10m QRPP WSPR (Wednesday)

No luck yet today with my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR today.

Yesterday there were quite a few spots of my 500uW WSPR by EA8BFK (2880km). The impression I am getting is this ultra low power works on single hop F2 as long as things are settled, but multiple hop F2 is far harder. Based on these results, I am expecting European spots via Es later.

UPDATE 1545z:  No spots today. 

UPDATE 1618z: I spoke too soon! 3 spots late afternoon from the Canary Islands (again).

UPDATE 2050z: EA8 (probably F2) ,OE and DL (probably both Es?) spotted my 500uW QRPP WSPR. If these two were Es, this is probably the start of the Es season.

10m QRPP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR beacon has been on all day. I suspect conditions are not good enough.

UPDATE 1354z:   No spots.

10m 500uW WSPR (Monday)

 As for the last few weeks, I am on 10m WSPR with my 500uW beacon. Yesterday was quite successful and conditions today look promising. No spots yet though.

UPDATE 1212z: 5 spots so far today.

500uW 10m WSPR (Sunday)

My beacon (with the PA off) was turned on at about 0755z.  I wonder if I shall be spotted in the USA today with QRPP?

UPDATE 0900z: Just a single spot by EA8BFK (2880km).

UPDATE 1548z: 9 spots only from the Canaries so far today (see table).

UPDATE 2155z: 22 spots of me today but all from the Canary Islands.

500uW 10m WSPR again

My 10m WSPR beacon, without the PA, is on again. At 0846z, no spots. 

This QRPP is really great fun and definitely worth trying in the upcoming Es season. I suspect FT8 would not work.

UPDATE 1817z: 23 spots of me so far today. Please note that my beacon is pre-programmed to report 0.5W even though the power with the PA off is 30dB lower (500uW).

500uW 10m WSPR (Friday)

My 10m WSPR beacon is again on with 500uW (0.5mW).  So far today, no spots. I am wondering if EA8BFK is no longer monitoring?

I shall definitely try 10m 500uW WSPR in the Es season.

UPDATE 0954z: Yes, EA8BFK (2880km) is monitoring as he has just spotted me! A reminder that  my beacon is pre-programmed to report 0.5W, even though it is 30dB lower with the PA off.

UPDATE 1302z: 13 spots of my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 2143z: 27 spots of my QRPP today.

10m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

A few moments ago, I went to 10m FT8 TX with 2.5W.  The reports I have got so far suggest I would have had almost no chance at 10mW FT8 and probably no chance on WSPR either. At least I know I am getting out.

UPDATE 1412z:  8 spots of my 10m 2.5W FT8 so far.

UPDATE 1622z:  21 stations have spotted my 10m 2.5W FT8 (see map)

10m WSPR with 10mW ERP (Thursday)

This morning, I am trying 10mW ERP 10m WSPR for a change. The gear was turned on at about 0850z. No spots yet.

Might try 10mW 10m FT8 later.

UPDATE 1245z:  No spots of me today, although I have spotted stations, even with the attenuator in the antenna coax on RX!

10m 500uW WSPR (Wednesday)

10m QRPP WSPR  never fails to amaze me. Already today 19 spots of me by EA8BFK (2880km). It seems that if the band is "open", we have a pipe between us.

10m QRPP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500uW 10m WSPR has been spotted (again) in the Canary Is by EA8BFK (2880km). He has spotted me on multiple occasions for days on end in the early morning. This is almost becoming routine and I have to pinch myself that he is so regularly copying my 500uW (0.5mW) beacon.

UPDATE 1519z: 37 spots of my 500uW 10m WSPR all by EA8BFK.

Brilliant day on 10m QRPP yesterday

With 49 spots of my 500uW WSPR from the Canary Islands and one from the USA yesterday, this must go down as a very good day. What puzzles me is sunspots were average and A and K indicators were not exceptional. Let’s see what happens today.

UPDATE 0850z:  Already plenty of spots from the Canary Is.  I wonder if EA8BFK (2880km) has got a better antenna recently?

UPDATE 2200z:  Plenty of spots of me by EA8BFK but nobody else today. When it’s good it’s like a pipe between us. I wonder what the path loss should be by F2?

10m QRPP WSPR (Sunday)

Today I have high hopes for my 500uW 10m QRPP WSPR. So far, no spots.

Theory torn up? - more success with 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR today

Already today, EA8BFK (2880km) has spotted my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR 24 times, even though A=12 and K=2. It is 1635z. According to my theory, I was not expecting spots today.

This afternoon, I was also spotted by a station in Russsia. I think it is at least 8 stations that have spotted my ultra-QRPP 10m WSPR.

The map shows the spots with 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR over the last few days. Who needs high power? 😀 The map is from WSPR Rocks by Phil VK7JJ.

10m 500uW WSPR (Thursday)

Although my QRPP beacon is on, no spots yet.  Conditions look quite promising. 

UPDATE 1430z: Many spots by EA8BFK (2880km) and a station in Greece. 

UPDATE 1904z:  Amazing day! 6 stations have spotted my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR today. See map on WSPR Rocks by VK7JJ. When conditions are good this tiny power is enough.

500uW 10m WSPR (Wednesday)

Already, my QRPP  10m WSPR has been spotted multiple times (some very strongly) in the Canary Islands. It is quite possible that 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR may reach the USA this afternoon.

UPDATE 1910z:   Amazing.  54 spots of me by EA8BFK (2880km). One spot of my 500uW (0.5mW) was an incredible -9dB S/N. This implies he would still have copied me with very low microwatts.

10m QRPP WSPR

Although the sunspot number is 50, according to my predictions yesterday, I have a chance of DX spots on 10m 500uW WSPR today. Time will tell.

UPDATE 1224z:  No spots.

UPDATE 1932z:  26 spots of me today all from the Canary Is.. My theory seems correct. Some of these spots are very strong suggesting even lower power might well have worked. It is almost like a pipe between us.

VY0ERC 10m WSPR beacon

John's blog has a very good piece about this QRP 10m WSPR beacon high up in the Arctic. As John points out, this is a very high latitude and within the auroral zone, which can badly affect FT8 and WSPR signals.

John's blog is always interesting.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/

10m 500uW WSPR (April 1st)

My 500uW 10m WSPR is on, but no spots by 1410z. 

UPDATE 1707z:   Unexpected spots by EA8BFK (2880km). Conditions were good, but not exceptional. I was honestly expecting today to pass with no spots of my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR. I must see if there is a correlation between solar conditions and being spotted by DX stations on 10m WSPR with exceptionally low power.  My guess (unfounded) would be that this is possible only when conditions are exceptionally stable, although today rather puzzles me. Sadly, I am not great at Excel! I can use it basically, but can't do clever things with it.

UPDATE 1852z: EA8BFK (2880km) has spotted me again!

UPDATE  1900z: I have created a spreadsheet to see if I can discern any patterns.

UPDATE 1935z:  This is the last week with 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR.   Although this is just a few days, it suggests my best chances are when A and K are low.

Back to normal on 10m WSPR?

These last few days have resulted in some exceptional spots of my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR. Spots from the Canaries have been most days and I have been spotted in the USA by several stations in the last few days. Today, there are no spots at all, which I suspect is the norm. Perhaps I should try 10mW, which I suspect would be enough quite often.

UPDATE 2016z:   3 spots of my 500uW (0.5mW) by EA8BFK (2880km) today. I spoke too soon!

10m QRPP WSPR

All week I have been trying out (again) on 500uW 10m WSPR. Yet again, my 500uW 10m WSPR has been spotted in the USA again and I have lost count of the  number of spots by EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Is..