Life on 6m

The 6 metre band is showing signs of life, as this map of WSPR activity from this afternoon shows.

However, some of the traces on the WSPR application screen look a bit odd.

I don’t claim to be an expert but I think what I am seeing is the result of doppler shift on the signals being reflected by fast-moving Sporadic-E clouds. In several cases what seems to be a trace has not been decoded.

I’ve said this before, but I wonder if WSPR mode with its 110 second transmit periods and tiny frequency shift encoding is really suitable for detecting Sporadic-E propagation. But no-one has ever commented on this, leaving me to wonder whether they think I’m an idiot who doesn’t know what he is talking about or whether nobody knows.

The digital mode most people seem to use on 6m is JT6M, however this entails using the WSJT program which I find rather confusing. I’m interested in trying JT65A but I’m not sure if it is any more suitable than WSPR for this type of work.

In the absence of any expert advice I’m going to try JT65A using a dial frequency of 50.276MHz. With the JT-Alert accessory to tell me when anyone replies I can leave the rig calling CQ whilst I am otherwise occupied. It will be interesting to see what we can work on 6m with the JT65A mode.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

2 Responses to “Life on 6m”

Leave a Comment

Subscribe FREE to AmateurRadio.com's
Amateur Radio Newsletter
News, Opinion, Giveaways & More!

E-mail 
Join over 7,000 subscribers!
We never share your e-mail address.



Also available via RSS feed, Twitter, and Facebook.


Subscribe FREE to AmateurRadio.com's
Amateur Radio Newsletter

 
We never share your e-mail address.


Do you like to write?
Interesting project to share?
Helpful tips and ideas for other hams?

Submit an article and we will review it for publication on AmateurRadio.com!

Have a ham radio product or service?
Consider advertising on our site.

Are you a reporter covering ham radio?
Find ham radio experts for your story.

How to Set Up a Ham Radio Blog
Get started in less than 15 minutes!


  • Matt W1MST, Managing Editor




Sign up for our free
Amateur Radio Newsletter

Enter your e-mail address: