts of the world's first FM radio station, WA2XMN occasionally broadcasts on a frequency of 42.8 MHz. This was one of the frequencies used by Armstrong's station on the original FM broadcast band.

The station broadcasts with a power of 250 watts from the same Armstrong Tower in Alpine, New Jersey. When it does broadcast, the FM signals have been heard by radio enthusiasts within a 160km / 100 radius.

The QSL card at the top of the post was sent out for a transmission in April of 2018.

I'm not sure when the last broadcast was but it would be interesting to hear of any future transmissions.

Links...
1) WA2XMN website with reception reports
2) Email archive about test transmissions

The Five Meter Band (60 MHz) in the USA gets a mention on Soldersmoke

Back in October of 1924, the 5-meter band (56–64 MHz) was first made available to radio amateurs in the United States. At the time due to the low frequency performance of valves, these type of VHF frequencies were considered to be UHF or Ultra-High Frequencies.

The front cover above is from a 1934 edition of the Five Meter Radiotelephony book by Frank Jones, WA6AJF. This publication was a source of material for radio amateurs at the time who were interested in experimenting with this new band.

Radio amateurs had use of the 5m band for about 20 years until the advent of television in the late 1940's / early 1950's when most of the spectrum between 45 and 65 MHz was allocated to the new broadcasting medium.

Bill Meara, N2CQR of the Soldersmoke podcast sent me a message recently with a link to a recent post on the SolderSmoke blog... link HERE

There are some interesting links there about the history of the 5m band and the tongue in cheek FMLA - The Five Meter Liberation Army!

It's good to see the 60 MHz band get a mention on the popular SolderSmoke blog as the vast majority of radio amateurs in the USA probably have no idea that there was once any activity there. Any posts that help raise awareness about the 40 MHz and 60 MHz bands are always welcome.

I have a bit more info on my 60 MHz page... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/60-mhz.html

Number of WSPR stations heard on 28 MHz in July of 2021

 

The chart above shows the number of individual WSPR stations that I heard on the 28 MHz band from the 1st of July to the 30th of July 2021.

If you examine it carefully, there are subtle differences between the first half and the second half of the month as the Sporadic-E season begins to splutter and the intensity decreases.

2021 Vs 2020: My own feeling is that there were more WSPR stations active on the 28 MHz band in the Summer of 2021 as compared to the Summer of 2020.

I did a comparison between the number of stations I heard during the first 30 days of July 2021 and compared them to the same period of 2020.

Now, there is a caveat with this data as I can't be 100% certain if I was listening all of the time in July 2020 but it's very likely I was.

Looking at the data, I heard an average of 55 stations per day in this time period in 2020 as compared to an average of 71 stations per day in 2021, an increase of just over 28%.

As the chart shows, there are a lot more higher Blue days than Red. For example, there are six days in July 2021 where I heard more than 90 stations in one day as compared to none over 90 in 2020.

This isn't just down to conditions, it's due to there being more WSPR activity on the 28 MHz band this year which is a welcome development.

I'm sure as the Sporadic-E season winds down at the end of August, a lot of stations will probably migrate to the lower HF bands. I'm not sure what I will do myself as once the activity level drops below a certain level, it kind of gets a bit pointless monitoring a quiet frequency with no activity. 

It's likely I'll switch back to monitoring the FT8 frequency on 28 MHz over the Winter as this will show if anything unusual is happening on the band.

Video: Transceiver Performance for the DXer by NC0B

In a recent presentation to the Madison DX Club, Rob Sherwood NC0B gave a talk on transceiver performance on the HF bands.

As Rob outlines, receivers are now so good that the real limitation is with the transmitters. Note that receiver limitations due to someone else locally using an amplifier.

The 66 minute video is shown below...

The first half is about receivers and Rob talks about transmitters from 33:00 minutes onwards. 

Link...
1) NC0B's website - Sherwood Engineering

Video: Modes of Propagation on 50 MHz by K9LA

In June of 2021, Carl Luezelschwab K9LA gave a presentation to the Madison DX Club titled 'Modes of Propagtion on 6 meters'.

There are plenty of guides and explanations about propagation on the 50 MHz band in books and on websites and they tend to be pretty basic. In this video, K9LA looks at propagation modes in more detail and as expected, things are often not as simple as they seem.

