2m Sporadic E Today.

 This was a bit of a surprise.

I had the radio running on 1297.5 and the second receiver on 144.300.

Suddenly I noticed SSB signals coming on, and when I checked it was a French station. I managed to work a QSO with my horizontal omnidirectional antenna, my Big Wheel.

I did hear some Spanish stations, too, but not strong enough to make any QSOs.

This season has been a bit below normal to me, but I did manage to make Es on 2m, after all. 

I do need a better antenna bit higher up, probably a small 4 element yagi on a rotator.

Aurora Heard on 2m.

 Today the arrival of a double CME from the sun resulted in aurora on 2m.

I heard several solid signals, but due to my poor antenna, a "Big Wheel" (cloverleaf) antenna, I did not make any contacts.

And one of my favourite radio propagation sites SolarHam is back. I had solarham.net in my links, and it stopped working, so tried solarham.com today, and there it was.

K- index went high

First time in a long while I have heard such strong aurora on 2m in a long time.

The opening lasted about an hour, and the interplanetary magnetic field  (Bz component) went almost neutral, and then South again, so there may be an update later today.

Update 2100Z:

The K-index higher again, but I was not hearing more aurora with my small antenna.

Mini project #4B: Small 70cm Flexa Yagi, and Some Thoughts on the Higher Frequencies.

When I purchased the small Flexa Yagi antennas some time ago it was the intention to make a compact, not too visible antenna system for 2m/70cm/23cm SSB/CW etc operation. At the time I had chemo therapy, so everything went too slowly, and the project almost died.

This project has now been resurrected, and I got the 3 antennas assembled. 

- 4 element yagi for 144MHz

- 11 element yagi for 432MHz (strictly speaking 8 elements, as there are 3 reflectors making a reflector plane).

- 16 element yagi for 1296MHz

The Flexa antennas have very thin steel elements (and a not too heavy boom), reducing the visual impact of the antennas, as I wanted

All these antennas are made for mounting in front of the mast, i.e. "behind" the reflector, so the mast will not interfere with the function of the antenna by blocking part of the elements, especially on the higher frequencies.

Having all antennas front mounted will create an imbalance of the load on the rotator, so I am thinking of making a compromise here: Mounting the largest antenna (the 4 el. for 2m) on one side of the mast, then mount the 70 and 23cm antenna in the opposite direction. This will make the operation a bit more cumbersome, but I think it can be done.

I may add a Moxon Rectangle for 4 and 6m to the system. This is a rather small antenna and will not add significantly to the visual impact.

Further, some small antennas for the 2400MHz and 10GHz band are expected to be added. No parabolic dish there, just some tiny yagi or patch antenna for 2400 and a small horn antenna with a transverter for 10GHz. This is for later, but initially a LNB (frequency stabilized), maybe with a small horn extension will be mounted for 10GHz monitoring purposes.

I will need to mount this on a rotator. No need for a heavy duty one, so I am looking into options.

I intend to mount the system on top of an old apple tree where I have some antennas already.

For SSB/CW (DX) work I have had a clover leaf ("Big Wheel") antenna mounted right on the top of the tree, essentially invisible, and it has provided some DX on 2m.

What kind of performance can I expect from this system.

On 2m, the stated gain of the 4 el. antenna is 7.6dBd. This may be exaggerated, but compared to the old clover leaf antenna I expect to mount the 4 el. 2-3m higher and less obstructed, so I would expect a performance improvement of approximately 10dB over the clover leaf antenna. With a good preamp at the antenna, and also an added PA in the shack I should have a solid performance boost, compared to the current system.

On 70cm, with a stated gain of 10.2dBd the system is a very modest, but some DX activity should be possible.

On 23cm, with a stated gain of 14.2dB (exaggerated?) I would expect some interesting occasional DX activity, especially if a preamp and a PA (25W?) is mounted near the antenna.

On 13cm this system will just be playing around , maybe with some interesting DX in the best directions I have, but I do not expect much there. 

On 3cm  the system is very modest. I may be fortunate enough to make some DX under excellent tropo conditions, and possibly some rain scatter QSOs. 

For the higher (microwave) bands some hilltop operation is probably a much better option, but the capability of some modest home operation is good to have.

Mini Project #4. 4 El. Yagi For 2m.

 A while ago I purchased the Flexa Yagi 4 element antenna for 2m. 

At the time I purchased it I did not have sufficient strength in the fingers, and  the precision to do the job, due to having chemo therapy. That is now much less of a problem, though there are some side effects of that left over. Yes, I did not ask for assistance, as I like to do most of my stuff myself.

This one is designed for being mounted in front of the mast, so the mast would be behind the reflector. This allows the antenna to be mounted for horizontal or in the vertical polarization.

Another advantage is that this antenna has very thin steel elements, so only the boom is clearly visible from the ground. This is part of my low-visibility antenna system.

For my use I have mounted the mast clamp between the reflector and the feed element.

The FX 205V has a claimed gain of 7.6dBd. That may be a bit on the high side, but let us estimate the gain to be above 6dBd, and I will be satisfied.

I have used a "Big Wheel" or "Clover leaf" omnidirectional antenna for a while. It has been mounted right in the to of an apple tree, and I did make a bit of DX on 2m with that one. Ukraine was one of them.

In order to get the full benefit of this antenna I need to mount it on a rotator. That will not happen until the weather is much better, some time in the spring. When that happens, the small Yagi will likely be mounted 2-3m higher than the clover leaf antenna, and due to the height difference and the fact that the Yagi will be in the clear, I would expect signals to improve significantly on 2m, probably in the order of 10dB.

What next?

Maybe the 23cm Flexa Yagi I have had lying in the box for quite a while Then it will be ready, even if I cannot mount it yet.

Found at Rally: Triplexer.

 A few weeks ago I found this at a local get-together taking place at a repeater site. At this meeting they sell (often donated) stuff for the benefit of running the repeater.

This year I found an unknown set of band filters in a box, I suspected that it would be a kind of triplexer, and toady I got my NanoVNA out, and yes it is.

The connector at the far side is the common one. On the near side we see two very recognizable labels, VHF and UHF. I did not know what the third one was, but measuring I found.

Testing from the common port:

TOS: Low pass filter, flat up to 117MHz, then a small dip of up to 5dB, then a 3dB cut-off at about 134MHz.

VHF: Flat from 135MHz - 270MHz, but some feed through up to about 315MHz. Good attenuation below 100MHz and above 400MHz.

UHF: High pass filter with 3dB cut-off around 336MHz. Attenuation on 1300MHz was about 3dB.

Residual attenuation:

Below 100MHz: Practically flat with <0.5dB attenuation

VHF: <0.5dB at 144MHz

UHF: <0.5dB at 435MHz

Attenuation between band ports was more than 22dB at frequencies where I would expect to transmit, so that is insufficient for a transceiver triplexer. For a VHF-UHF monitoring receiver system, this would work nicely.

I got a few of the filters for experiments. I had decided that the shielded boxes, at least, could be useful for other RF projects, and there were some decent looking (SMD) capacitors for VHF and UHF. There were quite a bit of these filters,  so I might have got a few more. If they are there next year I may get some of them again.

 Yes, finally I got to use my RF test equipment, now it is time to get some construction done.

Quick Test of Some Receivers for Monitoring.

Over the week end I found some older scanner receivers etc that I want to use for propagation monitoring and general (local) traffic monitoring.

Because I like to have the monitoring running for hours every day, and using solar power, I want to limit the power consumption.

Monitoring FM channels:

I have a 10m FM transceiver that I intend to use for monitoring 10m FM on 29.600. Draws 160mA on receive, which is acceptable, though not ideal. Current consumption is still about 160mA, but it is better than using the IC-703. For 10m FM it is also possible to use a Bearcat UBC92XLT handheld scanner running 6V with 70mA current consumption. A voltage regulator reducing the 13V to 6V will be necessary for this (easily built).

