Another missed opportunity

[VK5BC]

Did anyone notice these WSPR decodes last Saturday 13/8,

2016-08-13 02:42 N3IZN 50.294526 -27 0 DM13ji 100 VK3PP QF02xf 13059 241
2016-08-13 02:30 N3IZN 50.294526 -14 0 DM13ji 100 VK3PP QF02xf 13059 241
2016-08-13 02:20 N3IZN 50.294526 -20 0 DM13ji 100 VK3PP QF02xf 13059 241

Is this another example of multiple E's, Roger VK2ZRH you may wish to comment. Also another example of the value of WSPR.

Brian VK5BC

[VK4WDM]

Hi Brian

Were they spotted on the logger? If they were I must have missed seeing them. Ouch!

I did not see any beacons reported either.

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK1KW]

Be careful with exotic DX 6m contacts that the radio may have been on HF and the software still on 6meters so look for others at the same time.
But if real - congrats on flagging a goodie.

[VK3ALB]

Be careful with exotic DX 6m contacts that the radio may have been on HF and the software still on 6meters so look for others at the same time.
But if real - congrats on flagging a goodie.

I know VK3PP and I can confirm he was definitely of 6m. I also checked N3IZNs QRZ page and he's focused on 6m too. Sadly, VK3PP was not in the shack at the time his signal was received. A good signal report anyway.

[VK2EFM]

It's not hard to check if WSPR spots are genuine. In the case the spots prior to N3IZN, is me with VK3PP. I leave my 6m WSPR gear running all the time, so if there is propagation it is reported and others might be able to take advantage

[VK4WDM]

It is reported and others might be able to take advantage. Question, reported where?

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK2EFM]

Hi Wayne,

Simple way is the map feature on the wsprnet website. Just check out the 6m map feature.
http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/map
Hopefully the link worked.
.....anyway it allows me to play 6m whilst at work
Over winter I left the beam in the ZL direction, and it was interesting what came up.

Leave your radio running WSPR

Allan

[VK4WDM]

Hi Allan

I must confess that I have not taken much notice of WSPR in the past but I will be now! The link worked and is saved in my "look at frequently list."

Thank you, 73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK2EFM]

Hi Wayne,

However, there is no substitute for a good QSO.

A few times I have watched WPSR between myself and Peter, ZL4LV and picked the best time to put out call on SSB.

Allan

[VK3MEG]

Matt vk3pp and i do the 6m wspr thing alot over the last few weeks testing my new antenna while i think his station is capable of hearing the US i'm a bit suspect about the spot and its neither ops fault there didnt appear to be any propagation that supported the spot. this is where wspr has issuse but who knows i could be wrong as to rogers thought on sparodic E's i'm a believer and have seen it from ja to eu in the last few months. 6m is an interesting band of that i'm sure cant wait to get a bigger antenna on my tower for the summer.

[VK4WDM]

The Americans and other areas of the northern hemisphere are having a very good summer E season so a few extra hops SW from W6 to meet a winter E hop in VK is possible, but I think that there a still 6m propagation methods that are yet to be discovered (go for it Roger, a Nobel Prize awaits ). We need a lot more experimentation with really efficient modes and effective stations especially during the low part of the cycle, so go for it WSPR guys!

A few years ago I heard an address by a Nobel laureate in physics (cannot remember his name but I don't think it was Joe Taylor K1JT) who is of the opinion that despite all of our scientific and technical progress, we have only know about 0.1% of what we can learn about any scientific subject. That statement has proved very useful in my professional life when I have been struggling to get funding for research projects (not radio related) because "we know all about that already."

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK2ZRH]

Well, well. An intriguing WSPR report.

As N3IZN is in Southern California, and the summer Es season is still happening, while the winter Es season is happening here, TEP is unlikely as (a) the SSN and 10.7cm flux are each quite low (on the 13th August), and the Sun is well north of the geomagnetic equator, which means solar radiation is not illuminating the north and south peaks of the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA) equally (a pre-condition for best TEP likelihood).

On the day, over 0200-0300 UTC, the Sydney ionosonde shows some strong, flat Es (ftEs above 8 MHz) that would support 50 MHz propagation. The Norfolk Island ionosonde, over the same period, shows strong 'spread' Es (rippled), which would likely support 50 MHz. So, this end of the path looks good for 6m Dx. Equatorial Es is there everyday and, if the signal/s reached the geomagnetic equatorial region, they would cross the geomagnetic equatorial zone somewhere about 1600 local time, so still in daylight, when equatorial Es will still support propagation to 50 MHz.

The Nieu ionosonde ionograms for August are not online, at present, as they might provide a good indication of the ionosphere somewhat south of the geomagnetic equator.

Then there's the possibility of Es to one of the EIA peaks that, if the electron content is high enough, might support one long skip on 50 MHz, or Es-F2 - otherwise known as 'N-mode' propagation.

Without more data (or a chirp backscatter sounding from VK3OER . . . ), I've insufficient data to tell. Nevertheless, the signal did get through.

[VK5BC]

If you check the 6m history in the logger for the date & time on 6m you will see there was propagation between ZL & vk2,3,7 at the time. I can find no reason for doubting the spots as reports indicate both operators were running 6m WSPR at the time. Having used WSPR for many years I have found the only false decodes that occur in the WSPR versions of the last few years are when you are not using CAT control and you change bands and forget to change the band in the WSPR program.

Some of these mysterious reports on 6m have happened too often to dismiss them. I'm of the belief we have still got many things to learn about propagation and should keep an open mind and perhaps not keep looking for reasons why not and follow down the Roger path of finding how the propagation may have occurred.

Brian VK5BC