Day 8: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 7th Apr 2024

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 7th of April 2024. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

Interest is growing is these long distance TEP paths and more people are getting involved. In a previous post, I had details of how A65BR in the United Arab Emirates managed to hear FR4OO on Reunion Island via TEP on the 7th of April.

These are the spots from the DX Cluster...
IK7EOT 144190 V51WW 19:09 07 Apr 24 Q65B -18 Namibia
SV2DCD 144190 V51WW 18:27 07 Apr 24 CQ Q65B -15db TEP Namibia
SV8PEX 144190 V51WW 18:23 07 Apr 24 -09 q65b hrd in JM99 Namibia

Also on the 7th of April, the PSK Reporter website shows that IK7EZN in Italy reported reception of V51NH, the second station in Namibia. IZ7EZN is the only station reporting this so I'd be always wary of just one station reporting as someone may have made a mistake reporting the incorrect band.

It is also reported that ZD7GWM on St Helena is trying the TEP north to Spain (EA) & Portugal (CT). Stations in South Africa (ZS) are also beaming north.

SV1NZX in Greece reports... "Lots of TEP action tonight - V51WW seen/worked in at least 7 PSK-enabled stations, more saw him, reported via group chat, A65BR heard FR4OO, ZD7GWM was CQing dir EA. Overall 2xV5, a few from ZS (various areas) and ZD7 vs over 80 EU and AS stations

V Important.  AF stations are CQing 1st and EU 2nd. We implore that 144.190 is kept free of tropo QSOs and attempts for EU->EU on 1st period. Tomorrow, 9K2GS and A65BR will be testing with FR at 1630z, V5/ZS-EU from 1800z and ZD7GWM will be cqing .300U/301cw from 1930z dir EA"

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

5160km TEP opening at 144 MHz in the Indian Ocean from Reunion to UAE - 7th Apr 2024

With the success of the now almost daily TEP openings on the 144 MHz band from Namibia to Europe, it has encouraged others to try similar possible TEP paths.

On the 7th of April, Olen A65BR in the United Arab Emirates reported reception of the 144 MHz signal  from FR4OO on Reunion Island. The distance is around 5,160kms.

The screen grab above from A65BR shows several decodes of the Q65 signal. As far as I know, it was a one way reception report and a two way contact did not take place.

This is as far as I know a new TEP path and hasn't been reported before. Hopefully, it might encourage others to try some tests on the 144 MHz band.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Updated HF beacon list for IARU Region 2 - Mar 2024

Jerry, AC5JM is the IARU Region 2 HF Beacon Coordinator and over the last few weeks has been updating all of the HF beacons that are in North and South America. The vast majority of these are on the 28 MHz (10m) band.

The old list had become badly out of date with some beacons that hadn't been heard in years. AC5JM has put a lot of work into seeing what beacons have been heard of late and trying to contact other beacon owners to find out the current status.

On the 18th of March 2024, Jerry reported the following... "As of today, and to my knowledge there are officially 310 beacons on the active list in Region 2 but about 49 of them are temporarily down due to equipment failures and QTH moves and another 11 have been inactive for more than 1 year.  

I used RBN (Reverse Beacon Network), emails from beacon owners, and reception reports from others to determine if a beacon is active or not.  Some that I have have moved to the inactive list may in fact be active.  Please let me know if any corrections need to be made."

The list can be viewed from the following link... https://www.iaru-r2.org/en/on-the-air/beacon-network/

Day 7: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 6th Apr 2024

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 6th of April 2024 and again to the same geographical area. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

SV8ALQ in Greece reports... "Today was a very good opening between Greece and Namibia. I made contact with V51WW mode Q65b at 144.190 at 18.47. Best I heard him was -12dB"

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

40 MHz reception report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for March 2024

Thanks to short wave listener Bill Smith, W1-7897 for sending on his reception report for March 2024.

Bill who is located near Douglas in Massachusetts in the United States is using a Yaesu FT-847 as a receiver on the 40 MHz (8m) band with a 5-element beam for the 50 MHz band about 6m above ground level.

40 MHz reception report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for March 2024:

3rd March 2024: LX5JX(JO30) in Luxembourg logged from 1628 to 16:47 UTC on 40.680 MHz FT8 calling CQ. No answers, Signal Strength ranged from -19 to 0 dB.