For 6m FM, monitoring frequencies in the 51-52MHz segment I can use my older Yaesu VX-5.

The best results of those came with 2 handheld scanner receivers, Bearcat UBC65XLT. These are 10 channel units capable of running in the 4m, 2m and 70cm bands. They draw 5mA when off, and 50mA when receiving. 

I think that one of those should scan the 4m FM segment - 70.300 - 70-500 - 9 channels, and 69.900. the frequency pair 69.900/70.500 is allowed in Denmark for use with repeaters - yes 600kHz spacing, just like the 2m repeaters.

The alternative would be using a (Wouxun?) handheld for this purpose, if I can find out how to program its memories.

The second one can be used for 2m, and the 143.625 MHz, all in 25kHz spacing system. 143.625 has been used by the space stations Mir and ISS for communication with the ground stations in Russia.

For 2m FM I could also use my older Kenwood handheld TRX, or a Baofeng as monitor, again if I can figure out how to program the beast. Since I have no intention of transmitting with those I have no problem using those Chinese radios for monitoring.

For 70cm I could use the Baofeng's again.

Now, what to do for 23cm? I do have an old Kenwood TM741 triband radio, and that could be useful for FM monitoring on that band. I will have to test the power consumption of this one, but it does have the advantage of being capable of running 3 bands simultaneously, with additional transmit capability. I can likely find a low power scanner capable of running 23cm. We shall see.

I am well aware that some antennas will be necessary for all this (and more) monitoring.

The advantage of receive-only antennas is that the preamplifier, if it is necessary, can be placed close to the antenna, so a low cost coax cable (cheap satellite cable) can be used.

The 10 - 6 - 4m, and 8m bands could be covered by a TFD antenna about 2.5m long, hanging in a tree in the garden. Essentially invisible.

For 2m, 70cm and 23cm a short tri-band vertical can be used, with a wideband preamp, and stilll the low cost cable. Not invisible, but relatively discreet. Yes I am aware of the possible overload of some receivers when transmitting, but that is, for now, an acceptable compromise.

For reception on bands in between - such as air band and FM broadcast radio of both Western European and Russian stations, a wide band antenna, such as a discone or a log-periodic antenna could be used with a wideband preamplifier.

The next level will be some monitoring using FT8 and beacon reception, and this requires more sophisticated reception systems capable of SSB. I have some ideas, but this will have to wait for another time.

Late Christmas Present: IC-705. (updated).

 I finally did it!

I ordered the Icom IC-705 portable 5/10W transceiver for MF/HF/6m and 2m/70cm.

Operation is much like the IC-7300 I already had, so it was easy to get started. 

After testing that it worked, the first thing I did was updating the firmware from v1.12 to v1.26, so I could get the latest functionality.

Two things were a bit annoying:

- the spare battery I purchased will not attach correctly. It is a third party part with the Wimo logo on it.

the battery cannot be pressed sufficiently down to get the snap lock engaged - at least not without resorting to "violence".

- frequency tuning steps in FM mode. When setting the steps on one band, say 10m, it changes all bands from 10m up to 70cm. Not good, as on 10m and 6m we need 10kHz (maybe even 5kHz) steps. In Europe the tuning steps are 12.5kHz on 2m and 70cm. I would have been happy to see a 2.5kHz tuning step in FM mode, but no, not available. There are 2 work-arounds: For now I use 0.5kHz tuning steps, so I can hit all the frequencies needed. The other option is storing all the frequencies on the non standard TS in memories. This will take time, but can be done. Ideally the tuning steps should be programmable per band (HF - 6m - 2m - 70cm).

Otherwise this is a beautiful little transceiver, and the first QSO - just a Russian on 20m with 5W - has been done in CW.

