EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0001
Amateur Radio News with an emphasis on radio experiments & the VHF bands
EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter #0001 - 7th March 2024
Summary: -
Newsletter introduction - Why I’m starting a newsletter
HF Beacon & Propagation News - Solar Flux & Sunspots / LF beacons in Europe / 28 MHz Antarctic beacon / IARU Region 2 beacons / RSGB beacon list / Strongest flare / 28 MHz Propagation news
VHF News : 30 MHz and above - 437 MHz from the moon / 50 MHz Dxpeditions
In conclusion
EI7GL Amateur Radio Newsletter introduction… Back at the start of January 2024, I had a post up about the blog, how it was doing and where I want to go with it.
It was a time for reflection and to decide where I want to go with the blog? It is after all a hobby and not a job and I know that I need to do things with the blog that keep me interested.
Most of the posts that I put up on the blog take at least two hours to prepare. Between researching the information, writing the post, preparing the graphics and then putting the post link up on all the various social media feeds, it all adds up and takes a lot of time.
I feel that most posts need some sort of graphics to explain what the post is about and it’s all part of the blogging process. I come across quite a bit of information that I think people would find of interest but it’s so short that I don’t think it’s worthy of an individual blog post. I have no real interest in putting up short posts with a few lines of text with no graphics as I think the information would go largely unnoticed.
New Newsletter… The one thing I want to try is to start a new newsletter which is mainly aimed at radio experimenters and those interested in the VHF bands. The content will be what I find of interest or what I think others might find of interest.
I guess I should define what is a ‘radio experimenter’? I see it as a rather loose term. To me, it just describes someone who uses radios to answer a question or to satisfy a curiosity.
It could be someone who builds their own equipment, someone who builds their own aerials, someone who is interested in radio propagation, someone who is interested in technical topics or even just someone who uses radio for self education.
VHF… The other part of the newsletter is the VHF component. What’s VHF? Technically I guess it’s 30 MHz and above. My own interest is pretty much anything that is 25 MHz and above as some of the propagation modes like Sporadic-E are similar.
There is plenty of things happening on the VHF bands but a lot of that information is buried in places like Facebook groups where only a relatively small number of people see them. My aim is to make this information more visible.
Social Media… Speaking of making things more visible, one of the big problems with social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter/X or Instagram is that they use algorithms to control what people see. I have around 1500 followers on Twitter / X but that doesn’t mean when I post something that all of the followers will get to see the post.
I think a newsletter by email will help me to reach a wider audience and to let more people know of posts on the blog as well as other interesting pieces of news. It helps bypass the social media platforms to some extent and allows me to reach more followers directly.
How often?... This newsletter is as much an experiment as anything else and I know the posts will depend on available time. I’m planning on posting no more than one a week and no less than once a month. My current plan is once every two weeks. We’ll have to see how it performs, how long it takes and what the interest is like.
How much?... The newsletter is free. All you have to do is subscribe.
Support… If you would like to support the newsletter and blog then I have the payment options turned on. People can pay for a few months or longer if they wish.
The blog and newsletter isn’t a job and my plan is to use the funds to improve the content. At the start of the year, I used the funds generated by the adverts on the blog to buy an antenna analyser. My plan is to use it to build some antennas and document them on the blog.
Newsletter Contents…
HF Beacon & Propagation News…
Solar Flux & Sunspots - Over the last two weeks, the solar flux reached a peak of 181 on the 25th of February 2024. The SESC Sunspot Number reached a high of 133 on the 26th. By the 6th of March, the solar flux had declined to 136 with the SEC sunspot number at 105.
LF Beacons in Europe… Mirek, OK1DUB reports the following new beacons on the LF bands...
1994.7 to 1995.0 kHz CW SA6RR 0.5 W INVERTED L JO67KI H24 / irregularly
1998.0 kHz CW SM6AAL/B 4 W DIPOLE JO67GQ 18:00 to 05:00 UTC
3578.7 kHz CW IQ5VK/B 0.01 W DIPOLE JN53IB H24
3579.2 kHz CW EW1OZ/QRP 4 W DIPOLE 30+20 m KO33RV H24
28 MHz Antarctic Beacon... Jerry, AC5JM is the IARU beacon co-ordinator for Region 2 (Americas) and reports having received information that the VP8ADE on Adelaide Island in Antarctica is still active. It is presently on 28284.9 kHz CW with 10W into a "pretty inefficient 1/4 wave vertical". VP8ADE has been on this freq since 1980.
IARU Region 2 beacons… Jerry AC5JM also reports that as IARU Region 2 HF Beacon Coordinator, he is currently trying to update the 28 MHz beacon list for North and South America. There were around 1100 beacons on the old list and many haven't been on air for years. He believes that there are probably somehthing like 200 or so beacons currently active and he is working on generating a more accurate list.