It's very easy to look at long distance contacts on the 50 MHz band and just blindly assume it has to be multi-hop Sporadic-E. As you will see in the video, we should all keep an open mind and accept that it may be due to other propagation modes. This is especially true now as the FT8 digital mode is showing that weak signal paths exist that weren't so obvious in the past with SSB or CW.

The 51 minute video can be seen below...

Some timestamps and items of interest...

00:00 to 02:20 Introduction

02:20 to 04:20 Old 50 MHz radios

The talk is then broken down as follows...

Review of all these modes
Antenna considerations
Solar Cycle 25
References

04:50 to 09:30 Fundamentals of the atmosphere and ionosphere.

It's interesting to note that K9LA questions if PMSE (Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes) at 85kms above the Earth plays a part in bending radio signals slightly before they reach the higher Sp-E and F2 layers.

In the slide for trospheric ducting, there is an error in that it should read 450 metres as opposed to 450 kms. As K9LA observes, tropo ducting at 50 MHz is very unusual in temperate regions.

At 15:45, K9LA talks about SSSP - Short-path Summer Soltice Propagation which is linked to PMSE. It may well be that this propagation mode is responsible for many of the openings from Europe to Japan on 50 MHz as opposed to the standard 'it must be multi-hop Sporadic-E explanation'.

At 27:30, there are charts suggesting that Sporadic-E may be changing over the years.

At 32:00, Carl suggests that equatorial Sporadic-E may be a significant factor where signals are crossing the equator at local noon.

At 36:00, the video looks at Chordal Hop modes. As the image below shows, there can be a lot more going on than just simple hop Sporadic-E...

At 41:00, skewed paths are examined.

45:20 Antenna considerations

46:50 Cycle 25 status

Links...

1) I have some examples of unusual long distance paths on the 6m band on my 50 MHz page.

US Experimental 40 MHz Station WL2XUP is heard across the Atlantic in England - 22nd July 2021

On the 18th of July, I had a post up about the new US experimental station WL2XUP on the 40 MHz band. Just four days later on the 22nd of July, a WSPR signal from WL2XUP was heard across the Atlantic in England.

The owner of the experimental station WL2XUP is Lin, NI4Y and in a message he writes... 

"I can report that VE3QC and VE2DLC received my station via Eskip on July 22nd. Shortly after VE3QC received my signal G7PUV received WL2XUP via multi hop Eskip. The following Day KI4RVH received the WSPR signal via what was likely tropo ducting. 

VE3QC also reports hearing my FT8 signals transmitted later in the day on July 23rd. 

2021-07-22 19:00 WL2XUP 40.663508 -26 -1 EM73vv 20 VE3QC FN25fk 1557 29 2 

2021-07-22 20:42 WL2XUP 40.663488 -34 0 EM73vv 20 VE2DLC FN58rk 2155 35 2 

2021-07-22 19:40 WL2XUP 40.663514 -26 -1 EM73 20 G7PUV JO00au 6869 46 2 

2021-07-23 14:08 WL2XUP 40.663536 -13 -2 EM73 20 KI4RVH EM95 429 58 2"

Paul, G7PUV is located in the SE of England and was using an SDRPlay RSP1A SDR and a W4KMA 18-100MHz Log Periodic on a 6.2M boom up at 15M AGL.

Paul heard seven WSPR transmissions from WL2XUP between 19:40 and 20:42 UTC and the strongest signal was -16dB. 

The 40 MHz trans-Atlantic opening coincided with a big opening on 50 MHz between Europe and North America.

Analysis: As NI4Y points out, this was very likely to be a multi-hop Sporadic-E opening across the North Atlantic with maybe 3-4 hops involved. What is significant about this reception report is not so much the distance but the fact that this is the first crossing of the Atlantic on the 40 MHz band.

During Sporadic-E openings on 50 MHz, it's very likely that paths on lower frequencies like 40 MHz will be open as well. It's just a question of more people listening on the band and reporting what they hear.

This new experimental 40 MHz station has already sparked some interest in the 8m band in North America so hopefully it will encourage activity on the band.

Update: The exact frequency was 40.662 MHz USB with the WPSR signals roughly 1.5kHz higher.

Link...

1) See my 40 MHz page for more info on the band

Lightning detected on the 28 MHz band - 23rd July 2021

 

Friday 23rd July 2021: During the afternoon of the 23rd, I noticed what sounded like a continuous stream of static crashes on the 28 MHz band. I checked the Irish weather website Met Éireann and sure enough, there was a huge thunder storm crossing Ireland about 130-150kms to the north of me.

