Thursday's blog lamenting this summer's poor domestic Sporadic-E season on 6m must have struck a sour note with the propagation gods as Saturday afternoon and evening saw a massive opening to the eastern U.S., Alaska as well as to the Canadian Arctic ... it was even strong enough to show up the next morning and continue on and off for most of the day. Now that's the type of thing we used to see with fair regularity and it was a welcome respite from what has generally been acknowledged, along with last summer, as the poorest Es seasons in many years. The long-lasting, strong-signal opening provided us dedicated 6m junkies with a nice late season flurry of fun, which would not have been out of place had it occurred in mid-June ... maybe the Es 'metamorphosis' eluded to in my last blog also includes an extension of the normal season. Who knows what effect global warming is having on this aspect of natural phenomenon ... there is just not enough yet known about this fascinating mode of propagation that generates so much interest every summer.

The map below shows the 'leftover' activity on Sunday morning ... not as much as Saturday night but still a pretty good showing for the last day of July!

courtesy: http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/map.php

I spent most of my time working this opening on JT65, up at 50.276, and learning the ropes of this fast-growing mode. One thing is abundantly clear however ... ideally, the chosen JT mode for 6m Es should be JT9 and not JT65.

Using JT9 would allow 10 times the number of stations to fit into the present JT-window ... that's 100 JT9 stations instead of 10! With JT65, the window fills-up quickly and the QRM can soon take its toll with the usual ear-splitting strength of Es signals.The waterfall below shows the much narrower, more sensitive JT9 mode on the right compared with the wider JT65 signal on the left.

courtesy: https://sm7vrz.wordpress.com/jt9-english/

I took the opportunity to send out a few JT9 CQ's and did work a number of stations with several of them being well into the -20db range ... too weak for CW but readily worked on JT9. The sensitivity of JT9 will allow two-way contacts to be completed right down to the -27db range, over a one minute transmission period. This is pretty close to the popular WSPR none-QSO mode! I'm surprised that WSPR is so popular on HF when hams could actually be working each other, on-the-air in weak-signal mode JT, instead of relying on a backdoor computer link to see who is hearing their signals ... isn't two-way communication what it's all about? Granted, WSPR beaconing is great for observing propagation trends when you can't be there to watch, and therein lies its utility. Please excuse my short WSJT rant!

Saturday night's opening provided another rare visit from the 6m 'snowman' ... VYØSNO/b, located in Iqaluit, Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic. The beacon is rarely heard as far west as VE7 and it is always a great treat to catch it. It is basically unmaintained so when it fails, may never be repaired ... it's nice to know that its 25 W transmitter is still doing the job. I suspect that if anything fails, it will be the antenna in the brutal Arctic winter weather. The beacon's vertical antenna is located on the top of the high building on the left.

courtesy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org

A little later in the evening, an even rarer beacon made a 599 appearance as well ... VYØYHK/b, located on King William Island, Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. It was pure magic to hear its little 15W transmitter, complete with Arctic 'flutter', pounding into the west coast from above the Arctic Circle.

Sunset at VYØYHK courtesy: https://thesongiliveby.com

courtesy: https://www.google.ca/maps

This short video was made during Saturday evening's opening to the north and before the VYØYHK/b appeared. The weaker beacon on 50.030 is VY1DX in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

This morning, as I write this, the band is open to W1 and points to the east ... still some life left in the band yet.

It will be interesting to watch what happens over the next two weeks, when most Es activity on 6m usually folds its tent and quietly disappears until the following May ... let's hope the Fat Lady still needs more practice before pulling the curtain.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2016 Aug 01 0511 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 25 – 31 July 2016

Solar activity was very low throughout the period with the exception of a single C1 flare at 25/0909 UTC from departed Region 2567 (N05, L=166, class/area Dki/380 on 21 July). Region 2570 (N10E24, Axx/alpha) was the sole numbered sunspot for the majority of the period but was unimpressive and did not contribute any significant flaring. A 25 degree filament, centered near N01E06, was observed lifting off of the visible disk in SDO/AIA imagery beginning at 28/1620 UTC. ENLIL analysis showed an Earth-directed component with CME arrival expected early on 02 August.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at moderate levels on 25, 28-29 July and high levels on 26-27 and 30-31 July.

Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet to active levels on 25 July due to residual influence from a weak transient that arrived at Earth on 24 July. This shock enhancement was likely associated with flare activity from 20 July. Geomagnetic field activity was quiet on 26-27 July under a nominal solar wind regime. Quiet to active conditions were observed on 28-29 July after the arrival of a CIR followed by a transition into a negative polarity CH HSS. Wind speeds reached 600 km/s while total field (Bt) measurements were as high as 17 nT. Geomagnetic field activity returned to quiet conditions on 30-31 July.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 01 August – 27 August 2016

Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels from 01-04 August. Low levels with a chance for M-class (R1-R2, Minor-Moderate) flares are expected from 05-19 August with the return of Regions 2565 and 2567. A return to very low levels is expected on 20-27 August.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 08, 5-15, 18-22, 25-27 August due to recurrent CH HSS activity. Normal to moderate levels are expected for the remainder of the forecast period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels on 04-05, 10-11, 15-16, 24-25 August with G1 (Minor) storm levels likely on 03 August due to recurrent CH HSS activity. A CME associated with the eruptive filament from 28 July is likely to arrive early on 02 August causing unsettled to G2 (Moderate) storm levels. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected for the remainder of the period.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/

Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: + https://Twitter.com/NW7US + https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

Get the space weather and radio propagation self-study course, today. Visit http://nw7us.us/swc for the latest sale and for more information!

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On Sunday I decided to move from CW to digital and see how my small antenna setup preformed using JT-65.  I first made sure the software and the rig would "talk" with each other. The software I use is WSJT-X by K1JT along with Win4K3 suite for rig control. I find K1JT's software very easy to use, it has been some time since I used it but I had no issues getting it up and running. I then went to PSK reporter to see which bands were preforming well. I ended up choosing 20m, I did bounce around to 15m, 17m and 30m but ended up staying with 20m. My power was set to 5 watts and the antenna was my trusty MFJ 1788 loop antenna. I am in a condo on the 6th floor which seems to be a good hight for the antenna. The only issue I have is other tall condo's to the left and right of me and one right dead centre. I had called CQ for about 4 hours off and on and the PSK reporter did show my signal was getting out. I was pleased with the results as with CW the Reverse Beacon network at the best of times only gave me between 3 to 10 hits that were all state side and fairly local to me as well. I was very pleased to be heard in the Netherlands and European Russia! Below is a screen shot of the results using PSK reporter.
 I also wanted to mention that on Saturday I tried to run WSPR and I say "tried" as I had ZERO spots reported and that was after having it up and running for several hours. I was not sure if something was wrong with my setup. I again was using WSJT's program and it showed no issues. My power was set to 1 watt and I ended up raising that to 4 watts but still no one heard my signal. I was pleased to see a decent response to my JT-65 effort and I then knew my signal was getting out.

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

On Sunday I decided to move from CW to digital and see how my small antenna setup preformed using JT-65.  I first made sure the software and the rig would "talk" with each other. The software I use is WSJT-X by K1JT along with Win4K3 suite for rig control. I find K1JT's software very easy to use, it has been some time since I used it but I had no issues getting it up and running. I then went to PSK reporter to see which bands were preforming well. I ended up choosing 20m, I did bounce around to 15m, 17m and 30m but ended up staying with 20m. My power was set to 5 watts and the antenna was my trusty MFJ 1788 loop antenna. I am in a condo on the 6th floor which seems to be a good hight for the antenna. The only issue I have is other tall condo's to the left and right of me and one right dead centre. I had called CQ for about 4 hours off and on and the PSK reporter did show my signal was getting out. I was pleased with the results as with CW the Reverse Beacon network at the best of times only gave me between 3 to 10 hits that were all state side and fairly local to me as well. I was very pleased to be heard in the Netherlands and European Russia! Below is a screen shot of the results using PSK reporter.
 I also wanted to mention that on Saturday I tried to run WSPR and I say "tried" as I had ZERO spots reported and that was after having it up and running for several hours. I was not sure if something was wrong with my setup. I again was using WSJT's program and it showed no issues. My power was set to 1 watt and I ended up raising that to 4 watts but still no one heard my signal. I was pleased to see a decent response to my JT-65 effort and I then knew my signal was getting out.