The IC-705 will be used for some QRP HF work, but mainly as a base transceiver for microwave transverters. The spectrum display is invaluable for propagation monitoring.

Update 2022-01-14:

I did 17 QSOs until now, all in CW with 5W.  The bands with success were 80-40-20-17-15m. The antenna I mostly use is a very low hanging 5-band dipole with the feed point less than 4m (13ft) above the ground. A few were made with my R-6000, a half wave vertical  for 10-12-15-17-20m.

I think I will try another challenge: 365 QSOs in 2022, with 5W, using either the IC-705 or other 5W TRXs. I have a Chinese 4 band radio for 20-30-40-80m, and also a QCX+ kit for 20m that I should build.

Also needed is a better 30m antenna. That could also be used for 10-6-4m, even as a vertical.

Idea Box: More Simple HF CW Transceiver(s).

 Here is another one for the idea box.

While I am doing stuff for much higher frequencies I am still thinking of this in connection with my "one QSO per band with home made gear" challenge. I was thinking of using a kit (or two) for a simple HF CW transceiver using a direct conversion receiver.

Some examples of those kits are the Pixie, the Rockmite, the Frog Sound and the 49'er. I have a box with some of those kits, and some of them should be quite easy to convert to HF bands up to 18MHz without too much loss of performance.

For higher frequencies I suspect that the receiver sensitivity will be insufficient for efficient work on those bands (21/24/28MHz). Here it is probably a good idea to use two kits, one for TX and one for RX, adding a preamplifier for improved RX sensitivity, and possibly a PA for higher TX power.

Each transceiver would be modified to use a SI5351 synthesizer board. This board should be controller (programmed) by, e.g. an Arduino, so I will have to learn another skill: Micro-controller programming. There are libraries and some programs in existence, but the programming skill will come in handy if I want to extend functions.

A simple 28MHz model could possibly be used as base transceiver for transverters to higher bands. This would not need RX modifications and could possibly be using just a simple TRX kit. I am well aware of the lack of CW activity, especially on the VHF/UHF/SHF bands, but a single QSO, or a few, should be possible.

I do have two other kits for CW transceivers, the QRP Labs' QCX+, with components for 20m and 60m. Still need to be built, but that is a matter of finding time to add those.

Do I have too many kits and projects? Yes, but I will not have any time to be bored, that is certain ...

Another one of the ideas stacking up ;)

2m Es Continues.

 This year's sporadic E season could turn out to be the best in my experience.

Yesterday, June 11th, I had the highest number of Es QSOs in a single day on 2m.

4 different stations in Southern France, one in SSB, the others in FT8, and a single Spanish station, EA1SA in IN83.

I am hopeful there will be more. 

This year I have been focusing more on the 2m band than on 4m and 6m when the chances look good, and it has been successful, even if I have missed openings - sometimes by mere minutes.

I have made good use of PSK-reporter and DX-Maps. Even when I was not at the radios, I can monitor the propagation on a separate screen in the house, and that pays off nicely. Of course, when I am away from the house I cannot immediately go to the radio, but at least I know if something interesting has happened while away.

Of course I want to make some contacts with this rare propagation, but I do not want to be tied to the radios all the time.

2m Sporadic E, and a Transatlantic Opening on 6m.

 The late afternoon today had a nice Es opening on 2m. Stations received were EA1. EA3, EA6 and IS0.

I managed a single QSO with EA6SA, and I was called by another EA6, but no complete QSO.

All with my omnidirectional "Big Wheel" antenna, so I am not complaining at all.

After finishing reading a book I noticed that the 6m band was open to North America. While I did not work any of the stations with my limited power, 80W into an omnidirectional vertical, the Diamond 3-band antenna "V2000", A lot of stations from Florida and Texas in the South to Wisconsin and further East in the North.

I really need a better antenna for 6m, one that can take the power from a power amplifier. I do have one, but it has been put away for the time being, because the antenna is only rated to 150W, and I do not want to lose it.