I have heard static crashes from lightning before but never on this scale. It's usually a static crash every 10-20 seconds but this one was almost continuous.

I was wondering at first if it was some local noise source but I could hear the number of static crashes reduce as the storm moved west.

Even though I am using just a basic CB type half-wave vertical on 28 MHz, I do have a good view to the north. If some of these strikes were from cloud to cloud at a km or two above the ground then I was probably line of sight to some of them.

FM radio stations from the Azores (87-93 MHz) are heard in Newfoundland - 23rd July 2021

Friday 23rd July 2021: Larry Horlick, VO1FOG in Newfoundland reports that he heard FM radio stations from the Azores on frequencies ranging from 87 to 93 MHz. The opening lasted one hour.

* * *

UTC QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance km Received by/in kW ERP Pol

22:30 UTC 90.50 MHZ AZR RTP Antena 1, Serra de Santa Bárbara (tce) Live Stream, 2309kms 35 h

21:51 UTC 92.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 1, Pico Bartolomeu (smg) Presumed, reference to Ponta Degada, 2524kms 0.5 m

21:14 UTC 87.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 3, Pico da Barrosa (RDP) (smg) Live stream, 2501kms 40 v

* * *

It's interesting to see that Larry also heard the Azores two days earlier on the 21st of July.

Propagation Mode: It's almost certainly single hop Sporadic-E with a possible small tropo extension near the Azores. 

In a message, Larry VO1FOG notes that during this reception of Band 2 signals up around 88 MHz, the 6-metre band at 50 MHz appeared closed. It's very likely that there was a good single hop Sporadic-E opening from Newfoundland to the East but there is nothing out there in the mid-Atlantic.

As Larry notes, it's wrong to assume that just because there is nothing on 50 MHz, the higher bands will be closed. 

Analysis: Even though reports of FM radio stations from the Azores being heard in Newfoundland were only documented for the first time in 2021, it's likely that this 2300-2500km path is open every year. What is different this year is that there is someone activity logging these stations from the Newfoundland end.

While single hop Sporadic-E openings on Band 2 are nothing special, I would suggest that the ones between the Azores and Newfoundland are. Not in terms that they actually happen but in terms of what times they happen.

The more Newfoundland to Azores reception reports that are logged then we might be able to see a pattern of what is the most likely time of day that these openings happen. 

If the maximum usable frequency gets up to 88-108 MHz on a regular basis then there may be times that it goes up as far as 144 MHz. Add in a tropo duct at the eastern end and a trans-Atlantic path from Newfoundland to Spain or Portugal might be possible.

Links...
1) VO1FOG's reception log on the FMLIST website
2) More examples of Band 2 reception reports on my 88-108 MHz page

Top spotter for WSPR on 28 MHz - 22nd July 2021

22nd July 2021: On a few occasions, I have been one of the top five spotters worldwide for WSPR signals on the 28 MHz band. On the 22nd, I was in first place!

As the chart shows, I reported 101 separate WSPR signals which is over 20 more than those in the other top 5 spots.

I should point out that this really has nothing to do with me as it's just my radio listening for WSPR signals on the 28 MHz band all day. The reason I ended up in the top spot is because of my location in the north-west of Europe.

The map above shows the location of the 101 stations. Other than four in North America, the rest were in Europe. The problem with the WSPR mode is that there is a lack of stations transmitting in comparison to say the hugely popular FT8 mode.

This is a closer look at the European stations. The main reason I ended up in top spot was probably because I heard 30 stations from the UK via short skip Sporadic-E and this was in addition to the more usual single hop Sp-E signals out around 1000-2000kms.

At the moment, I am just using a simple half wave vertical above 4m above the ground for reception and it really is nothing special. 

Link...

1) VK7JJ's WSPR Top Spotters website 

FM radio stations in Maine heard across the Atlantic in the north of Ireland - 22nd July 2021

Thursday 22nd July 2021: Openings on the FM band (88-108 MHz) between North America and Europe are very rare and it's always interesting to hear about these very high frequencies crossing the North Atlantic.

On the 22nd, Paul Logan in Lisnaskea in Co.Fermanagh in the north of Ireland managed to catch a short 5-minute opening to the state of Maine in the NE of the USA. 

* * *

UTC QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance km Received by/in kW ERP Pol

14:06 UTC 89.70 MHz USA WMED, Calais (ME) Weak. End of wx report. Start of "On point" show. Fits with online edition. Brief. 4294kms 30kW m

14:06 UTC 92.90 MHz USA WEZQ, Bangor (ME) Sports talk, same time as 88.5 4390kms 20kW m

14:05 UTC 88.50 MHz USA WHCF, Bangor (ME) Religious show, Scottish preacher // web 4353kms  35kW m

* * *

As the log from the FMLIST website shows above, Paul managed to log three separate stations at the bottom of Band 2 with frequencies in the range of 88 to 93 MHz.

To put this opening in perspective, this was only the 9th trans-Atlantic Band 2 opening for Paul Logan in a period of about 20 years.

For the reception, Paul was using a ELAD FDM S2 SDR receiver with a Band 2 9-element Yagi 8m above ground level.

Propagation Mode: As can be seen from the log, the distances were in the region of 4300kms. It's likely that the mode of propagation was double hop Sporadic-E i.e. 2 x 2150km hops.

For more examples of long distance reception reports on Band 2, visit my 88-108 MHz page.

FM radio stations on the Azores are heard again in N America - 21st July 2021

 

Wednesday 21st July 2021: At the start of July, FM radio stations on the Azores were heard in the USA. On the 21st, the North Atlantic path opened again with FM stations being heard in Newfoundland and Cape Cod, MA.

This is a log of what was heard by Larry Horlick (VO1FOG) in Newfoundland and Bryce Foster in the US...

* * *

UTC QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance km Received by/in kW ERP Pol

19:32 88.90 MHz AZR RTP Antena 1, Horta/Cabeço Gordo (fai) Recording verified by Paul Logan,  2218kms by Larry Horlick, Coley's Point (CAN) 9.1 c

19:36 90.50 MHz AZR RTP Antena 1, Serra de Santa Bárbara (tce) Recording verified by Paul Logan 2309kms by Larry Horlick, Coley's Point (CAN) 35 h

19:44 87.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 3, Pico da Barrosa (RDP) (smg) Antena tres, Recording verified by Paul Logan  2501kms by Larry Horlick, Coley's Point (CAN) 40 v

21:33 88.50 MHz AZR Rádio Atlântida, Pico da Barrosa (smg) // webstream,  3830kms  in Mashpee, MA (USA) 3 m

21:33 87.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 3, Pico da Barrosa (RDP) (smg) Antena 3 ID, // stream,  3830kms in Mashpee, MA (USA) 40 v

* * *

Propagation Mode: It looks very likely that this was a case of single and double hop Sporadic-E again.

The distance from the Azores to Newfoundland is in the region of 2200-2500kms and this was most likely one hop Sporadic-E with a small tropo extension.

The distance from the Azores to Cape Cod in the US is 3830kms and this was very likely to be double hop Sporadic-E.

It's interesting to see that the path from Newfoundland to Bermuda was open at 21:00 UTC which suggests the location of one of the Sporadic-E clouds.

For earlier trans-Atlantic reception reports, see my 88-108 MHz page.

Links...

1) FMLIST website log for the 21st of July 2021

EI2DKH - The 144 MHz trans-Atlantic beacon

The EI2DKH beacon in the south-west of Ireland is now running 24/7 beaming across the Atlantic hoping to make contact with North America. 

The station run by Tony EI8JK transmitting Q65 (60 sec, sub mode C) with CW ID every even minute on 144.488 MHz with audio frequency of 1500 Hz and it receives Q65 every odd minute on 144.178 MHz with audio frequency of 1500 Hz.

The beacon runs 100-watts into 4 x 5-element LFA-Q antennas beaming 270 degrees.

The beacon locator IO51DO90CL and the site is about 40 metres above sea level.

Analysis... The beacon site is somewhat obstructed to the west with a 220m metre hill about 2.5kms away (3.2 deg elevation at 279 deg) which will prove to be a challenge.

Horizon for EI2DKH

3000km+ opening on 144 MHz from the Canary Islands to Europe - 17th July 2021

Saturday 17th July 2021: There was an extensive opening on 144 MHz on the 17th between the Canary Islands and Europe with distances of over 3000kms being recorded. 

