SPACE WEATHJER
SFI = 133
A, K index = 25, 3
Got on the air a few times today, but heard no one on 15 and 10m. Decided to try again as the Grey line approached on 15m and 20m, heard a couple of Chinese stations, but no luck hearing me.
I then went down to 40m and called CQ and David (VK3DBD) came back. Had a 15 minute QSO but unfortunately we also had QSB and QRN, so things were a bit hard to hear at times.
Anyway..
The QRP Streak goes on
SPACE WEATHER
SFI = 120
A, K index = 26, 5
Just got back from doing a bit of Christmas food shopping. Better get in early before the horde start over the next few days, stripping the shops bare (LOL). Looking at the SFI and A,K index, looks like we've got a minor storm hitting us. Anyway, thought I'd better get in now before it gets worse, Turned on the radio and heard Hiro (JQ3GIP) calling CQ and had a quick QSO.
The QRP streak continues for another day
I just received a Eqsl card from him minutes later. Thankyou Hiro
SPACE WEATHER
SFI = 120
A, K index = 6, 2
The 9A (Croatia) contest took care of the streak QSO today when I worked JH1HIC. Here in Far northern Australia, its getting hot and humid again. Looking forward to a bit of rain to cool things down. Problem is, the grass goes crazy and grows like mad. Oh well.
Space Weather
SFI = 118
A,K index = 6, 1
After doing a few quick jobs, I checked the MUF just after 11am local (0115 UTC) and saw that the 15m band was about to open to Japan. Cranked the radio up and after a quick look around I found Mac (JO7KMB) calling "CQ contest". Received a 599.
I didn't bother for the rest of the day. Too many things to do.
The QRP streak continues
SPACE WEATHER
SFI = 116
A, K index = 117, 2
Couldn't get on all day and when I did around 6pm, 15m was very quiet. A couple of stations heard but they couldn't hear me. Went down to 20m... the same. I then tried 40m. Very noisy there. In the end I went back up to 20m and decided to call out CQ. John (VK4TJ) came back. Thank goodness. Just when we started to have a QSO, the grey line terminator past us and the band dropped out like a stone. He went from a strong 599 to nothing in seconds. With my ear pressed against the headphones, I managed to hear him give 73's due to QSB. I did the same in return and... it was over. That was close.
Anyway... the QRP streak goes on
Space Weather
SFI = 117
K Index = 2
I turned the radio on a few times today with the bands being quiet. After ducking down town between the rains, I turned the radio on again at 6:46pm (0846 UTC - with the grey line directly overhead) and heard only two JA stations on the 15m band. Ken (JS6UHQ/6) began calling CQ and I quickly got him. He gave me a 439 with QSB. So we kept the QSO short.
The QRP streak continues.
Space Weather
SFI = 118
K index = 3
Turned the radio on just after 0000 UTC (10am my time) and the only band working at the time was 15m. Heard a couple of JA's talking and then a Korean station calling CQ. I tried calling back but he didn't hear me. Later I tried again at around 0515 UTC on 20m and could just hear Gerard (VK2IO/P) working WWFF/ POTA down in NSW. He was right in the noise. Grabbing the paddle, I gave a quick answer and thanks goodness I got him.
Switching back up to 15m the band was quiet, so I gave a quick CQ to see if the RBN would pick me up and suddenly I got into a small pileup. Toshikiyo (JA0RUG) came back followed by Karunya (YD2UWF) and then finally Yutaka (JH4PUS).
Thanks for the Card Tosh.
That was fun for a few minutes. The QRP streak continues
Space Weather :
SFI - 113
K index = 2
Not many stations on the bands today. Only 2 stations on 15m (both JA's) of which Ken JE6UHQ was one. We only managed a very quick QSO, as the band wasn't the best (539). Lucky I got Ken when I did. Now the QRP streak begins.
Late that afternoon I kept checking the bands to see if it would open however once the terminator (grey line) was directly overhead, the bands began to shut down quickly except 40m which began to open slightly, but the signals were very faint from locals down south. About 2 hours later, 40m shut down as well.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better
Just make at least one QSO a day using QRP, CW, and a simple wire antenna. I've also decided to use UTC days rather than local time days since UTC is the generally accepted system of dates and times used in ham radio. That meant my search for a QSO's can generally begin from 10am VK4 EST (0000 UTC) each day on 10m working the US, then down to 15m early afternoon for Asia then down to 20m during the night for Europe and if need be, 40m for local VK/ NZ QSO's. This give me a lot of scope to work during the day if things turn for the worse... propagation wise.
Anyway, there it is.
Time for some fun
This morning it was great to receive an email from Preston, the awards manager from QRP ARCI regarding my application for the QRP DX award. This award is issued for successful communications with 25 ARRL countries while running QRP. Endorsements are available in increments of 25 countries.
Presently I'm now just short of 50 countries where I can update this award further.
Below is my best distance as a MPW Award.
G'day all,
This month had its up and downs in regards to propagation up here in Far North Queensland.
However, there were times when the noise level dropped and the chatter went through the roof. I did manage to get quite a few EU and US contacts, so it was great to receive a couple of QSL cards from them.
Dennis (W7WHO) in the mid USA