6th March 2024: There was a large opening on the 50 MHz (6m) band from Europe into the south of Africa. ZS and V5 noted into Europe. Antenna was pointed to South Africa, but no stations heard on 40 MHz either in Africa or Europe. 

24th March 2024: ZF1EJ (EK99) in the Cayman Islands logged at 12:53 UTC with brief CQ on 40.680 MHz FT8 and then gone. Signal strength -17 dB. No further CQ and no answers. 

Thanks for the report Bill!

For more information on the 40 MHz band, go to https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html

Day 6: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 5th Apr 2024

 

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 5th of April 2024 and again to the same geographical area. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

There was an earlier report in the day at 12:32 UTC from Albania but this was almost certainly an error with someone reporting the 6m decodes as 2m.

DX-Cluster spots...
IT9GSF 144190.0 V51WW 20:13 05 Apr LONG TEP 18:26 till 19:35 Namibia
IK7EOT 144190.0 V51WW 18:50 05 Apr Q65B Namibia
IZ8EDJ 144290.0 V51WW 18:48 05 Apr JN70-TEP-JH81 Namibia
9H1TX 144191.2 V51WW 18:46 05 Apr JM75FU<TEP>JH81OC Q65 tnx agai Namibia

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0003 - 5th Apr 2024

The third edition of the new newsletter is now up on Substack.

EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0003 - 5th April 2024

Summary: -

• Intro
• HF Beacon & Propagation News - Region 2, MH370, Solar Eclipse, 30m beacon, 26 MHz, Solar Flux, 10m
• 40 MHz & Low Band VHF News : 40 MHz reports, Spain
• 50 MHz News: 50 MHz reports, Beacon in Alabama, 223 DXCC, 1000 grids, Sardinia to New Zealand, Antarctica to France, Cyprus to Australia
• Upcoming 50 MHz expeditions... a long list!
• 70 MHz News: 4m activity, aurora, new 4m beacon, 4m nets
• 88-108 MHz: First Sporadic-E opening in Greece, TEP Florida to Chile
• 144 MHz & Above: Aurora in Australia, TEP from Namibia to Europe, TEP from Australia to Japan, Moonbounce, Antarctica
• Satellites: DATV on the ISS
• Experimenters Corner: Resistor values, handheld antenna teardown, CW bandwidth, impedance matching, Soldersmoke podcast
• EI7GL blog posts for the last two weeks
• In conclusion

Link... https://ei7gl.substack.com/p/ei7gl-amateur-radio-newsletter-0003

Activity on the 40 MHz band - 4th April 2024

On the 3rd of April 2024, it was announced that radio amateurs in Spain would be allowed access to the 40 MHz (8m) band with some restrictions... see post HERE. The image above shows some of the FT8 activity on the 4th of April.

There may be some errors in there like the one from Newfoundland which was probably from someone reporting the wrong band. However. the others are mostly correct and it shows plenty of activity from South Africa to Spain.

Spots from the DX-Cluster...

Day 5: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 4th Apr 2024

The Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings from Namibia to Europe on the 144 MHz continued on the 4th of April 2024 but to the same geographical area. The reports from the PSK Reporter website are shown above.

Alex, SV1NZX reports... "V51WW is currently the only station being heard from Africa but working IK7UXY, SV2DCD, SV8PEX, IT9GSF, IK7EZW and 9H1PA, amongst others. Same geography and area but slightly stronger signals tonight, initially

Interestingly, also, ZS4TX was tx-ing North too, although nothing was received and FR5DN was beaming to A6/TA/9K where stations are located. No luck as of yet but conditions are not ideal, to be fair."

From SV2DVD

Spots from the DX-Cluster...

IT9GSF 144190.0 V51WW 20:56 04 Apr JM67-TEP-JH81 6314Km @18:38 Namibia
IK7EOT 144190.0 V51WW 19:01 04 Apr Q65B -21 Namibia
SV8PEX 144190.0 V51WW 18:42 04 Apr Q65B first -13 nice via TEP Namibia
IK7EZN 144190.0 V51WW 18:39 04 Apr TEP 6550 KM Namibia
IV3KKW 144190.0 V51WW 18:38 04 Apr Q65 wkg Med Namibia

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

TEP opening on 144 MHz band from Japan to Australia - 3rd Apr 2024

In addition to the recent Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) openings at 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe, there have also been similar openings from the far south of Japan to the north of Australia.

