AmateurRadio.com

Courtesy: DXMAPS.COM

Having been on 6m now for over 40 years (yikes!), like most 6m operators I've come to expect a fairly good number of Es openings by the end of June. This summer's Es season has been beyond poor, with far too many days looking much like Saturday morning's 6m propagation map (above) from DX Sherlock.

So far, the only bright spot for me has been a very short twenty-minute opening to Argentina and a CW QSO with LU5FF on May 24 at around 1500 hours local time.



Most 6m ops feel that sunspot cycle peak years also produce poorer than normal Es activity so maybe this is all just normal...or perhaps our global climate shifts are having an effect on the triggering mechanisms for Sporadic-E, just 60 miles above our heads.

Real-time 6m propagation can be followed here; Region 2 for North America and Region 3 for Europe.

After so many summers on six, I personally believe that the best propagation usually happens during the first week of July, so there is still hope for a really terrific month ahead and still time for whoever controls the magic to yet redeem themselves.



Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Seven Episode Thirteen of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast has been released. The latest news, Martin (M1MRB & W9ICQ) and Colin (M6BOY) remember Amateur / Ham Radio Podcaster Tom Samacicio KB4HQA of HQA Radio who is now Silent Key. Martin (M1MRB & W9ICQ) interviews Sue Pycroft, G6DDS regarding Museums on the Air.

• Revalidation Figures of UK Amateur / Ham Radio Licences
• 13cm Amateur Radio Band Threatened in Holland
• New mode trial for VK medium wave beacon
• 27 MHz SSB CB legal
• Changes to Amateur Service Part 97 Rules
• Queen Shown Radio Ham’s Raspberry Pi Balloon  

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Seven Episode Thirteen of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast has been released. The latest news, Martin (M1MRB & W9ICQ) and Colin (M6BOY) remember Amateur / Ham Radio Podcaster Tom Samacicio KB4HQA of HQA Radio who is now Silent Key. Martin (M1MRB & W9ICQ) interviews Sue Pycroft, G6DDS regarding Museums on the Air.

• Revalidation Figures of UK Amateur / Ham Radio Licences
• 13cm Amateur Radio Band Threatened in Holland
• New mode trial for VK medium wave beacon
• 27 MHz SSB CB legal
• Changes to Amateur Service Part 97 Rules
• Queen Shown Radio Ham’s Raspberry Pi Balloon  

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

I was too busy and tired yesterday to update my blog, that's because it was a busy day. I attended the Ham Fair in Friedrichshafen for the first time and was favorably impressed. The Ham Fair is very well organized and in addition to the goodies I was able to meet some old friends and make some new ones.
Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

The excellent Southgate News page reports that SSB and AM is now legal on UK CB from June 27th 2014.

I have only briefly operated on CB many years ago and was very disappointed.  I suppose 12W pep of SSB will greatly increase the DX potential on CB. AM is also legal.

We need to watch out for more reports of TVI and hi-fi breakthrough as FM, especially at 4W legal limit, is rarely a problem whereas SSB and AM make such issues more probable. Of course,  some CBers like to use (illegal) add-on amplifiers making matters worse.

I don’t think this move will encourage me onto CB any time soon, but it may result in lower cost 10m rigs.

UPDATE 2015z:  Nevada are now selling the President Lincoln 2  (3rd improved version of this model) covering 10m only (as sold – but expandable illegally to cover CB bands) with a £10 discount.

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

There is little doubt now that we have passed the solar peak and we are now on the way to the minimum. This is still years away mind you. This graph (located at http://www.solen.info/solar/images/solar.png) illustrates this well. As I said before, it is too early to say just how poor HF conditions will get.

http://www.solen.info/solar/images/solar.png

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

This is a photo of me in the shack just before lunch today. Since lunch, I have had to disconnect everything because of an approaching lightning storm. At the last count (flashes to thunder) it was about 2km away but I think the storm is now moving away.

G3XBM in the shack today

For storm maps see http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en . The storm seems to have moved off: I can still hear thunder (to the east) but no nearby lightning. We have heavy rain, which will do the garden good.

Just a moment ago there was a flash and thunder almost overhead.  This showed up on the lightning map. Storms still rolling around. I shall not reconnect the antennas and radio gear for a while yet.

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.