Looking at the spots on the DX Cluster, at least 19 stations from the Canary Islands were active on both FT8 and SSB.

The map above which is generated from DX Cluster spots gives an example of some of the paths from EA8JK. There were almost certainly a lot more paths than this on the day.

Propagation Mode: It looks as if both tropo and Sporadic-E propagation modes were present on the day. 

It would seem that at times, there was a tropo duct between the Canary Islands and the SW of the UK. The tropo prediction map from F5LEN suggests that there was a strong marine duct between the Canary Islands and the Iberian Peninsula.

It's highly likely that all of the 2300km+ from the Europe to the Canary Islands were due to one hop Sporadic-E with a tropo extension at the SW end.  

In the example of say the 3000km+ signals from the south of Germany, there was a Sporadic-E opening to the SW (~2000kms) and the signals entered the tropo duct somewhere off the NW coast of Morocco to complete the path to the Canary Islands. 

These are the spots on the day from the DX Cluster.

a) Spots from the Iberian Peninsula (EA/CT) have been omitted so what is shown below are over 2000kms.

b) SSB reports in Red

c) There are 3 spots from ES1CCM which seems to be a bogus callsign and are therefore crossed out. It's also extremely unlikely that the Canary Islands was heard in Estonia. (Update: A reader of the blog suggested that it might have been EA1CCM but it was misspelt)

17,000km opening on 50 MHz between Europe and Australia - 18th July 2021

Saturday 18th July 2021: After a lull on the 17th, the path on 50 MHz between Europe and Australia opened up again on the 18th. The longest path I could find was 17,122kms from F4ARU in France to VK3ZYC in Victoria. 

From what I can tell, this 6m opening seems to have been mainly confined to the VK1 and VK3 area of SE Australia. In Europe, there was a limit as to how far north it went.

The opening seems to have started around 04:45 UTC and lasted until about 06:15 UTC. This is similar to previous openings and suggests that it is dependent on the position of the sun.

These are the DX spots from the opening...

Spotter  Freq.  DX  Time  Info  Country
VK3OT-@ 50313 IZ2RLO 05:35 18 Jul 21 JN55 FT8 Copy Italy
VK3OT-@ 50313 I2FAK 05:35 18 Jul 21 JN45 FT8 Italy
VK3OT-@ 50313.9 DK8NE 05:13 18 Jul 21 FT8 JO50<>QF12 Fed. Rep. of Germany
IK7EOT 50313 VK3ZYC 05:11 18 Jul 21 FT8 tnx qso B -12 Australia
IK7EOT 50313 VK3DUT 05:11 18 Jul 21 FT8 tnx qso b-09 Australia
SV2JAO 50313 VK3DUT 05:00 18 Jul 21 kn10<es>qf32 Australia

These are the FT8 reports from the PSK Reporter website...

New US experimental station WL2XUP now operational on the 40 MHz band

In June of 2021, the FCC in the USA issued the experimental call sign WL2XUP to conduct tests on the 40 MHz band. The owner of the call, Lin Holcomb (NI4Y) reports that the station is now on air.

The license allows for operation between 40.660 MHz to 40.700 MHz with a maximum output of 400-watts ERP. The license was issued on the 17th of June 2021 and it lasts until the 1st of July 2023.

As of mid July 2021, WL2XUP is intermittently transmitting WSPR on 40.662 MHz (1500Hz). It transmits for 2 minutes out of every 10 with an output power of 20-watts ERP into an omni-directional antenna. For FT8 skeds and tests, an ERP of 100-watts can be used.

It is hoped in time to upgrade to a log-periodic antenna pointing at Europe.

Location: The experimental WL2XUP station is located near the city of Atlanta in Georgia in the SE of the USA. It is in the EM73 locator square.

Propagation & Range - What to expect: The band is affected by several propagation modes. Let's have a look at them...

a) Tropo: It's likely that it will have a range of up to 200kms locally but it's unlikely that there will be many listening from that small area.

b) Sporadic-E: This will be main propagation mode from April to August every year and it WILL be heard all over the eastern half of the United States. The map above shows the likely range being in the range of 500kms to 2200kms. The most consistent signals should be in the 1200 to 1800km range.

In terms of double hop Sporadic-E, there may be a skip zone out going from Arizona to Montana but anyone in California to Washington should get signals in June and July. The one issue for the western states may be interference from SNOTEL stations on the same band.

