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Click for previous years 1999 -
2016
Jan
2nd Cranked up main tower and 50MHz 4 x 8 array
after a few weeks "sleeping" in the field - system tested with 10 EU
DXCCs on MSK144 and first two 50MHz EME QSOs of the year.
5th New 50MHz EME initial #166 with Steve K5DOG
plus a few nice MSK144 random QSOs ON DL SP OZ
10th 2 easy 50MHz MSK144 QSOs Sp3OCC and ON4BCV
15th VK7JG on EME and SP3UR on MSK144
22nd OZ OK & PA on MSK144
Feb
7th Tried RSGB 144MHz FM activity contest -
received comments Contest?FM? is there no escape from contests?
9th 144MHz EME HB9Q and SP4KM for new DXCCs. 9 Nordic stations on JT6m
in 50MHz NAC.
10th 144MHz EME 2 new inits at MS N4QWZ, N5TM and 5 144MHz EME QSOs inc
3 new EME inits on MR OH7PI, OH3AWW, F4DJK
11th failed 50MHz EME on MS and MR with ZL2DX only 0.5/1.0 deg
shared:-(. 7 144MHz EME QSOs on MR - 6 new inits and 3 DXCC:-):
LY2IJ (DXCC), I3MEK, 9A1CMS (DXCC), DJ9MG, RZ3BA/1, S52LM, OK1DIG (DXCC)
12th Just 1 new 144MHz EME initial G4DML
13th 2 new 144MHz EME Initials - RW3QJA and VK3AXH
Mar
Strong winds and storms - antennas tied down for survival!
9th A few mins on 144MHz EME at MR yielded BA4SI for a new DXCC on 2m
plus DM2BHG for a new init:-(
my sig with BA4SI
10th new 144MHz EME init OZ1CT. Nice EME sig on 70cm with single LFA
10Mar 16:48 DK3WG 164700 5 -18 2.7 903 1 * CQ DK3WG JO72
12th Whispers of ETEP on 6m!! 2 new 144MHz EME initials RM8A (Asiatic
Russia DXCC) and EA2AGZ
27th G2 Storm gave some nice strong Aurora sigs on 6m and 2m into
Cornwall:-)
28th New 144MHz EME initial with DK5LA despite G2 storm
Apr
4th Back to 50MHz EME:-) 6 QSOs incl 4O6AH for new init #167 and
new EME DXCC and KD7DCR new init #168.
6th Two more 50MHz EME Inits JG1TSG* #168 and N4II #170 This Ed's first EME QSO and he was running WSJT-X rather than WSJT-10
* JG1TSG previously worked on Es from UK and also on TEP from H44PT:-)
20th Back on 70MHz with a 7el LFA - 90 QSOs in 100mins in the UKAC
May
In EA8: 7th first MoonRise EME QSO from IL39 :
4O6AH for new initial and new DXCC #
Back home: 18th almost 2 hour early evening opening to 9k2 JT65 / cw /
SSB + E44 SSB
19th First early morning SSSP of the season - all JAs now seem to be on
JT65!! Out of the blue: 50105 TZ4AM 19:38 519 cq cq (congrats Jerome)
20th: 1st sked with JT1CO / JT5MA on EME heard but not worked:-( Quite a
spectacular day with very early KP4 running through to weak NA from EI
western UK right op to 1am local!
21st Intense 1 and 2 hop Es around EU plus an interesting 1 hour skew
opening late afternoon to KP4 VP9 towards W4.
22nd
23rd
24th Worked JT5DX on EME for EME
DXCC #75 and new field/square . TNX Kresimir and all the team in JT. JT5DX had 1st
QSO with W7GJ on their moonrise and then UR0MC, G8BCG, K2ZD, S59A on
moonset. Way to go!
25th KP4 in on JT65 from early afternoon followed by an evening of weak
and variable JT65 KP4, YV, J39, PV8 and briefly YS1 (BCG working on
control systems so swl only).
28th A bit of fun
in the afternoon RSGB 70MHz Cumulative. G, GW, EI, GI, GM, PA, DL, OK
and ODX 9A.
