VK2TS wrote:
The thing that always intrigues me about WSPR is how does one actually operate when running WSPR as it would de-sense the hell out of your own SSB/CW station?
Cheers
Tony, WSPR on 2m here runs on my normal SSB rig, so im monitoring the radio paths looking for those that are workable on voice, I dont need to start calling on SSB until im confident the path can support voice OK, which would involve WSPR dB reading of about +5dB and over. But this depends on how desperate you are to make a contact. Ive made contact with most stations numerous times so its no big deal. But when you want to try, you just stop WSPR and change freq on the rig to 144.100 etc. There is no de-sense.
VK2TS wrote:I can understand a WSPR transmitter being run remotely as a beacon with a ADSL connection and monitored by amateurs using the internet. Cheers
You do not need an internet connection to run a WSPR beacon. If its TXing only it just needs to be stable and have good timing. People who hear the beacon will upload the reports of the beacon to the WSPR database.
VK2TS wrote:Calling CQ is the best way to make contacts. If everyone listens and no one calls CQ, nothing happens.
Calling CQ is the only way to make contacts, but is it productive and effective, economic, practical or even possible to be calling CQ on SSB voice 24 hours a day looking for a good path opening?
WSPR spots are not contacts as such. They are merely reports of band conditions and available paths. From these though, contacts can be made then on SSB voice.
VK2TS wrote:I honestly think a lot of the VK WSPR traffic is aircraft enhancement aided especially during peak flight times and adds little to propagation trends. If i sit and listen to VK7, VK4 and VK3 beacons for a period of time I will always hear the CW id's now and then and it always seems to coincide with air flights.
Aircraft reflected signals tend to stop any WSPR decode due to the doppler shift. If there just so happens to be doppler of less than about 3 to 4 Hz over 2 mins, then it may decode. When there is a tropo path and an AE path reflection of sufficient doppler shift away from the tropo signal then 2 signals can decode and you can tell the AE signal because they will tend to have a doppler shifted drift reading on WSPR and also if the TXing station is GPS locked then we know they should be on an exact freq. If the secondary signal is shifted away from this, then we know its AE reflected. There are numerous images on the 2m WSPR WATERFALL IMAGES thread here
http://www.vklogger.com/forum/viewtopic ... 85&t=11554 where u can see the AE signals and the tropo signals.
VK2TS wrote:I am not sure WSPR is, or will ever be the future, as it doesn't present a QSO.
WSPR is NOT a QSO. Its an INDICATOR. Just like a beacon is an indicator of band conditions.
people should know by now.
and im not sure if thats a good thing either (edit now I think its good). I think this only really would be useful on the base band of 144 MHz, as once people know things are moving on 2m (Edit -and also 6m for E, F prop) they can check higher bands. There would be many advantages of running 2m beacons with WSPR (in TX only mode, no RX.)
