VK > EU in May

[VK4ABW]

Yep folks - the band is still alive.
SV1DH 5/2 in Darwin on 50.088 @ 1120z.
HA0DU 5/1 on 50.088 @ 1200z.

Middle East TV indicators are very wide tonight and also hearing 48.239.622 (not heard in a long time).

Keep those flares coming old sol

Gary
VK8AW

[VK5PO]

Did you work them Gary?, or just hear those two stations.




good luck.

John

[VK4ABW]

Steve - HA0DU got my report but i did not get his. SV1DH was 5/2 many times but did not hear me....S3 QRM at his end and probably because it took 3 minutes for my amp to warm up. By the time i responded, his signal was going down. I didn't hear Steve again after that.

I also received a partial from Pop YU7 on 50.088 cw, but we never exchanged reports.
So...all stations heard lastnight were RX REPORTS only

The reason why the EU's did not hear me too well was because they were QRMing each other.
It was a very narrow footprint in Darwin lastnight as Mark (vk8ms) was also on but did not hear them.

The 48mhz tv from Dubai was very wide on Spectrum Lab when it opened to EU. The Syria tv also made an appearance...but not for very long. All indicators returned at 11pm (local) but were short lived and I got no response to my calls.

I run multiple instances of SpecLab from several radios and can see the history of the indicators on 48mhz and 49mhz simultaneously. I will try to screenshot it tonight (if it happens again) and post it here. You will see what i'm talking about.

Tonight i will be on a lot earlier....with the footwarmer going too

Gary
VK8AW / VK4ABW

[VK4WDM]

Just goes to show how little we really know about 6m propagation. After 45 years on the band I still don't really understand what makes it tick!

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK4ABW]

well...i had a nice screenshot of all the vids on 48mhz & 49mhz and then my pc locked up. Lost everything. restarted pc and it happened again. 3rd time lucky. It might have been rf feedback but the problem never re-occurred.
Hopefully grab a screenshot tonight.

Very wide opening across EU lastnight from Cyprus to Spain and from Greece to Netherlands. When the 48 vids faded down in Darwin, they came up in DU land and the boys up there started working EU. When the vids swung back at 11pm, they were very weak and did not last long. The opening appeared to be in two very quick periods back-to-back. 1st opened with Italy/Greece and then moved very quickly across to Spain and then dropped back to Israel. 2nd opening started in Italy/Greece again, and then quickly moved up to Germany/Netherlands and then dropped back to Israel again
All up, about a 1.5 hour opening.

Main indicators were 48.239.622mhz (believed to be from Syria) & 48.249.250mhz (Dubai). I never heard the A47 beacon either.

Gary
VK8AW/VK4ABW

[VK4ABW]

Well...it appears that EU is over (for this part of the year) ....but you are welcome to prove me wrong
HA0DU briefly heard me calling cq at 0830z last night, but no 2-way occurred.
The 49mhz has drastically shifted west, with this indicator briefly appearing at 0800z and then returning late around 1230z.
The 48mhz - either Iran or somewhere close to there, is arriving very early now, typically 0730z and staying in for hours up to S9 and over.

Conditions to the Middle East are still there, but probably shifting slowly north and going shorter every night:

Serge (EX8MLE) was in for 30 minutes lastnight and was cruising the band. Initially on 50.110cw around 0930z (caught by my cw skimmer) but i was out of the room - and then worked on SSB on 50.085 and then cw on 50.110 about 15 minutes later. I heard him calling for another 10 minutes after this, and then he faded down.

de Gary
VK8AW / VK4ABW

[VK6OX]

Nice work if u can get it Gary!!

Seriously, good to see that the efforts pay off, regardless of previous expectations and the waffle of doomsayers!

[VK4WDM]

Nothing over this way from EU or ME but I am very hopeful for Sep and Oct

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK4ABW]

regardless of previous expectations and the waffle of doomsayers!

Thanks Andy. I don't pay attention to doomsayers. I make my mind up based upon my observations

Gary
VK8AW/VK4ABW

[VK5BC]

Well done Gary, you certainly settled into the Darwin environment with a bang, great work. How about posting a summary of your may activity here.