Looking further afield, there will also be times in June and July when there will be multi-hop Sporadic-E to Europe, a distance of about 6000-8000kms.

Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP): The experimental station is also well placed for tests to South America in May and November. While it is too far north for TEP, just one Sporadic-E hop is required to the south to open up the path to Argentina (LU), Uruguay (CX) and Brazil (PY).

F2 Propagation: The 40 MHz band will be certainly be impacted by the rising solar flux as we approach the peak of the next sunspot cycle. The 40 MHz band will open a lot earlier than say 50 MHz and it could prove to be a useful resource for European stations monitoring the trans-Atlantic path.

In Conclusion: This new experimental station is a very welcome development and it establishes a presence on the 40-MHz band in North America. It may also allow for more US stations to follow this lead and apply for similar permits.

The really big challenge now is trying to raise awareness amongst the amateur radio community in North America and making them aware of the 40 MHz band and the activity on it. 

South African 8-metre beacon on 40.675 MHz heard in SE England - 13th July 2021

On the 13th of July, there was a good opening on the 50 MHz band from Europe to South Africa. During this opening at about 13:50 UTC, Paul G7PUV in the south-east of England managed to hear the South African 8m beacon ZS6WAB/B on 40.675 MHz.

This beacon was heard in the Mediterranean area several times during the month of April 2021 and this is the first time that it has been heard so far north. The distance is around 8,800kms.

For the reception, Paul was using a custom made W4KMA Log-Periodic antenna covering 26-100 MHz at 15-metres above ground level.

Paul reports that the beacon which transmits only on CW peaked at S2.

Propagation Mode: It's probably one of two options.

a) Multi-hop Sporadic-E which would require 4-5 hops and crossing the equator to the southern hemisphere where it's their winter season.

b) A combined TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation) and Sporadic-E opening. TEP from South Africa to the Mediterranean area and then via a Sporadic-E hop from there to England.

I suspect it may have been TEP + Sp-E even though we are not near the Equinox and the peak of the TEP season.

Info: For more information of the ZS6WAB beacon and previous reception reports, see my 40 MHz page.

Big opening on 50 MHz between Australia and Europe - 16th July 2021

16th July 2021: There was a pretty big opening on the 50 MHz band on the 16th between Australia and Europe. The map of FT8 reports for VK5PW near Adelaide is shown above. It's interesting to note that the propagation extended as far west as Belgium and the Netherlands and as far north as Finland.

These are the reports from the DX Cluster which suggests that all of the activity was on FT8...

 Spotter Freq. DX Time Info Country
VK3ZAZ-@ 50313.8 UR0MC 08:30 16 Jul Open from 0500 to 0730 Ukraine
VK3ZAZ-@ 50313.0 OH3XA 08:29 16 Jul worked in VK3 VK5 Finland 
VK3ZAZ-@ 50314.0 OH4SS 08:29 16 Jul worked in VK3 FT8 Finland
VK3ZAZ-@ 50313.0 OG3G 08:28 16 Jul CQ KP QF FT8 Finland
VK6KXW 50313.0 4L/DL7ZM 07:37 16 Jul 0620UTC,r--08,late spot Georgia
VK3OER 50313.0 PA2M 07:35 16 Jul CQ -14, few min ago Netherlands
OH4SS 50313.0 VK3OT 07:18 16 Jul KP21UC<ES>QF12AG CQ tu Australia
OG3G 50313.0 VK3OT 07:18 16 Jul CQ -12dB Australia
US0ZZ-@ 50313.7 VK5PJ 07:05 16 Jul FT8 -18 Australia
VK3OER 50313.0 OG3G 06:59 16 Jul -15 CQ DX OG3G Finland
UT4EX 50313.0 VK3OT 06:54 16 Jul tnx CQ Australia
VK6OX-@ 50313.5 OG3G 06:49 16 Jul FT8 13286km -13dB Finland
SV2JAO 50313.0 VK4HJ 06:43 16 Jul kn10<es>qg63 Australia
OG3G 50313.0 VK5SFA 06:39 16 Jul call corr Australia
VK3OER 50313.0 OH4SS 06:35 16 Jul -18 CQ DX OH4SS KP21 Finland
UT4EX 50313.0 VK5SFA 06:26 16 Jul tnx Australia
VK2WJ 50313.0 HG2DX 06:11 16 Jul FT8 QF56ss -> KN06cq Hungary
VK3OER 50313.0 YU1EL 06:04 16 Jul -22 CQ YU1EL KN04 Serbia
UR0MC 50313.0 VK5DK 05:54 16 Jul Tnx Australia
VK6OX-@ 50314.1 UT7QF 05:51 16 Jul FT8 11915km -15dB Ukraine
UT4EX 50313.0 VK5PJ 05:35 16 Jul tnx QSO 73 Australia
VK6KXW-@ 50314.9 DF5VAE 05:15 16 Jul FT8 -18dB 13751km Fed. Rep. of Germany
VK3OER 50313.0 4L/DL7ZM 05:12 16 Jul FT8 -14 wkg JA-JL Georgia
VK6KXW-@ 50314.7 DF5VAE 05:11 16 Jul FT8 -16dB 13751km Fed. Rep. of Germany
VK6KXW-@ 50314.0 HA8CE 05:07 16 Jul FT8 -13dB 12972km Hungary
VK6KXW 50313.0 UR5LAK 05:06 16 Jul tnx qso Ukraine
VK3OER 50313.0 S59A 05:05 16 Jul -17 0.5 2530 ~ CQ S59A JN76 Slovenia
VK6OX-@ 50314.7 UR5LAK 05:03 16 Jul FT8 11892km -17dB Ukraine
VK6OX-@ 50314.3 UR0MC 05:00 16 Jul FT8 11766km -26dB Ukraine
VK6KXW-@ 50314.9 UR0MC 04:43 16 Jul FT8 -14dB 11894km Ukraine
VK6KXW-@ 50314.4 OZ1IEP 04:42 16 Jul FT8 -20dB 13894km Denmark
VK6KXW-@ 50313.3 UB7K 04:39 16 Jul FT8 -12dB 11802km European Russia