All in all a very interesting day of sporadic E.

Here is a thought. When looking at my logs through the years, there is a tendency to have 2m Es openings  at my place more often around two sets of dates, about 8th - 10th June and 8th - 10th July. This could be a coincidence, but it does coincide with meteor showers at those dates, so who knows? I do not.

I am well aware that the cause of sporadic E has many other (unknown) factors, but it is a thought I have had for some time.

Some 2m Sporadic E (Es).

 Yesterday my FT8 monitoring system detected a single Italian station, most likely a short Es opening, or a long meteor burst.

Then this morning I went to the radios and found that 10 minutes before there had been Es signals on 2m. 2 stations in Southern France and 4 stations in Northern Spain were detected with up to +11dB S/N.

Away from the station I have set up a rudimentary 2m Es monitoring system using the PSK-reporter and the DX-maps websites showing my own 2m FT8 spots and the Es-MUF map for Europe, as well as stations spotted on 6m FT8.

This monitoring system has been running essentially 24/7during the Es season, and I would like to be able to add to the system, so I can monitor 28(/40)/50/70/144MHz 24/7, especially during the Es season, so here is an addition to the "Idea Box":

For this I do have usable receivers, but the antenna system is not yet ready for this. For the purpose I am thinking of mounting a TFD (Terminated Folded Dipole) vertically, with an added broad band amplifier, hidden in the trees at the far end of my garden, at least for the 28 - 70MHz bands, and probably some kind of wideband antenna, usable for the FM broadcast band, air-band, 137MHz satellite band and 2m, also with a preamp.

An alternative for 2m would be a simple vertical or a horizontal V-dipole or a halo, with a narrow band preamp for 2m.

More 2m Es.

 2m is at it again. The DX Maps' MUF chart had lots of red patches, and some really high MUF spots (>200MHz).

I have not worked anything, the "high MUF" spots are either too close or too far. As is classic, at the moment of signals from EA3, EA5, I was in the shower. There is a reason it is named **Sporadic** E.

Update 1538UTC:

IK7JNM in JN80 worked.

Update 1830UTC:

IK7UXW. also in JN80 a bit later, and even later

EA2BFM in IN83. Some EA4 also heard, but not worked.

Update 1900UTC:

IU0LLD in JN61FU

Considering that I am working with a simple omnidirectional antenna (Big Wheel) this is not bad. I think I need to get my preamplifier sequencing  working, so my "ears" will improve.

Most Active Es Day For Me This Year.

Today was quite a day for sporadic E propagation (Es).

2m:

While I have received Es on 2m a few days ago, I worked my first 2m Es today. One Russian and one Italian. Both were worked with FT8 because I only had low power available at those moments. I discovered the opening to Italy a bit late when I checked the PSKreporter while in a local QSO, then I got busy. I probably missed the main opening, but at least I got one.

Here is the map of received stations via 2m Es today. Quite a bit of propagation.

Initially I tried to work SSB or CW, but at that moment the PA went on strike. After the openings I checked, and with a power disconnect-reconnect it works again. I suspected the RF input level to the PA was too high in SSB, so played with the levels for DIGI modulation and Mic Gain, as well as limiting the RF output level of the radio, and now all works nicely again.

4m:

The other day I worked a single station on Es, today there was a bit more (yes, just two). The antenna used is still the HF dipole. not ideal, but it does provide QSOs.

6m:

This band has been humming with signals every day the past week. Today I got just under 20 QSOs on 6m, all with trying 2 and 4m in the mean time.

Oh, the weather was perfect for working on the radio, raining much of the day.

Local Tropo and Other Propagation on 2m.

 In August we had some beautiful sunny weather, providing some excellent tropo propagation on 2m, and, as reported by others, also on the higher bands. Now we are back to the classical Danish weather, a little bit of sunshine, some heavy rain, even cloud bursts.