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Linux in the Ham Shack is back with another riveting episode all about open-source software, ham radio and fun. Topics for this fortnight include the closing of a large online ham radio equipment retailer, a new call sign database (yes, another one), SOTA, Solus, a bit of depth on the Hamradio Pure Blend and much more. Thank you as always for tuning in--and don't forget to check out another great ham radio podcast that always gives us the time of day, HamRadio 360.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

If you thought our last SDR giveaway was BIG,
this one is even 25% bigger!

NooElec and AmateurRadio.com have teamed up (again!)
to give away
Over 50 SDR Radio Receivers
to 30 lucky ham radio operators worldwide.

…and they’ll even pay the shipping worldwide!
The deadline to enter is 7 August 2016 at 20:00 UTC.

Prize Packages

Two (2)
NESDR SMArt HF Bundles

 

One (1)
Raspberry Pi 3 NESDR SMArt Bundle
Includes Raspberry Pi 3, enclosure, SD card, and
2-pack of NESDR SMArt sets with antennas

Three (3)
NESDR SMArt sets with antennas
2-pack

Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt SDRs
2-pack

Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt sets with antennas

Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt SDRs

Eligibility

All licensed ham radio operators worldwide!
(Free worldwide shipping is included!)

How to Enter

It’s very simple!
Leave a comment to this post.
(e-mail address will not be shared)

Entry Duration

Only 1 week!

You may enter only once from
31 July 2016 20:00 UTC
to
7 August 2016 20:00 UTC

(multiple entries from the same entrant will be discarded)

Winner Announcement

8 August 2016

You can get the winner announcement by
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The winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) from all valid comment entries to this post received by the contest deadline. Entries will be deemed valid at the sole discretion of AmateurRadio.com and may be rejected for any reason, including inappropriate comments. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered. The prize may not be transferred. The prize may not be exchanged for cash. Winner agrees to allow AmateurRadio.com to use their name and callsign to announce them as a winner on our site, and to share their contact information with the sponsor for the purposes of awarding the prize. No purchase necessary to win. Odds of winning dependent on total number of entries received. Winner is responsible for any applicable taxes or fees imposed by their jurisdiction. Void where prohibited by law. Winners limited to licensed Amateur Radio Operators and subject to export restrictions, where applicable.  E-mail addresses of all other entrants will not be shared with any third party, including the sponsor. Entrants will not receive any unsolicited e-mail or be placed on any e-mail list.

Don’t forget to enter! Just leave a comment to this post.

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

Episode 70 of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast has been released and is available for download either through iTunes, Android, any other RSS podcatcher software or direct via the PARP website.

As PARP begins the 9th season, the release schedule in the last two years certainly has not been the most timely.  My work/life schedule, some health issues (which are all resolved) and a few personal issues have mostly kept me silent.  But thanks to the very best listeners who have stayed in touch and continued to encourage me to return…I’m committed to doing everything possible to keep PARP alive. 

While PARP was not the first amateur radio related podcast, I do remember a time when the number of active ham radio based podcasts could be counted on one hand.  Today it might take two hands and perhaps one foot.  This is fantastic and as I’ve always said, I have never viewed other amateur radio based podcasts as competition.  We should all be doing what we do for the sake of the hobby and service of amateur radio. 

PARP 70 covers some thoughts and ideas to get you thinking about our overall individual preparedness when it comes to emergency communications. 

I truly appreciate the listeners (many have been listening since episode one in 200 and continue to ask for more episodes.  As the PARP motto states, the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast….Creating Elmers one podcast at a time.  If you learn something while listening to a PARP episode, please share that knowledge with others.  This is the spirit of amateur radio.

I plan to keep PARP on a monthly release schedule.  Episode 71 should release in late August just before the 2016 Colorado QSO Party which I’m anxiously looking forward to.  Hopefully the bands will improve some by then.

Until next time…

73 de KD0BIK (Jerry)

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].