The map above shows the paths reported on the PSK Reporter website for the 3rd of April 2024.

In fact, there have been almost daily openings reported from at last the start of March. Here are a few of the spots from the DX-Cluster...

JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 11:51 02 Apr 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:26 01 Apr 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144150 VK8ZMX 12:55 31 Mar 24 SSB TNX! Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:49 22 Mar 24 FT8 -03dB Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 11:39 20 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:59 19 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 1:17 18 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144150 VK8AW 12:34 17 Mar 24 SSB Australia
JA6DJS 144150 VK8DNT 13:04 16 Mar 24 SB TNX QSO! Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:01 12 Mar 24 FT8 CQ -10dB Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:13 11 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8VTX 12:09 10 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 11:27 08 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8NAH 11:27 08 Mar 24 FT8 CQ Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 11:41 06 Mar 24 FT8 Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:04 05 Mar 24 FT8 TNX QSO! Australia
JA6DJS 144460 VK8AW 12:21 04 Mar 24 FT8 TNX QSO! Australia

Most of the signals are FT8 with no mention of the Q65 mode. There have been a few SSB contacts as well.

The distances are in the region of 4,900kms and the southern end of the path seems to be determined by the fact that most radio amateurs in that region are clustered around the city of Darwin.

There seems to be very little activity from Japan despite the sea path to the south with possible tropo extensions. I wonder if VHF stations in Japan are aware of these TEP openings to the south?

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Day 4: TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 3rd Apr 2024

Day 4: This was the 4th day in a row that there was a Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe. It's very likely that this path was open for most of March as well but there was no-one testing the path.

The paths from the PSK Reporter website are shown above and this time, the signals reached further north in Italy.

Here are some spots from the DX Cluster...

SV2DCD 144190.0 V51WW 18:35 03 Apr -15db Q65B via TEP tnx Namibia
SV8PEX 144190.0 V51WW 18:33 03 Apr JH81 Q65B only RX tonight, wea Namibia

It's interesting to note how the maximum spread of the TEP footprint at the northern end is about 750kms. The TEP signal needs to cross the Geomagnetic Equator close to 90 degrees and the question is how far from 90 degrees can the path be before there is no propagation at 144 MHz?

Alex, SV1NZX notes that he has heard no signals from V51WW with a 9-element yagi at his location near Athens (KM17) which suggests he is too far to the east. He writes... "SV2DCD was using a 4 x 17 array to hear / work EME-level signals from V51WW. On the other hand, SV8PEX and IZ8/IT9/9H have had the lion's share of signal strength, hence the SSB QSO's."

I know the TEP posts can be a bit repetitive but I think it's important to keep a record of the information and maps. This is the most important VHF news in Europe at the moment.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Spain opens up the 40 MHz (8m) amateur radio band with conditions - April 2024

Good news! The licencing authorities in Spain have decided to open up the 40 MHz (8m) amateur radio band with conditions.

The national association for radio amateurs in Spain is the URE and they released this notice... "After hard work by the URE before the administration, today the Resolution of the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure was published on the Amateur Radio website, which authorizes holders of Spanish amateur radio authorizations to make broadcasts. in the 40,650 – 40,750 MHz band, with a maximum peak envelope power (PEP) of 25 W, for a period of eighteen months.

Broadcasts will only be made from fixed stations that have the corresponding license. In addition, the radio amateur must inform the Provincial Telecommunications Inspection Headquarters of the province in which he or she resides about his intention to operate in this band before broadcasting for the first time on these frequencies."

This is huge news for those interested in the 40 MHz band and Spain is the first 'big country' to allow radio amateurs access to the 8m band.

Analysis... In terms of propagation, Spain is in an ideal spot. 

F2... For F2 layer propagation, there will be plenty of openings from Spain to the Caribbean (PJ4MM) and the signals should be clearly heard in the USA and Canada as well. The north-south paths will be especially good and the 40 MHz signals will be heard all over South America and TEP openings to the radio amateurs in South Africa should be a regular occurrence.

Conditions from EA8 (Canary Islands) should be amazing while the southern EA5, EA6, EA7 stations will be a bit better than those further north.

Sporadic-E... The workhorse over the Summer months of May to July will be Sporadic-E with typical distances in the region of 1000 to 2200 kms.

For EI stations in Ireland... Expect EA5, EA6 and EA7 to be the most common. EA1 and EA2 will be harder.

ON stations in Belgium... Expect EA7 to be the most common with EA3 the hardest.

S5 stations in Slovenia... Expect EA1 and EA7 to be the easiest with EA3 and EA6 the hardest.

SV stations in Greece... EA1 might be difficult as it's close to the maximum one hop Sporadic-E distance. The rest of Spain should be easy.

In conclusion... One of the big problems with the 40 MHz band is the lack of activity. For those that are using the band, it soon gets to a stage where there is no-one new to work. With Spain joining the party, that should hopefully change.

As we're at the peak of the solar cycle, now is the time to explore the 8m band before the conditions drop away.

Links...

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

2) URE News item... https://www.ure.es/autorizada-la-banda-de-40650-40750-mhz/

3) The official notice in Spanish posted 2nd April 2024... https://avancedigital.mineco.gob.es/espectro/radioaficionados/autorizaciones/Documents/RESOLUCION_40_MHz.pdf

Addendum... This is the official document via Google Translate...

New 144 MHz TEP beacon in South Africa - April 2024

Bernie, ZS4TX reports that a new 144 MHz beacon has started in South Africa to investigate the possibility of Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP) to the Mediterranean and Europe.

Bernie, ZS4TX writes... "New ZS Beacon for 2M TEP tests in April from KG33XU. ZS6RVC has started a 25W beacon on 2M with a 14 element yagi 20M high on a mountain site with a clear shot to EU.

The frequencies to listen on according to my IC910H is as follows:
144.449.2 CW 600Hz tone
144.448.6 USB 600Hz tone

Please monitor this frequency as well between 16Z and 21Z and send any reports to me. It sends ZS6RVC /B KG33XU in CW ~ 12 WPM"

Analysis... As the 144 MHz signals are likely to cross the Geomagnetic Equator at right angles (90 deg), the most likely area for reception of this beacon is probably going to be the eastern half of the Mediterranean.

Back in 1981, there was a TEP opening on 144 MHz from this part of South Africa to the Athens area in Greece so it may be possible again.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Day 3: SSB contacts made on 144 MHz during TEP opening from Namibia to Europe - 2nd Apr 2024

The most significant VHF amateur radio news at the moment in Europe is without doubt the TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation) openings on 144 MHz to Namibia. See 1st April.

Tuesday the 2nd of April 2024 was Day 3 of the recent opening and the reports on the PSK reporter site are shown above. The paths are similar to the previous two days except the path to SV2DCD is a new one.

The screen grab below is from SV2DCD which shows reception of V51WW. As far as I know, a two way contact was not completed.

What made this day special though was that some contacts were made on SSB! Tom, SV8PEX posted this on the DX Cluster... SV8PEX 144150 V51WW 18:33 02 Apr 24 JH81 SSB 52 52 many thanks!!!

Alex, SV1NZX reports that V51WW made four SSB contacts on 144.150 MHz with IK7UXW, IK7JNM, IK7LMX and SV8PEX.

Video... A video clip from V51WW can be found on this link ... https://twitter.com/i/status/1775255255539945703

Note the distortion on the voice. I presume that was the SSB contact with Tom, SV8PEX.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance contacts.

Another 6000km+ TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Europe - 1st April 2024

As outlined in this previous post, there was a TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation) opening on the 144 MHz band between Namibia and Greece on the 31st of March 2024. As news spread that SV8PEX had been heard over 6500kms away in Namibia, more stations were active on the evening of the 1st of April.

This time, there were paths from Namibia to Greece, Italy and Malta and SV8PEX, 9H1TA and 9H1PA managed to complete contacts.

Alex, SV1NZX reports the following... "Tonight ends an exciting night for 2m #TEP QSOs - V51WW worked 9H1PA, 9H1TX and SV8PEX as well as receiving 4-5 other Italian stations in JN70, JN80. SFI measured at 125, K/A index at 5-8 and 1, all QSOs in Q65b, 30/60s."

This is a screen grab from SV8PEX in Greece...

This screen grab below is from V51WW and shows some of the exchanges with IK7UXW and IZ8EDJ  in Italy.

The screen grab below is from David, 9H1TX in Malta...

9H1TX writes... "Just finished my first TEP 2M qso with V51WW. I am totally closed to south but i elevated the system at 8 deg and was lucky to get his signal."

Analysis... As the map shows above, both stations are about equidistant from the Geomagnetic Equator and are crossing it at right angles, an important consideration for TEP signals at 144 MHz.

V51WW in Namibia is using 100w into a horizontal 9-element yagi 12m above ground level which is a pretty modest station. It shows that this TEP path to Europe is probably there a lot more often than people realise but the problem is that there weren't any stations in Africa to attempt a contact.

It would be interesting to see how far east and west in the Mediterranean the signal from V51WW can reach? How far from the 90 degree right angle at the Geomagnetic Equator can the 144 MHz signal go before it becomes impossible? EA6? IS0? 5B4? TA? SV5? SV9?

The Mediterranean is also an excellent location for tropo ducting. How far will that carry the signal north?

Are there any other stations at the southern end of the TEP zone? ZD7 (St Helena) to Spain seems an obvious one. Other paths?

It would be good to see more TEP reports from Europe to Africa on 70 MHz, 88-108 MHz and 144 MHz.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for plenty of reports of other TEP contacts.

6530km TEP opening on 144 MHz from Namibia to Greece - 31st March 2024

 

Over the last few years, there have been many reports of contacts on 144 MHz from South America to the Caribbean region via Trans-Equatorial Propagation (TEP). There have been no reports of similar openings on 144 MHz from Europe to Africa in the same time period.

On the 31st of March 2024, it looks as if finally there was a TEP opening when V51WW in Namibia managed to receive SV8PEX in Greece, a distance of about 6532kms.

This is the report from the PSK Reporter website...

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
SV8PEX V51WW 2m Q65 6524 km 19:08:02

Tom, SV8PEX reports... "Unfortunately I was too late sig went down, one way. I was using 500W and V51WW I guess 100. Me -15db the best". Tom also notes that they tried FT8 and no decodes were possible.

Alex, SV1NZX writes... "First confirmed TEP reception of a signal between EU and AF tonight by V51WW from SV8PEX on 2m band after almost 40 years since the last signals between AF and EU intersected. Mode Q65a/30s "

V51WW is using 100w into a horizontal 9-element yagi 12m above ground level. SV8PEX is using 500w into a 11-element yagi 10m above ground level.

Analysis... As the map shows above, both stations are about equidistant from the Geomagnetic Equator and are crossing it at right angles, an important consideration for TEP signals at 144 MHz.

As SV1NZX mentions, there used to TEP contacts on 144 MHz from Europe to Africa back in the 1970's when there was activity from Zimbabwe. The key thing is the location. Zimbabwe and the north of Namibia are far enough north for signals to reach the TEP zone. There are plenty of stations in South Africa (ZS) active on 144 MHz but they are much further south.

In this particular case on the 31st of March, it was a reception report but it shows that a TEP path was open at 144 MHz. Hopefully more stations in southern Europe will now beam south and see if the path is open to Namibia and the southern part of Africa. 

It would be good to see more TEP reports from Europe to Africa on 70 MHz, 88-108 MHz and 144 MHz.

Links...

1) See my 144 MHz page for plenty of reports of other TEP contacts.

By the way, this is not an April Fools Joke! I know I posted it on the 1st of April so some might be wondering.

BBC Radio 4 Medium Wave Service to close - April 2024

In a previous post, I outlined how the BBC Radio 4 service on 198kHz on the Long Wave band was likely to close in the summer of 2025. It now seems as if the BBC Radio 4 Service on the Medium Wave band will stop a lot sooner.

These are the nine medium wave transmitters that are scheduled to close on the 15th of April 2024.

kHz - Station -  Location - Power
603 BBC Radio 4 Newcastle upon Tyne 0.5KW
720 BBC Radio 4 Lisnagarvey nr Belfast 10KW
720 BBC Radio 4 Crystal Palace 0.24KW
720 Radio 4 Derry 0.25KW
756 BBC Radio 4 Redruth, Cornwall 2KW
774 BBC Radio 4 Enniskillen, Fermnanagh 0.5KW
774 BBC Radio 4 Plymouth 0.2KW
1449 BBC Radio 4 Aberdeen 2KW
1485 BBC Radio 4 Carlisle 0.8KW

The highest power one of these is the 10-kilowatt transmitter at Lisnagarvey near Belfast. 