I should have been holidaying in Darwin not the USA

73 Brian
VK5BC

[VK4ABW]

Next time Brian....we swap you can come here and i will gladly take a trip to the old US of A

Someone has to show the locals how to work dx (chill out Marc VK8MS).
By all accounts, both Marc and I had a great time showing the europeans how it is done Aussy style
And....I must point out, that it would not have gone so smoothly without great communications and understanding. Marc and I conversed every night (way up the light spectrum) and
organised our operating frequencies, so as not to inconvenience each other, and continuously update each other on what was happening, etc. Can't have two (2) big gun stations operating on top of each other

Watch this space later tonight for my activities during May 2013.
01/05/13 0700Z 6 MTRS CW KH7Y FRED HAWAII 5/9 BK29 8850K 67°
01/05/13 1148Z 6 MTRS CW JA6TEW MASA JAPAN 5/9 PM53 5079K
01/05/13 1205Z 6 MTRS USB A92IO DAVE BAHRAIN 5/9 LL56 9723K 294°
02/05/13 0745Z 6 MTRS CW KH7Y FRED HAWAII 5/9 BK29 8850K 67°
02/05/13 0940Z 6 MTRS CW VU2RBI INDIA 5/9 ML88 7356K 309°
02/05/13 1008Z 6 MTRS USB A92IO DAVE BAHRAIN 5/9 LL56 9723K 294°
02/05/13 1140Z 6 MTRS CW YB0AKM KAZUO INDONESIA 5/9 OI33 2705K 282°
03/05/13 1045Z 6 MTRS USB A92IO DAVE BAHRAIN 5/9 LL56 9723K 294°
04/05/13 1115Z 6 MTRS CW JO1LVZ JAPAN 5/9
04/05/13 1117Z 6 MTRS CW JA7TNO/1 JAPAN 5/9
20/05/13 1002Z 6 MTRS CW SV1DH COSTAS GREECE 5/9 KM18 12348K 306°
20/05/13 1027Z 6 MTRS CW HA0DU STEVE HUNGARY 5/1 KN07 12512K 316°
20/05/13 1029Z 6 MTRS CW EA3GP SPAIN 5/5 JN01 14172K 313°
20/05/13 1030Z 6 MTRS CW SV2DCD GREECE 5/5 KM17
20/05/13 1047Z 6 MTRS CW DK2JP GERMANY 5/2 JO73 12813K 324°
20/05/13 1055Z 6 MTRS CW 5B4AGN CYPRUS 5/3 KM64 11553K 303°
20/05/13 1058Z 6 MTRS CW VU2RBI INDIA 5/5 ML88 7356K 309°
20/05/13 1100Z 6 MTRS CW 4Z1UF ISRAEL 5/5 KM72 11294K 301°
20/05/13 1108Z 6 MTRS CW IC8TEM ITALY 5/5 JN54 13300K 311°
20/05/13 1108Z 6 MTRS CW IZ8EDJ ITALY 5/7 JN70 13130K 306°
20/05/13 1109Z 6 MTRS CW IZ0CGV ITALY 5/2 JN61 13260K 307°
20/05/13 1111Z 6 MTRS CW SV1JGX GREECE 5/5 KM17
20/05/13 1117Z 6 MTRS CW IS0GQX SARDINIA 5/1 JM49 13608K 309°
20/05/13 1121Z 6 MTRS CW 4Z1TL ISRAEL 5/9 KM72 11294K 301°
20/05/13 1128Z 6 MTRS CW SV8RX GREECE 5/5 KM17
20/05/13 1130Z 6 MTRS CW SV8CS GREECE 5/5 KM07 12615K 302°
20/05/13 1142Z 6 MTRS USB KG6JDX JOEL GUAM 5/9 QK23 3252K 29°
24/05/13 1000Z 6 MTRS CW EA6SA BALEARES IS 5/1 JM19 14120K 306°
24/05/13 1002Z 6 MTRS CW EA6BB BALEARES IS 5/3 JM19 14120K 307°
24/05/13 1012Z 6 MTRS CW EA5BY SPAIN 5/3 IM98 14480K 307°
24/05/13 1015Z 6 MTRS CW BA4SI LI CHINA 5/3 OM91 5090K 345°
24/05/13 1020Z 6 MTRS CW HA8CE HUNGARY 5/5
24/05/13 1022Z 6 MTRS CW ER1SS MOLDOVIA 5/5 KN47 11920K 312°
24/05/13 1025Z 6 MTRS CW HA8FK HUNGARY 5/2 KN06 12513K 312°
24/05/13 1028Z 6 MTRS CW ER1SS MOLDOVIA 5/5 KN47 11920K 312°
24/05/13 1120Z 6 MTRS CW OE5KE AUSTRIA 5/2 JN66 13143K 313°
29/05/13 1207Z 6 MTRS USB EX8MLE SERGE KYRGYZSTAN 5/7 MN72 8328K 321°
29/05/13 1227Z 6 MTRS CW EX8MLE SERGE KYRGYZSTAN 5/9 MN72 8328K 321°


