XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated, rec.radio.amateur.space

EI7GL....A diary of amateur radio activity

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

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 11:35 PM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/07/opening-on-50-mhz-from-europe-to.html


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...

Spotter Freq. DX Time Info Country
VK6KXW 50313.0 Z37CXY 07:29 15 Jul tnx qso North Macedonia
VK6OX-@ 50313.4 Z37CXY 07:26 15 Jul FT8 -13dB North Macedonia
VK6KXW-@ 50313.4 Z37CXY 07:24 15 Jul FT8 -10dB North Macedonia
VK6KXW-@ 50315.2 CT1EKY 07:13 15 Jul FT8 -12dB 15150km Portugal
VK6OX-@ 50314.9 UR0MC 07:07 15 Jul FT8 11766km -15dB Ukraine
VK6KXW 50313.0 IZ7NLJ 06:52 15 Jul tnx best -03 Italy
VK6KXW-@ 50314.6 YT1Q 06:52 15 Jul FT8 -24dB 12895km Serbia
VK6KXW-@ 50314.3 IZ7NLJ 06:46 15 Jul FT8 -19dB 13084km Italy
VK6OX-@ 50314.9 UR0MC 06:46 15 Jul FT8 11766km -18dB Ukraine
VK6OX-@ 50314.3 IZ7NLJ 06:43 15 Jul FT8 12952km -21dB Italy
VK6KXW-@ 50313.9 4O6AH 06:40 15 Jul FT8 -19dB 12967km Montenegro
VK6KXW-@ 50314.3 IZ7NLJ 06:37 15 Jul FT8 -19dB 13084km Italy
VK6KXW-@ 50315.0 UR0MC 06:32 15 Jul FT8 -16dB 11894km Ukraine
VK6KXW-@ 50315.0 UT9EZ 06:24 15 Jul FT8 -14dB Ukraine
VK6KXW-@ 50315.0 UR0MC 06:17 15 Jul FT8 -06dB 11894km Ukraine
VK4ABW-@ 50314.9 UR0MC 06:14 15 Jul FT8 -17 best, tks 4 qso Ukraine
VK6KXW-@ 50315.0 UR0MC 06:05 15 Jul FT8 -20dB 11894km Ukraine
VK4ABW-@ 50314.7 UR5LAK 05:44 15 Jul FT8 -18 11321km Ukraine
VK4ABW-@ 50314.0 UR5LAK 05:39 15 Jul FT8 -21 Ukraine

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144 MHz signals from Minnesota & Illinois heard in Newfoundland (3100kms) - 14th July 2021

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 12:54 AM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/07/144-mhz-signals-from-minnesota-illinois.html

14th July 2021: The VO1FN receiving station in Newfoundland is currently listening for 144 MHz trans-Atlantic signals from Europe. On the 14th of
July, some amazing FT8 signals were heard in the opposite direction with
some off the back of the beam.

The map above shows how the receiver at VO1FN caught a Sporadic-E opening
in progress to the west.
The cluster of FT8 stations in the centre are all single hop Sporadic-E but
the two of real interest are the double hop signals further west.
KA9CFD in Illinois was at a distance of 3,109 kms.
W0ZQ in Minnesota was at a distance of 3,102 kms.
These are the FT8 reports from the PSK Reporter website in order of time... Txmtr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
VE3ELL 2m FT8 2118 km 19:52:41
W0ZQ 2m FT8 3102 km 19:22:44
N1BUG 2m FT8 1270 km 19:19:26
N2OA 2m FT8 2047 km 19:18:56
VE3WWR 2m FT8 2159 km 19:18:11
W1FKF 2m FT8 1531 km 19:13:26
K2TER 2m FT8 1984 km 19:07:26
KA2LIM 2m FT8 1984 km 19:05:26
NA2NY 2m FT8 1681 km 19:02:26
VE2PN 2m FT8 1389 km 18:59:57
VA3KA 2m FT8 1806 km 18:54:56
VE2UG 2m FT8 1590 km 18:48:11
VE3FN 2m FT8 1767 km 18:47:14
VE3DS 2m FT8 2120 km 18:46:56
VE2DFO 2m FT8 1658 km 18:44:59
VE3CIQ 2m FT8 1811 km 18:44:29
K1KA 2m FT8 1559 km 18:24:26
WA1T 2m FT8 1496 km 18:23:26
KA9CFD 2m FT8 3109 km 17:14:26
It's interesting to note that the opening seemed to be in different phases rather than in just one short window.
The station manager of VO1FN is Frank, VO1HP and he did mention that the
beam was turned west during the opening so there would probably have been
even more stations heard if the beam was pointing west from the start.
I should also point out that the PSK Reporter site only shows the last
heard signal. Some of the stations around 19:00 UTC may have been heard
earlier at 18:23 UTC but the site only shows the most recent signal.
What I found interesting was that there was almost two hours between the
two double hop signals.
I did check to see if the International Space Station was in the sky at the time and it wasn't so that's not a factor.
Trans-Atlantic on 144 MHz??... If there can be a 3100km opening from Newfoundland to the West then why not to the East across the North Atlantic?