The BBC in a statement wrote.,.. "Effective 15th April, Radio 4 will no longer be available on medium wave. Medium wave listeners will need to retune their radio to alternative platforms."

Links...
1) BBC announcement
2) My Medium Wave page

Upcoming HAREC Amateur Radio Licence Exams in Ireland - 11th May 2024

From the IRTS... "HAREC Exams on May 11th in Dublin and Tralee, Co. Kerry

The IRTS Examinations Board is pleased to announce that it has received approval from ComReg to hold the next HAREC exam on Saturday the 11th of May 2024.

The venues will be the Maldron Hotel located in Tallaght, Dublin 24 and The Rose Hotel in Tralee, Co. Kerry. Registration at both venues with commence at 10.30am, and the exam will commence at 11am, finishing at 1 pm.

Applicants who wish to sit the next exam but have not yet applied, should download and complete the Exam Application Form from the downloads section of the IRTS website. Applicants are also advised to consult the ‘’Applying for an Exam ‘’ section on the IRTS website for instructions on how to proceed with the application or contact Mick EI6IKB on irts DOT exams AT gmail DOT com

The deadline for applications is the 27th of April 2024 ...Mick Cahill EI6IKB, IRTS Examinations Board"

For more information, go to www.irts.ie/exam

Long path opening on 28 MHz from Ireland to Australia - March 2024

Conditions on the 28 MHz band over the last few weeks have been excellent and using the WSPR beacon mode, I have heard 20 stations in Australia on the 10m band.

I usually hear these signals via short path during the morning time or early afternoon but when I checked, I noticed that I had heard two Australian stations via long path as well.

   local   y-m-d txCall txGrid rxCall rxGrid MHz W SNR drift kms
2024-03-21 08:44 VK4TDI QG62lm EI7GL IO51tu 28.126131 5 -24 0 16889
2024-03-21 08:38 VK4TDI QG62lm EI7GL IO51tu 28.126132 5 -23 0 16889
2024-03-20 20:38 VK4TDI QG62lm EI7GL IO51tu 28.126128 5 -21 0 23111
2024-03-20 08:58 VK4TDI QG62lm EI7GL IO51tu 28.126132 5 -24 0 16889
2024-03-19 13:38 VK4TDI QG62lm EI7GL IO51tu 28.126124 5 -21 0 16889

2024-03-21 08:36 VK2KYB QF56lf EI7GL IO51tu 28.126117 5 -25 0 17410
2024-03-21 08:10 VK2KYB QF56lf EI7GL IO51tu 28.126116 5 -27 0 17410
2024-03-20 20:56 VK2KYB QF56lf EI7GL IO51tu 28.126115 5 -24 0 22590
2024-03-17 07:10 VK2KYB QF56lf EI7GL IO51tu 28.126117 5 -27 0 17410
2024-02-25 08:12 VK2KYB QF56lf EI7GL IO51tu 28.126072 5 -26 0 17410

The WSPR decodes for VK2KYB in Sydney and VK4TDI are shown above. All of the short path decodes are in black while the long path decodes are in red.

The chart below shows the predicted propagation from my location on 28 MHz to the SE coast of Australia and it seems reasonably accurate. You can see the stronger short path in the morning with a modest long path in the evening.

The long path to Australia is a difficult one for me as there is a local hill here which means that the signals have to be over 3-degrees above the horizon to reach me.

Lesotho in the log on 28 MHz CW - 27th March 2024

I managed to work the 7P8EI in Lesotho today on 28 MHz CW, my first DX contact in about 12-months!

I have no idea if it's a new country or not on 28 MHz but to be honest, I don't really care. I'm not too bothered about chasing DX but there's just something nice about working Lesotho on CW on 28 MHz. 

The path is shown below. I worked them at about 14:00 UTC so the propagation prediction shows that the contact was possible. In reality, the signal to me was just above the noise... weak but workable.

I was using 100-watts to a vertical half-wave antenna.