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Vintage Amateur and Military Radio Amateur/military receivers and transmitters, morse, and any other related vintage comms equipment. |
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2nd Jun 2020, 12:57 pm | #21 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,483
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Re: Propagation up
With you being far south east and him being far south west I would have thought you were easily more than the minimum 'skip distance' apart. Usually at this time of year I'd be up at the other end in the Hebrides talking to people in the south east, as I have done on many past occasions.
One thing I notice with SP-E is that the active zone tends to swing around as the day goes by, so in the morning you might hear eastern Europe and then by the end of the day Spain and Portugal are more prominent. I've only ever heard the west of Ireland from north east England on one occasion, a day when there was a good bit of 'short skip' on, and that was in the early evening. I did work the Republic Of Ireland from Shetland once though, just driving down the main north-south road on the Shetland 'Mainland'. |
2nd Jun 2020, 2:49 pm | #22 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Basildon, Essex, UK.
Posts: 4,100
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Re: Propagation up
I could hear N Ireland clearly.
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2nd Jun 2020, 7:30 pm | #23 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,483
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Re: Propagation up
You're just going to have to tell him to move back 'home'.
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3rd Jun 2020, 2:18 am | #24 |
Heptode
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: High Wycombe, Bucks. UK.
Posts: 811
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Re: Propagation up
Yesterday I tried out a Maxon CM70 CB radio which covers UK and CEPT (European standard) FM channels. Normally there's no activity here, but this time I heard some German voices fading in and out on the CEPT channels. Makes a change from static / white noise.
The Maxon CM70 is a CE approved multimode CB radio - it supports AM or FM transmission modes according to the country selected when first switched on. (When UK is selected, it's FM only.) Apparently, settings can be changed to make it cover the 10m amateur band as well. I'll have to have a further play with it sometime |
3rd Jun 2020, 7:10 pm | #25 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,483
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Re: Propagation up
Those approved 'Multi' CB radios have been around for quite a while, I have a couple of Midlands, a 48 and a 78 which are both like that.
If you are interested in signals coming in from Germany I have only recently discovered that Germany, like the UK, has 80 legal 11m CB channels but where the UK's unique channels are some way above the 40 CEPT channels and on strange offsets, the German 'extra 40' are in a straight 10Khz-stepped run of 40 directly below the CEPT channels. This means that they occupy most but not all of the old 'Lo band'. It's a bit strange that they didn't just adopt the actual lo-band channels, but there it is. Dare to be different. Anyway, if you set your 'Multi' radio to 'Germany' mode you'll be able to listen out for Germans on those channels, which are numbered 41-80. They aren't usually as packed out during lift conditions as the 40 channels shared by the rest of Europe. |
4th Jun 2020, 6:12 am | #26 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Helston, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 301
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Re: Propagation up
6 and 4 have been open for long periods of time over the last 3 weeks. Well sited stations have worked California and Hawaii on 6 and out into UA and the Middle East on 4. 2M has also been open to Russia and the Ukraine, quite remarkable early summer E’s
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4th Jun 2020, 9:34 am | #27 |
Nonode
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK.
Posts: 2,013
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Re: Propagation up
That sounds impressive but was it mainly contacts in FT8 mode?
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5th Jun 2020, 9:03 am | #28 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Helston, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 301
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Re: Propagation up
All modes, obviously FT8 is very popular at the moment and has opened up paths that no one knew were possible but certainly on 6M there has been lots of CW activity, I worked a couple of W’s on Texas on 6 and have had a number of QSO’s now down to EA8 and D4 on 2M SSB and CW. I have also worked JA on CW on 6, just with a 3 Ele beam..
Great fun |
5th Jun 2020, 10:34 am | #29 |
Nonode
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK.
Posts: 2,013
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Re: Propagation up
Very interesting and well done. The problem with FT8, it skews the picture by ~20dB.
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