29th On the edge of a weak but wide JT65 SSSP opening to JA, HL, BV and
DU - a few JAs and 1 new HL heard here. Potentially excellent EME
conditions affected by high K Index and widespread Es. However, 2 new
ones in the log OH7KM # 172 and OE3DIA #173
30th Another morning of SSSP but mainly JA-Med. Worked
YI1SAL at 08:30z for DXCC #238 new
square and new field:-). Also
E44WE and
9K2OD at 59+ for a couple of hours. Intense multi-hop Es out to 9K all
morning with Med still working JAs and BY at 16:00z! [1629 BA4SI (pm01)
50084.0 pe1czg] Also open on 70MHz and 144MHz. LZ1AG and OJ0JR for
new DXCC#32 & #33 on 4m. Band still wide open to EU when I gave up at
23:00z!
31st 06:30z already open to JA! SSSP shortened back into EU - but SV -
JA path still open 15:00z. PV8DX all alone on JT65 and CW for over an
hour mid evening. Interesting backscatter from SW on GM JT65 sigs.
Jun
1st JAs to start the day, widespread multi hop Es across EU and then
from mid afternoon Carib + a few NA stations on JT65, CW, SSB. Notable
QSOs HI8PLE, HI8JSG, HI8SMX, HI3T, KP4(lots), KP2, ZF1, HH2, CO8
and to end the evening another hop into TI5/N5BEK
Band still open across EU and to Carib at 23:00z - my eyes
closed. 4M & 2m also open across EU - 55 QSOs on 4m for a few new #.
 2nd Open Early to JA again and also to ME. Worked A45, 4X etc and was
called by Salman YI1SAL in Baghdad! 9K, A71 also loud all JT65 but would
have been easily workable CW / SSB. 15JAs in the log on JT65 - 5 QSLs
already received on LOTW by the time I got home from shack:-)
3rd
06:30z -already hearing JAs and JA open EU and KL7/W7 at same time! 20
JAs (Japan) and 1 DS3 (Korea) worked by 12:00z. Click on image for
locations distribution. Was also called by K4MM with my beam on JA -
turned to Florida - nada - reflection / backscatter? IO70 was a black
hole in the evening - just one small burst from FK8OG.
4th Widespread Es across EU then mid West and West Coast US early
evening with fall back to East coast later.
 5th Another morning full of JAs - amazing! Map and distance profile is
interesting.
5th FREAK 60MPH GALES / GUSTS SERIOUSLY DAMAGED MY TOWER - QRT FOR A
WHILE:-(
The above and a few days holiday has kept me out of the unbelievable
SSSP openings this week.
Congrats to the many who must have got JA and USA West coast new ones
over the past few days.
 14th
Back on air with a single 8el and no mast head
pre-amp - 6dB less on TX and deaf on RX - now I realize what a great
system I HAD:-(
15th Strong multi hop Es all day out to mid East. Early evening
appearance of many XEs and OA4 on JT65 plus of course mid West USA and
north to VE5.
  16th
A few JAs and BV/BA then AP2AM who had all of EU calling him. TNX Syed
AP2AM DXCC #239 Field #116 Square #1120
 17th
Contest across Eu together with widespread Es - but the DX was there -
nice opening to Carib again on CW, JT65 and SSB with another new one in
the log on SSB PJ7/W9DR DXCC #240
after missing PJ7 for several years:-)
18th Condx good - beach and BBQ better!
19th Some morning JAs and BS BV and BY but weak here. Es all day.
Evening YV5 PV8 9Y ZF + usual Caribs then W (focus on W8), VE gave up ad
00:15z with band still open.
20th As above plus TZ4AM - I was at the beach! Opening to US was much
weaker and patchier in UK/EI.
21st A much quieter day but still many morning JAs, and early afternoon
USA. 9K2 still in when I gave up at 21:00z
22nd Even quieter with just whispers of 9K and USA - somebody switched
of the prop as Solstice?
23rd Not QRV.
24th Not very active but worked VP9NM and was heard by JW7QIA at -8 at
19:18z whilst beaming NA
25th Great early morning opening TF over the pole to JA. BCG not QRV.
26th Now have my mast head LNA back in service:-)
27th Good late signals from Carib 2 FGs up to S7. TNX to Peter
JW7QIA for EME
DXCC #76 single yagi to single yagi on our moonset. This late
night QSO was followed by a late night opening to East Coast USA which
ended abruptly at 23:45z
28th No SSSP to east but a good afternoon and early evening of low level
NA Es.
29th A quiet day!
30th Nice late evening opening to Carib again.