The map above shows two beam headings from VO1FN in Newfoundland. 279
degrees and 3100kms to the West and 81 degrees and 3100kms to the East.
Surely there are times when there is a path at 144 MHz between Newfoundland
and Spain???
Links...1) Earlier post about the VO1FN trans-Atlantic monitoring
station.2) See my 144 MHz page for more examples of long distance paths at
144 MHz.

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15,000km+ opening on 50 MHz between SE Australia and Europe - 14th July 2021

Posted: 14 Jul 2021 02:56 PM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/07/15000km-opening-on-50-mhz-between-se.html

Wednesday 14th July 2021: Openings on the 50 MHz between Europe and
Australia near the bottom of the solar cycle are supposed to
be 'special'... i.e. a rare occurrence... something that doesn't happen
very often.
And yet the 14th of July saw yet another opening. I'm in two minds at this stage if I should be even recording these events are they seem so common? I need these openings to stop soon so I can take a break! 😂😂

The map above shows the extent of the opening from VK2XN in New South Wales
in the SE of Australia. You'll notice that opening on the 14th seems to be mainly to the south-east of Europe. The longest path on FT8 was to IS0AWZ
in Sardinia at 16,334kms.
I found the map for VK2OO near Sydney to be of interest...

Notice how the 50 MHz went up as far as Finland. Also notice how VK2OO also
had what seemed to be a big opening to Japan at about 04:00 UTC (~8000kms)
and this was followed later by the opening to Europe around 07:00 UTC. It
has all the appearance of TEP (Trans-Equatorial Propagation).
As far as I can tell, the opening from Europe seemed to be largely confined
to VK2 and VK3 stations in New South Wales and Victoria in the SE of
Australia.
These are the spots from the DX Cluster... VK2WJ 50313.0 UR0MC 07:36 14 Jul
FT8 QF56ss -> KN99ea UkraineVK3OER 50313.0 LY2IJ 07:20 14 Jul 071830 -10
0.2 2342 ~ CQ DX L LithuaniaLY2IJ 50313.0 VK3OER 07:17 14 Jul TU QSO! AustraliaDO5OT 50313.0 VK3DUT 07:13 14 Jul JO62WL<ES>QF32VF ft8 TNX new o AustraliaLY2IJ 50313.0 VK3ZYC 07:04 14 Jul TU QSO! QF31<>KO25
AustraliaIK6DTB 50313.0 VK2XN 06:35 14 Jul TNX 73 AustraliaSV2JAO 50313.0
VK2XN 06:12 14 Jul kn10<es>qf59 AustraliaVK3ZAZ 50313.0 S57RR 05:49 14 Jul
FT8, CQ vk SloveniaVK3OT-@ 50313.5 S57RR 05:46 14 Jul into vk3
SloveniaVK3OER 50313.0 4O6AH 05:31 14 Jul 052700 -14 0.2 922 ~ CQ DX 4 MontenegroVK3DUT-@ 50313.0 406AH 05:31 14 Jul -17 rx only
MontenegroVK3DUT-@ 50313.0 I6WJB 05:30 14 Jul -18 rx only ItalySV1DH
50313.0 VK3BD 05:30 14 Jul CQ -16db and gone Australia
FT8 paths for Australian stations on 50 MHz to Europe are shown below...

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
UT2XQ VK2EFM 6m FT8 15007 km 07:19:42
UY1HY VK2EFM 6m FT8 14724 km 07:18:15
UT7QF VK2EFM 6m FT8 14553 km 07:21:12
UR9QQ VK2EFM 6m FT8 14553 km 07:17:45
UR5LAK VK2EFM 6m FT8 14442 km 07:15:42
UR0MC VK2EFM 6m FT8 14327 km 07:26:12

Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
UT2XQ VK2OO 6m FT8 14996 km 07:19:14
VK2OO UT2XQ 6m FT8 14996 km 07:05:59
VK2OO OH7LMQ 6m FT8 14961 km 07:09:29
UY1HY VK2OO 6m FT8 14712 km 07:15:45
VK2OO UY1HY 6m FT8 14712 km 07:12:29
UR5LAK VK2OO 6m FT8 14430 km 07:07:44
VK2OO US0LW 6m FT8 14320 km 07:30:29
VK2OO UR0MC 6m FT8 14314 km 07:29:59
UR0MC VK2OO 6m FT8 14314 km 07:09:14
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
VK2WJ 9A2JK 6m FT8 15930 km 06:40:29
UR5LAK VK2WJ 6m FT8 14460 km 06:38:14
VK2WJ UR0MC 6m FT8 14351 km 07:30:29
UR0MC VK2WJ 6m FT8 14345 km 07:24:44
VK2WJ UR0MC 6m FT8 14345 km 06:57:59
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
IS0AWZ VK2XN 6m FT8 16334 km 06:43:44
I6BQI VK2XN 6m FT8 15900 km 06:11:14
I6WJB VK2XN 6m FT8 15884 km 06:24:44
VK2XN I8OHQ 6m FT8 15773 km 06:54:30
S59A VK2XN 6m FT8 15696 km 06:06:44
VK2XN IZ7NLJ 6m FT8 15668 km 06:53:56
IZ7NLJ VK2XN 6m FT8 15668 km 06:42:14
IK7EOT VK2XN 6m FT8 15637 km 06:42:14
IW7DLE VK2XN 6m FT8 15583 km 06:39:15
4O6AH VK2XN 6m FT8 15469 km 06:13:14
VK2XN SV2DCD 6m FT8 15299 km 06:53:57
SV2DCD VK2XN 6m FT8 15299 km 06:39:14
Z37CXY VK2XN 6m FT8 15269 km 06:48:14
SV2JAO VK2XN 6m FT8 15215 km 06:56:14
VK2XN SV2JAO 6m FT8 15215 km 06:53:59
UT7QF VK2XN 6m FT8 14256 km 06:56:44
UR5LAK VK2XN 6m FT8 14138 km 07:07:44
UR0MC VK2XN 6m FT8 14024 km 07:07:45
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
DO5OT VK3BD 6m FT8 15963 km 07:04:14
LY2IJ VK3BD 6m FT8 15183 km 07:00:14
SV1DH VK3BD 6m FT8 14994 km 05:25:14
VK3BD SV1DH 6m FT8 14994 km 05:24:56
UY1HY VK3BD 6m FT8 14626 km 07:16:14
UT7QF VK3BD 6m FT8 14429 km 07:21:44
UR5LAK VK3BD 6m FT8 14342 km 06:55:44
UR0MC VK3BD 6m FT8 14224 km 07:33:14
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
I6WJB VK3DUT 6m FT8 16080 km 05:21:14
4O6AH VK3DUT 6m FT8 15672 km 05:21:44
UY1HY VK3DUT 6m FT8 14791 km 07:16:11
US4EX VK3DUT 6m FT8 14640 km 07:18:44
UT7QF VK3DUT 6m FT8 14594 km 07:19:11
UR9QQ VK3DUT 6m FT8 14593 km 07:19:14
UR5LAK VK3DUT 6m FT8 14506 km 07:33:14
UR0MC VK3DUT 6m FT8 14388 km 07:49:41
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
VK3FZ LY2IJ 6m FT8 15186 km 07:25:59
VK3FZ LY5E 6m FT8 15186 km 07:15:29
VK3FZ UR0MC 6m FT8 14219 km 06:58:59
UR0MC VK3FZ 6m FT8 14213 km 06:59:17
VK3HY LY2IJ 6m FT8 15194 km 07:16:59
VK3HY LY5E 6m FT8 15194 km 07:16:56
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
I6BQI VK3OER 6m FT8 15775 km 05:26:15
I6WJB VK3OER 6m FT8 15759 km 05:26:14
4O6AH VK3OER 6m FT8 15352 km 05:26:14
LY2IJ VK3OER 6m FT8 15058 km 07:33:45
VK3OER LY2IJ 6m FT8 15058 km 07:26:29
VK3OER LY5E 6m FT8 15058 km 07:26:29
UY1HY VK3OER 6m FT8 14489 km 07:19:44
UR5LAK VK3OER 6m FT8 14205 km 07:16:14
UR0MC VK3OER 6m FT8 14086 km 07:35:14
VK3WE
Txmtr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
UR0MC 6m FT8 14374 km 07:40:11
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
I6WJB VK3ZL 6m FT8 15812 km 05:36:14
4O6AH VK3ZL 6m FT8 15406 km 05:26:44
SV1DH VK3ZL 6m FT8 14879 km 04:25:14
UR0MC VK3ZL 6m FT8 14158 km 07:02:14
Txmtr Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
VK3ZYC LY2IJ 6m FT8 15334 km 07:19:30
VK3ZYC LY5E 6m FT8 15334 km 07:18:59
LY2IJ VK3ZYC 6m FT8 15334 km 07:08:14
UR0MC VK3ZYC 6m FT8 14369 km 07:25:44

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