de Gary
VK8AW/VK4ABW

[VK4CZ]

And....I must point out, that it would not have gone so smoothly without great communications and understanding. Marc and I conversed every night (way up the light spectrum) and organised our operating frequencies, so as not to inconvenience each other, and continuously update each other on what was happening, etc. Can't have two (2) big gun stations operating on top of each other

So true Gary... successful liaison makes the world of difference.

In BNE last couple of cycles constant liaison (on and off air) by a number of the 6m fraternity proved to be highly successful, enabling a number of DXCC's to be worked without significant QRM and angst amongst those participating.

The liaison QRG of 145.650 is still used successfully, but has expanded to included discussions on a whole raft of VHF and up AR related topics, not just 6m (directly related to the lack of prop this cycle). However, whilst the new DXCC count hasn't shifted much for some of us this cycle, the levels of angst generated through QRM and calling over each other could have so easily been fixed by a more open mind and a willingness to contribute to the local AR and 6m community through active liaison. Something that without collaboration, can only get worse as the population on the band increases!

BTW: Well done on the achievements.

[VK4ABW]

Maybe i should have titled this discussion as VK > EU in May/June
I missed the first bit of last nights opening as i heard Mark (8MS) working someone but wasn't paying close attention.
It was a fairly wide opening again with Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Bulgaria & Romania making the logbook. I was also heard in Portugal and Mark was
heard in England (before i got on).
All up, it was about a 1/2 hour opening for me.

The word spread very quickly via the internet and both Mark and I got hammered by EU's piling up on us. I ended up running a cw split...which sorted out a
few stations who were not paying attention.

This is the first time ever that i have worked EU in June! I wonder what the propagation experts have to say on this

de Gary
VK8AW / VK4ABW

[VK4WDM]

Hi Gary

I have never heard of EU in June either! It is now summer E season in the northern hemisphere so I wonder if the propagation is a multiple - hop E (but from what you are saying, the sigs sound too stable for that) or a combination of E plus F2? Like you, I would like to hear what the experts say.

My antenna is down so I don't know if anything came this far south.

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK2ZRH]

Gary VK8AW / VK4ABW wrote: This is the first time ever that i have worked EU in June! I wonder what the propagation experts have to say on this.

Not claiming to be a "propagation expert", but I have studied it some . . . given that the northern hemisphere annual major sporadic E season is in full swing, and that the southern hemisphere minor sporadic E season generally peaks around the winter solstice (which was on Friday last), it's most likely that the opening was via multi-hop sporadic E, or nEs.

In addition, given that the IPS solar activity indices were moderate to low, and that the A index was low, it was unlikely that F2 was involved, even a single hop via the northern or southern peaks of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly (EIA). The EIA supports TEP via chordal hop between the peaks, crossing the equator (http://home.iprimus.com.au/toddemslie/aTEP-Harrison.htm).

On 27 July last year, IW9HII on the western side of Sicily reported hearing Brian VK5BC at 0706 UTC, at 3/1 with QSB (which I have personally confirmed with Davide IW9HII). Brian reported it here - search "Any Thoughts" on the VK Logger Forum.