July
1st I was not QRV but it seems that the UK was
on the edge of another amazing day of SSSP to Asia and later good Es to
the USA
2nd Not QRV but another amazing day of SSSP to Asia
4th
5th Big opening to Asia - but centred on GM - some happy McBunnies:-)
Some afternoon / evening NA
8th - 18th In Famara Lanzarote EA8/G8BCG - 6 NEW dxcc TAKING TOTAL TO
98:-)
19th JT5DX EME and AP2AM Es QSL cards waiting for me when I arrived
home:-)
20th-29th not QRV - see DX
Maps for band activity.
August
1st-19th active with single yagi and QRP
mainly on FT8 - see DX
Maps for band activity.
20th
VP8EME for EME
DXCC #77 single yagi to single yagi on our moonset - thanks Mario.
Lots of FT8 QSOs - it has developed like a rash on 6m and HF.
Meanwhile, erected a 6M8GJ as insurance policy whilst I continue to
rebuild my 4* 8op-des for VK9CGJ on 14th Sept;-)
Sept
1st-13th - continued with FT8 and big array
rebuild.
14th Got temporary H Frame and 4 * 8in the air (just!) to try fot Lance.
15th
02:30z VK9CGJ for DXCC # 241, EME
DXCC #78 IOTA OC-003, new square and new Field - thanks Lance. Amazing really as
predicted degradation was -3.5dB, but Kp was 6+ and we were in the
middle of a G2 storm! Read Lance's blog here:
http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/Indian Ocean 2017.htm Also new EME initial #177 with SM5AQD
16th Shiny new Extra Heavy Duty H-Frame from InnovAntennas
just arrived.
20th VK9CGJ getting very lonely on EU MR - offered my shack to others
locally and/or remote access. Gave Kerry G8VR access to my desktop and
he worked Lance in straight overs. We chose a period when nobody else
was sending OOO so it was quick and easy;-)
20th 2 new EME initials N8RR #178 and N6JV #179
21st new EME Initials #180 with
JA7QVI and #181 NJ6P plus a nice EME SWL report from VK9C:
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07:43:25 |
VK9CGJ Lance |
0742 -15 2.7 2289 #* CQ G8BCG
IO70 |
22nd new EME
initial AL7RT #182
24th Some brief bursts of CW CQ from 5T5OK on 50.110
17:10 - 17:15 - nothing seen on FT8
Oct
3rd
17:44z VK9XGJ for DXCC # 242, EME
DXCC #79 IOTA OC-002, new square and new Field - thanks (again!) Lance. Read Lance's blog here:
http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/Indian Ocean 2017.htm
4th
Lance VK9XGJ was -17 at my 17:40 moonrise
(0.25deg) and in for pretty much every period until I closed at 20:45.
Worked Peter VK5PJ Barossa Valley, South Australia for 50MHz EME initial
# 184
5th 3 hours of great signals from VK7XGJ.
Worked Erik SM6LPF for 50MHz EME initial
# 185
6th - 8th Lance seems to have moved the 50.190 beacon to VK9X
:-) 8th Great sigs from Lance with moon at 15deg and my array parked at
090az0el!!
8th
Worked John KL7HBK Anchor Point, Alaska for 50MHz EME initial
# 186, new Grid and new Field (BO)
14th
Worked 3DA0MB in Swaziland for 50MHz EME initial # 187. With
my single 12el they are a bit weak on 144MHz and boy what a pileup in
the first few hours - we'll see what the next few days bring.
17th Afternoon TEP returns! ZD7BG widely worked across EU for over 2
hours. Despite my array being on the ground facing West for Storm
Ophelia they were audible here just before they decided to go QRT.
19th Around midday I was testing an RTL Dongle and Lenovo Tablet for
noise tracking - excellent. And what a surprise I got - An International
Space Station overflight with Italian Astronaut and Radio Ham Paolo
Nespoli operating OR4ISS answering questions for school kids in Ireland
via the ARISS on 145.800FM. Not bad for an RTL SDR Dongle with SDR Touch
and a 1/4 whip.
ARISS recording here.
22nd Un tethered the big array for the RSGB AFS 50Mhz Contest (AKA
Little Britain Contest) Stayed interested for just over 1 hour and
handed out my PostCode city prefix just over 50 times including 2 on
JT6M. 10 countries worked - ODX was Nicolas
TY2AC on A1SM
mode at around 22wpm:-) Though CW pre-dates WSJT by a Century or so
it's still pretty effective for weak signals!