It seems that when the band does open, it's pretty much at the same time every day. That's NOT a characteristic of Sporadic-E. It suggests that there is a solar influence on the propagation.

One of the more interesting paths was from VK6KXW in the west of Australia to 7S2W in the north of Sweden.

Just think about that for a second. A path on 50 MHz from Perth in Australia to a spot close to the Arctic Circle in the north of Europe AND we're near the bottom of the sunspot cycle.

It looks like the VK3, 5 and 6 stations got the best of this particular opening. The VK2 and VK4 stations were almost absent.

The longest path I could find was just over 16,000kms.

These are the FT8 reports from the PSK Reporter website...

Opening on 50 MHz from Europe to Western Australia - 15th July 2021

15th July 2021: There was a small opening on 50 MHz this time between the west coast of Australia and Europe. The two stations concerned were VK6KXW and VK6OX near Perth and the maximum distances were just over 15,000kms.

These are the spots from the PSK Reporter website...

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)

CT1EKY VK6KXW 6m FT8 15143 km 07:10:14
VK6KXW IZ7NLJ 6m FT8 13052 km 06:45:56
IZ7NLJ VK6KXW 6m FT8 13052 km 06:42:44
4O6AH VK6KXW 6m FT8 12924 km 06:40:14
YT1Q VK6KXW 6m FT8 12865 km 06:51:14
Z37CXY VK6KXW 6m FT8 12724 km 07:29:14
VK6KXW UR0MC 6m FT8 11898 km 06:45:26
UR0MC VK6KXW 6m FT8 11893 km 07:19:14

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
VK6OX CT1APE 6m FT8 15043 km 07:19:29
CT1EKY VK6OX 6m FT8 15036 km 07:14:44
VK6OX SV2DCD 6m FT8 12581 km 06:50:57
UR0MC VK6OX 6m FT8 11794 km 06:45:44

The only other Australian stations reported were from Darwin in the north of the continent.

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
UR0MC VK4ABW 6m FT8 11218 km 06:06:44
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
UR0MC VK8MS 6m FT8 11235 km 06:11:44

It seems unusual that there seems to be more openings from Europe to the SE of Australia (VK2 & VK3) than the west coast (VK6). From the perspective of say someone in central Europe, the west coast of Australia is a lot closer.

I would have expected a lot more openings on 50 MHz to the west of Australia (VK6) than the SE of Australia (VK3). Instead, it seems to be the other way around.

Is it a lack of big stations on the west coast? If VK6KXW is not on air then does it just seem like the VK6 area is missing?

These are the spots from the DX Cluster...