A few evenings the local FM channel had S9 signals from distances between 100 and 200km (60 - 120 miles). I refer to this kind of propagation as "Local Tropo", mostly because running SSB/CW regularly provides longer distances than this. 

Don't get me wrong, "Local Tropo" is quite fun, but I prefer working the longer distances, using SSB/CW, and sometimes the weak signal modes, like FT8. 

Mind you, on 2m FT8 is an excellent addition to the arsenal in tropo openings, but for sporadic E the fading in and out is often too fast for finishing a QSO, whereas with SSB or CW the signals can be quite strong for a very short period, then disappear forever, but in that time a QSO can be easily worked with CW or SSB. If the sporadic E lasts longer, the signals are often quite strong for a long time, and it is not necessary to use FT8. 

While this is true for Sporadic E, there might be some longer lasting scatter-like propagation making contacts possible with FT8, that could not be made otherwise, so I cannot totally discard it as being useful. As an example, some weak, slightly longer lasting sporadic E or some scatter mode, extended by tropo propagation just might provide some possibilities for 3-5000km distances for a station location like mine, not particularly suited for long haul tropo (-scatter). Yes I am not located close to an ocean, where really long sea ducts can occur.

Finally: 2m Sporadic E QSO, the First After I Moved Back to OZ.

Hooray !
After a few false starts, first receiving FT8 signals while away from the radio, and hearing sporadic (sic!) signals on 2m, I made my first QSO via 2m sporadic E, since I moved back to Denmark.

This is probably my first sporadic E on 2m since I moved to The Netherlands in late 1989.

Before this, today I heard a few signals, was calling EB1A, close, but no QSO. I was told that he had heard me, but we could not complete.

Then hearing a local, OZ6OL, working into HA, I could hear the HA, but no.

Then, after a bit of quiet, I worked YU7ACO in KN05rd. The MUF was clearly hig in some other places, but at least I got started.

More Signs of the Es Season on 2m.

While I was away doing other stuff, there was an opening on 2m, signals from I, IS0, F, EA, EA6 coming in via FT8. No spectacularly strong signals, mostly in the -10dB range.

This may be FAI (Field Aligned Irregularities), some kind of scatter signals, I think. The openings lasted about 2 hours, maybe more. Of course, 6 and 4m had openings, more typical Es type signals, and for longer.

I hope to make it to 2m sporadic E this year, it's been a while.

Edit 2130UTC: Later in the evening: Many stations have been received on 6m in EA8, CT3, CU3, CN and S01WS, plus very weak signals from across the Atlantic: KP4. - and, of course, most of Europe, East and West.

Signals from EA1 coming in on 4m right now. We shall see if I can make a QSO.

Sporadic E on 2 Meters

Yesterday and today I experienced Es on 2m for the first time this year.

In the morning of yesterday I detected an opening, but only after looking at my FT8 PSK-reporter map.

There was a solid signal from the Ukraine and a weak one from UA6, just East of the Black Sea.

Then, today the following appeared, almost while I looked at WSJT-X:

1016 RT3G   KO92up

1028 RK2T   KO93ad

Both were in the -15 - -20dB range, so quite weak, but they were there, none the less.

The past week there have been substantial Es openings on 28, 50 and 70MHz, but I did not detect anything on 2m until yesterday. Also, today Russian FM stations were there aplenty on 70MHz.

A few days ago I detected signals on 50MHz from Japan. No North America on 6m yet.

The season has really started. Interesting to see what this year's season will provide.

2m Tropo Over The New Year's Period.

Though I have had the cough and not too much energy, 2m has been good to me, mostly via FT8. When the voice is not good, it is a much better mode, and it is excellent for monitoring the propagation.