Updated RSGB HF beacon list... The following was announced in the GB2RS news bulletin from the RSGB... "The RSGB’s Propagation Studies Committee has released a new HF beacon list, with the 10m band listings completely revamped. The old list, which was started by Martin Harrison, G3USF Silent Key, had been added to over the years but was getting out of date. The only way to make it more accurate was to start again. The Propagation Studies Committee made use of the Reverse Beacon Network which wasn’t available when the list was originally created, plus listeners’ contributions from around the world. The new beacon list can be found at rsgb.org/beacons "
Strongest Flare of the Current Solar Cycle... The IRTS news team report the following - "On February 22nd, the strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle was detected. Flares are classified according to their strength and the smallest ones are B-class, followed by C, M and X, which is the most extreme. The largest flare in recent days, an X6.3 flare was the sun's most powerful outburst since 2017. What makes this more notable is that it was the third X-class flare in 24 hours from our very active sun at the moment. These flares cause temporary radio blackouts on the sun-facing side of our planet."
28 MHz propagation news... The RSGB propagation news team report the following conditions for NW Europe - "Looking further ahead, we are now heading towards the equinox period, so we can expect MUFs to fall from their winter highs. The good news is that we can expect north-south paths to improve. The equinox is traditionally a better time for auroral conditions. If you want to work the USA on 28MHz you still have a couple of weeks left to do so, but expect transatlantic propagation conditions to decline by the time April arrives. The good news is that propagation to South Africa, South America and the Caribbean may improve."
VHF News - 30 MHz and above -
437MHz from the Moon… The IRTS news team report the following - “The successful unmanned landing of the Japanese-built Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft near the Moon's equator has an amateur radio beacon transmitting telemetry data via a 1-Watt transmitter. Shortly before landing and despite ending upside down due to a thruster problem, the SLIM lander ejected two small autonomous skipping and rolling rovers called LEV-1 and LEV-2. LEV-1 re-transmits data received from LEV-2 on 437.410 MHz using CW and 64 baud pulse code modulation. Unlike the high path losses typical for reflected EME signals that require large setups for receiving signals, an active transmitter on the Moon is much easier to receive. However, it still requires a beam with approximately 20 decibel gain to overcome the 163 decibel path loss from 384,400 km away. More info may be found at www.jaxa.jp”
50 MHz News
50 MHz Dxpeditions...
Bernhard, DL2GAC will be active as H44MS from Malaita (IOTA OC-047), in the Solomon Islands, until the 25th of April 2024. He will be QRV daily, with activity on the HF & 6m bands using SSB and some FT8. QSL via Berhard’s home call, directly or via the Bureau. He will upload details of his contacts to Club Log and Logbook of the World.
The A8OK Team will be active from Liberia in west Africa from the 5th to 19th of April 2024. They will operate on 160 - 6m, SSB, CW, RTTY, FT8, FT4, PSK and also QO-100, RS44, IO-117. QSL via OK6DJ, ClubLog OQRS, LOTW.
Tom, AA9A will be active as PJ7AA from Saint Maarten (IOTA NA-105) until the 30th of March 2024. He will be active on 40 - 6m CW, FT8, FT4.
Ichiro Takahashi JH7IPR, will be active again as T88UW from Koror Island in Palau (IOTA OC-009) from the 15th to the 24th of March 2024. He will operate on 160 - 6m CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8, JT9, JT65,
DK5ON will be again active as PJ2/DK5ON from Curacao Island (IOTA SA-099) from the 11th to the 27th of March 2024. He will be active on 160 - 6 m CW, SSB, FT8, FT4 and also Satellites. QSL via home call, LOTW, ClubLog OQRS.
The VQ5P Team will be active from Turks and Caicos Islands from the 26th of March until the 2nd of April 2024. They will operate on 160 - 6m, CW, SSB, FT8, FT4. QSL via N2OO, LOTW, ClubLog.
The T32EU Team will be active from Kiritimati Atoll (IOTA OC-024), Kiribati, from the 13th until the 27th of March 2024. They will operate on 160 - 6m, CW, SSB, RTTY and probably FT8. QSL via DL2AWG, LOTW, ClubLog.
Thomas, DL7BO will be active as XU7GNY from Cambodia until the 15th of March 2024. He will operate on 160 - 6m, CW, SSB, FT8 with focus on the Low Bands.
Gerard, F2JD will be active as HR5/F2JD from Honduras until the 21st of March 2024. He will operate on HF Bands plus 6m, CW, SSB, Digital modes. QTH - Copan Ruinas. QSL via F6AJA.
Peter, DC0KK will be active again as 4S7KKG from Sri Lanka (IOTA AS-003) until the 30th of March 2024. He will operate on 20 - 6m, CW, Digital modes. QSL via home call, LOTW, OQRS ClubLog.
Bernhard, DL2GAC will be active as H44MS from Honiara, Guadalcanal Island (IOTA OC-047) until end of the April 2024. He will be operate on 80 - 6m SSB. QSL via home call.
Dave, VK2DS will be active as VK0DS from Davis Station, Antarctica until November 2024. He will operate on HF Bands, plus 6m and EME 2m and 23cm. QSL via home call.
For more information on DX and expeditions, go to https://www.dx-world.net/
In Conclusion… I think that’s about enough for now. As I said, this newsletter is an experiment in itself and I’m sure it will change and evolve as I add more material.
Let’s see where it goes.
John, EI7GL
My radio blog: https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/