I did an analysis of the probable propagation mode or modes and wrote a short article, which was published in November AR magazine (pp 41-42). Below is the path map and vertical plane projection of the probably propagation mode/s. It could have been nEs all the way, but most likely the northern EIA peak was involved on this occasion.

VK5BC heard by IW9HUU 27 July 2012

Why hasn't this sort of propagation happened before? Probably because people weren't paying attention . . . or they were waiting for "F2"

Posted in the interests of sharing knowledge.

73, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH

[VK4WDM]

I have always thought that multi-hop E sigs were usually very wishy washy and prone to extreme QSB. Obviously that is wrong given the sigs that the VK8s are reporting.

This is really good news for 6m ops because E activity has nothing to do with sunspot peaks - some even say that lower solar activity increases Es.

Better get my 6m back up in case the sigs make another couple of hops further SE!

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK8MS]

The last time we had June VK8 to EU was 1\6\2002 9H,I,DL,SV & S51 nothing later as normally I'm away this time of year, will try and catch up with Graham VK8GB and ask him of any other June openings...but may be we were all too busy enjoying Dry Season activitys and discounting propogation not active during this time of year, I decided to come out to radio as TV was boring me and Lynda wanted to watch Richmond play and I was thinking on Friday I should give 2 mts a go into Asian region as it is winter Solstice had Six going as usual and looked at the indicators on a few sites which looked promising and thought I will take a liston 50.085 to 50.100 and heard many YO,LZ etc CQing, I actually sat listening for at least 10 minutes before I decided to put out calls then the pile ups started many eastern EU's, I was trying to work some more Western EU's, UK etc they were in there weak but was getting swamped by Eastern EU so just decided to work them any way.
Most of these signals were between 519-559 no fading quite solid all the time as the difficult part was too many calling same time couldn't pull them all out. This opening to me started at 1030Z until 1135z just stop like switch turned off

Indicators wer 48.239.7 & 48,250.25 & weak one on 48.251 ?

Regards,
Mark Sellers - VK8MS.

[VK4ABW]

Well there you go. I did not hear any 49tv and the only 48tv was a very weak Dubai on 48.250. All the stations i worked had a clean signal (no spread on spectran) and i could not hear any of the usual flutter/distortion/multi-path. So...today i was mulling it over and thought the same...multi E's.
The hard part was picking out callsigns in the pile ups.

Might be worth listening a bit harder instead of playing pc games with the kids

de Gary
VK8AW / VK4ABW

[VK2ZRH]

Hi Gary,

You said ". . . the usual flutter/distortion/multi-path . . ", did you mean that in relation to EU/Mediterranean stations that you've worked in the past, or Asian stations ? I'm curious.

Were the paths in all-daylight, or were part of the paths in night time ?

73, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH

[VK4ABW]

. . the usual flutter/distortion/multi-path . . ", did you mean that in relation to EU/Mediterranean stations that you've worked in the past, or Asian stations ? I'm curious.

Were the paths in all-daylight, or were part of the paths in night time ?

73, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH

OK Roger. These contacts occurred at 9:30pm -10pm (local time), putting 1/3 of the path at night. The usual sounds associated with TEP were not there. These contacts were like working you via a very stable E cloud....if this makes sense. I was watching my SPecLab program and there was no rasping sounds or distortion of the signals. Signals did fade, but they were very slow. All signals were free from distortion, which allowed my CwSkimmer to resolve 6 - 8 callsigns at a time! This would not have been possible during our usual mar/apr - sep/oct windows associated with equinox and the Chinese/Russian 49ers making a mess of the band.

The band was very peaceful . There was some short partical noise further to the west but the true bearing of 310 - 318 degrees was very quiet allowing me to operate my external 20db gasfet. The only indicator for me was Dubai on 48.250.250, which was evident on SpecLab/barely audible.
No beacons were spotted, no 49ers (I swung my beam several times thru north).
The point of interest here is that I was heard very loud by a Japanese station operating in Malaysia whilst working the EU stations

Gary
VK8AW / VK4ABW