2m:
Coming back home on the 27th (I think) I noticed a cluster of spots from Southern France, all within a period of 10 minutes and in a relatively small area. This I consider a sporadic E opening, as other stations i Europe were working Es via a reflecting "cloud in the same area. My first experience of 2m Winter Es.
In the same opening LX1JX was worked as a new DXCC on 6m.
28th provided QSOs with 3 G stations and a PA. Not spectacular, but not too bad.
2nd January, just a single QSO on 2m with LY5P
5th gave me quite a surprise: I saw EA2XR in my FT8 display, only 17dB S/N, but I tried anyway. Much to my surprise he answered my first call, and the QSO was made. The surprise is more so, because he gave me a better report than I gave him: -6dB S/N. My guess is that I must have been lucky that he had his antenna precisely in my direction, and that his receiver is top notch (EME system?)
On 10m S01WS was worked.

All through this, I am surprised of the results using an omni-directional (Big Wheel) antenna on 2m, a long, lossy cable, and ... no preamplifier. There is plenty of room for improvement.

This is not a bad start of 2020.

2020 Has Started, And A Brief Look Back On 2019.

For me, 2020 started in the sign of the cough. It stared e few days before the New Year, and is still there, though it seems to be subsiding now.

2019 was a year of travel, and not too much radio activities.
The QO100 geostationary satellite was activated, and the amateur radio transponder went on line in February. I got a decent system up and running for receiving the narrow band transponder down link. This is actually not too complex, as a TV satellite LNB is sufficient for converting the 10GHz down link signal from the satellite. A bit of modification, and adding an external reference oscillator placed indoors proved necessary, was constructed and has been in use since then. An improved version is in the making.
Next step is - still - getting to transmit on the 2400MHz up link for the satellite.
Also on 10GHz, a simple experiment has been running: Using a LNB for reception of terrestrial signals, via rain scatter and tropospheric propagation. I am still impressed that I receive a beacon about 36km from here, certainly non-line-of-sight. It is there all the time, received with the LNB alone, no extra gain from a dish.
Also, a fair amount of sporadic E openings over the summer on 6m and 4m, with a few new countries worked on each band, and getting a fair amount of components for projects (mostly via eBay).
Not too many projects finished, and many more ideas appeared. It is a fact of life that getting ideas is easy, putting them into practise takes much more time.

2020 should probably see me finishing just a few projects, like:
- QO100 uplink capability
- receive antenna system for monitoring several frequencies simultaneously
- some QRSS activity, mostly grabbing (receiving) QRSS signals  and other weak signal modes

The beginning of 2020 (and the end of 2019) has seen some spectacular tropospheric propagation over the Atlantic.
On 2m the European distance record was broken for tropo signals, with a spectacular QSO between Cape Verde and Northern Scotland.
On 70cm the world record was broken with a QSO from Cape Verde to Scotland.
All this has been made possible by using weak signal modes, like FT8. I would not be surprised if those records will be broken again later this year. Exciting times on VHF and UHF, and possibly the microwave bands.

Happy New Year to all from here. Hope to work some of you guys.

Surprise Tropo On 2m. Update.

Today has been a bit of a surprise to me.
Late afternoon a GW was detected on 2m FT8, all with my Big Wheel omni antenna.
Near midnight local time there were a few G stations (G4KUX and M0NPT worked), and GM4FVM, also worked.
It was unexpected because most of the day we have had rain. Further, this is a rather poor direction for me on VHF/UHF.
Ah, well, this just shows that more is possible than we sometimes expect.

Update:
More tropo propagation in the morning of 2019-12-04:
Several German stations into the middle of the country, and 1 SP, 1 PE, and UT1FG/MM in JO94. Still with the Big Wheel antenna, 150W at the antenna. I am pretty happy.

Update #2:
This afternoon brought another SP, a SM3 and 2 OH1 stations (up to about 800km), and I tried working with the omni on 70cm with less than 10W at the antenna. the 70cm test yielded SP1NEN at about 300km.

Update #3:
One more new country on 2m (since I moved back to Denmark): YL2CZ.

All in all more than 40 QSOs in less than 24 hours.

You will hear no complaints from me today.