27th new 2m EME Initial K9MRI
30th new 2m EME Initial K2ZJ
 Nov
1st Had YC2MDU call me on 144MHz EME whilst I was working I3MEK. We then
lost each other and suddenly the whole world is calling YC2MDU so no QSO:-(
However, at 2122 I did work K1SIX for Initial #
188 on 50MHz EME
2nd And today YC2MDU for new DXCC#45
and Initial #
74 on 144MHz EME
4th Some nice new 144MHz EME initials:
W5ADD Initial # 75, F6HEO Initial # 76, NH6Y DXCC #
46 / Initial # 77, KL7UW DXCC# 47 and Initial # 78:-)
5th Flew out to EA8 - two nice new 50MHz EME initials from IL39FC:
JG2BRI DXCC # 99 / New Initial and ZS6NK New Initial
6th Another attempt at EME MR into mountain - but no success
7th
50MHz EME initial from IL39FC with Ants ES6EQ
for New Initial and
DXCC # 100 from EA8
8th
50MHz EME initial from IL39FC with Jouko OH7KM
9th
50MHz EME initial from IL39FC with Chris VP8WOS -
New Initial and
DXCC # 101
10th
50MHz EME initial from IL39FC with John
W9JN
12th
50MHz EME initial from IL39FC with Tac san JA7QVI and a near miss
with Kazu san JG1TSG
13th
50MHz EME initials from IL39FC with Tuomas OH6MIK and Kazu san
JG1TSG
Back to Cornwall:-)
25th
144MHz EME initial: N0AKC
Initial # 79
26th
144MHz EME initials: ZS5LEE Init #80, W7JW
Initial # 81, W8KEN Initial # 82
27th
144MHz EME initial: SK5AA
Initial # 83
Dec
1st Three
144MHz EME QSOs on my MR: JH1PFP
Init # 84, VK5APN and F6HVK Init #85
2nd Two
144MHz EME QSOs on my MR: EW7AW
DXCC # 49 Init # 86, OK1UGA Init #87
3rd Three
144MHz EME QSOs on my MR: RW3PX
Init # 88, DL6SH Init #89 and JF3MKC Init #90
4th Another
144MHz EME QSO on my MR: F8DO
forInit # 91
5th Woo Hoo moonset:
V31EME for 144MHz DXCC # 50 and new
init 92 - first call on my MS GG - not bad for
a single 12el LFA.
Moonrise: OH6ZZ Init #93 and
DL9DBJ Init #94 fOLLOWED
6th still enjoying
144MHz EME Moonset K0TPP Init #95.
Moonrise
ZL3NW ODX, DXCC #51 and Init #96
7th Two more nice moonset 2m EME inits:
W8TN #97 and KB7IJ #98 and two more
nice moonrise 2m EME inits: OH6UW
#99 and OK1VRY #100
8th Two more nice moonset SV6KRW
DXCC #52 init #101 and G4PLZ init #102
12th An hour on the UK 70cm UKAC - everyone is deaf!! Well,
probably a bit of fake news as I was only running 10w. Thanks to M1MHZ
who came back first call despite being quite weak here. Ditto M0MDY.
Others were not so easy / impossible even though running up to s9 at
times and CQing endlessly. Hopefully I will complete my big SSPA
switching early next year.
14th 50MHz array luffed over and tied down beaming East but decided to
give some points away in the 50MHz Nordic/UKAC - Kept it to 400w as 2 of
the 4 8el OpDes yagis were only 1m agl / 50cm asl (above sheep level
:-). A few of the usual suspects on SSB plus PA DL OK I and 6 OZs!
15th Looks like the southern hemisphere has truly "discovered" SSSP this
year - VK7 to ZS and LU next? 50mhz Congrats to Javier Pons Estel and
all the fortunate ones. This is a true bonus of MGM and in particular
FT8 on 6m in creating interest and activity at ALL times!! From Javi
LU5FF:
"in the opening of yesterday I tried to pass stations in CW and FT8
unfortunately the signals were so weak that I could not get a letter,
same step in FT8 was not enough to decode on the other hand in the JT65
mode the decoding was fantastic" JT65
IS STILL THE BEST FOR REALLY WEAK SIGNALS!!
19th the newly discovered southern hemisphere SSSP continues to
provide VK/ZL with QSOs to the East - but the evening path to the West
remains undiscovered as yet.
20th - year end: Big array tied down - some serious storms down here in
Cornwall with gusts > 70mph. Enjoying Christmas with distractions:-)
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