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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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20th Jun 2020, 11:16 am | #1 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,652
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HF conditions at the moment?
Folks,
anyone have any insight into what is going on with HF propagation at the moment? The reason I ask is that I am not on the air normally, but I went to fix a friend's Kenwood TS-520S which is a 100W SSB set. It is set up with ATU and a simple 66 foot end fed antenna about 15 - 20 feet above the ground. As a test two days ago we tried it on the air. 80m was totally silent. 40m was near the same - just a bit of morse. So in desperation we tried 20m. Got a contact instantly with MM7DWK up in Perth - we were near Devizes, Wiltshire. That's about 350 miles I think. So the rules used to be:
I don't think the set was faulty. Indeed in that one contact an excellent report was received and given. The set tuned up fine into the various power meters on both 80m and 40m. Richard G7RVI Last edited by trh01uk; 20th Jun 2020 at 11:17 am. Reason: Addition |
20th Jun 2020, 11:34 am | #2 |
Octode
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 1,042
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Using my Howes direct conversion set that is now working.It only covers 80m. I've been hearing stations in the south east and London area at reasonable strength. The aerial is a random length about 20' at 15' high.
Malcolm |
20th Jun 2020, 12:02 pm | #3 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Chatham, Kent, UK.
Posts: 963
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Hi bottom of the sun spot cycle so conditions are poor, Mick
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20th Jun 2020, 12:19 pm | #4 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Helston, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 303
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
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20th Jun 2020, 12:32 pm | #5 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Surbiton, SW London, UK.
Posts: 2,801
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
There are nearly always some FT8 signals to be heard on most bands.
It's a great way to check your rx is working, even if you can't decode it. |
20th Jun 2020, 12:45 pm | #6 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,652
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Right - thanks for all those comments everyone. I think I will have to go back - with signal generator this time - and see if the receiver of the TS-520S is actually working OK on 40m and 80m. The silence - well noise only - was uncanny. It could be an alignment problem I suppose. A sensitivity test will quickly reveal all.
What really surprised me was that it was possible to get a 350 mile contact on 20m though. Never thought to try talking to someone in the UK on 20m before! Richard |
20th Jun 2020, 4:54 pm | #7 |
Heptode
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.
Posts: 612
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Currently there are a LOT of quite intense periods of Sporadic E (but not much today Saturday 20/6)
That will be the likely reason for short skip like that on 20m We are also just past a sunspot minimum but that isn't stopping DX coming in from the US and Caribbean last evening and Japan etc this morning on 20m 73 Fred G4BWP |
21st Jun 2020, 3:52 pm | #8 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,652
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
I was surprised not just by a short range contact on 20m, but also the total silence on 80m. I am presuming there was nothing funny about extra D-layer absorption going on, so I am concluding the TS-520S needs some re-alignment on 80m.
Richard G7RVI |
21st Jun 2020, 5:30 pm | #9 |
Heptode
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.
Posts: 612
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
I would check it with a signal generator first?
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21st Jun 2020, 6:01 pm | #10 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,652
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Absolutely. Only trouble is either the TS-520S has to be lugged from Devizes up to me in Ross-on-Wye, or I have to lug the generator in the other direction.
But yes, that is the sensible step - along with a set of alignment tools and instructions and an audio power meter to do the job. The weird thing is the set appears to be working normally on transmit - it tunes up fine and gives a good solid 100W on CW on all the bands up to 20m. Of course, the phantom twiddler may have been at work here...... Richard |
22nd Jun 2020, 8:45 am | #11 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.
Posts: 612
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Quote:
In the "good old days" that was our "signal generator" Can he hear that "loudly" on 80m? Normally the cal signal gets progressively weaker as you go up the bands. It goes in at the antenna connection before any RF tuned circuits. 73 Fred G4BWP |
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22nd Jun 2020, 9:02 am | #12 | |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Helston, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 303
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Quote:
IC7610+PA to a home brew doublet |
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22nd Jun 2020, 10:31 am | #13 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Charmouth, Dorset, UK.
Posts: 3,601
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
It seems to vary a lot with the time of day, and from day to day. I have found 40m amd 80m virtually dead at times and yet there has been activity on 20m. 80m has been exceptionally good late at night for the last week or so but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it at the moment.
Peter |
22nd Jun 2020, 11:08 am | #14 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,996
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
40, 60 and 80M are pretty dead daytime though things improve a bit in the early evening I find - 20 is worth a try during the day for inter-European stuff and maybe down into the Middle East, and a stable high-pressure area predicted to appear over the UK/Europe later this week could cause 10M to become active again with Sp.E like it was a few weeks back.
But hey! the unpredictability is all part of the fun of HF operating, isn't it? |
22nd Jun 2020, 8:58 pm | #15 | |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,652
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Quote:
Fred, yes, good point. I did try the crystal calibrator just to check the frequency calibration but at that point didn't think of using it as a crude signal generator. Certainly if the calibrator signal is stronger on 20m than 80m, I would be strongly suspecting a fault in the receiver - and try re-alignment. I will get the owner of the set to try that out and let me know. Thanks for that excellent suggestion! 73s Richard G7RVI |
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23rd Jun 2020, 10:00 pm | #16 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Basildon, Essex, UK.
Posts: 4,100
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Over the last week or so the 11m band has been intermittently very lively with all sorts of signals from Scotland N Ireland France Spain further off around Europe and Russia, and especially Italy. Sometimes they are strong enough to interfere with local communications of less than 2 miles.
I even heard what I thought was somebody calling from Queensland, Australia. But I couldn't get the local idiots rabbiting on the calling channel to shut up. I have also heard reports from people contacting S America on 11m bands in recent days. So yes the higher frequency bands are very lively, although 10m remains mostly silent. Mike |
23rd Jun 2020, 10:41 pm | #17 |
Heptode
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 632
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Sorted my earth box out today so I can put fishing pole vertical wires up. Was rewarded with some very lively short skippy activity. Its nice that people are getting rediscovering radio
https://youtu.be/f9I7u661S1A |
24th Jun 2020, 6:13 pm | #18 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Helston, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 303
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Running the GB125NT special event station today from home on 20, was working 2 a minute at times, fantastic signals, even /P pedestrian stations at 5/9.
Last edited by M0AFJ, Tim; 24th Jun 2020 at 6:14 pm. Reason: Mistake |
24th Jun 2020, 9:22 pm | #19 |
Heptode
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 632
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
Well done Tim, I do hope the uptake of people getting back on the radio carries on, it does make it a bit more worthwhile putting the effort in when theres some activity
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25th Jun 2020, 4:26 pm | #20 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,996
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Re: HF conditions at the moment?
A couple of days ago, after resurrecting an "I never got it to work properly" £15-at-a-rally Clansman PRC320, I was rewarded with a bunch of 28MHz QSOs into Germany/Oesterreich/Poland/Moldova, using only the radio's 8-foot whip antenna and battery-power.
With the Sun's emissions to help you, you can work the world with 30 Watts. |