2m record - almost

Best 2m WSPR I've had for ever, today. G8MCU bidirectionally (a distance of 137 miles) and G4SMX/FCD (what *does* FCD mean?) one way - he wasn't transmitting.203 miles. He heard me.

And decent antenna systems. I'm now using a 3 element delta, horizontally polarised about 18 feet up, with a reasonably good take-off to the south-east. That's about as good as it's going to get round here.

I distinctly remember, in SOTA days, a session from the High Willhays, Dartmoor. In those days, we drove down overnight. I'd left the family sleeping in the car to go for a walk with the dog:

Date:31/Jul/2004 Summit:G/DC-001 (High Willhays) Call Used:M0DEV/P Points: 4 Bonus: 0   

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
07:10z	G0FGW	144MHZ	FM	Chippenham
07:12z	G4NRG	144MHZ	FM	Wayne, Kidderminster
07:20z	M3GLF	144MHZ	FM	Burnham on Crouch
07:25z	M3RBU	144MHZ	FM	Winchester
07:27z	G7RRQ	144MHZ	FM	Salisbury
07:28z	M3PBS	144MHZ	FM	Weymouth
07:30z	G0IMM	144MHZ	FM	IOW
07:31z	G4TKF	144MHZ	FM	Devizes
07:35z	GW1MCD	144MHZ	FM	Cwmbran
07:39z	G0DUQ	144MHZ	FM	Cannock
07:42z	MW0AIE	144MHZ	FM	Pembrokeshire
07:43z	M3FHI	144MHZ	FM	Essex
07:45z	M3RSF	144MHZ	FM	Dudley, W Mids
07:50z	M3VXR	144MHZ	FM	Northampton

 

At least one of these (I can't remember who) nearly lost his eggs and B in his rush to get to the mic. I was on a handheld. Ah, the power of lifts.

So, I'm expecting rather better than this, sometime.

The aridity of 2m

When you're a data aficionado who doesn't own a mic, 2m can be a bit of a desert. We propeller-heads inhabit the bottom 500KHz or so of this band. In the wilds of the borders, this can be a long and lonely existence, punctuated only by SOTA calling from the local hilltops

Anyway, to cut a long and common story short, Santa bought me a 6m portable mast for Christmas. The aged Sandpiper 3 element delta beam sits beautifully on it, and I made up a westflex cable some time ago for 23cms (currently no antenna...)

So, it all fits together. What to listen for? There was the excitement of the Quadrantids. I capured these on a collinear:

160200 13.6 4230 12 37 -197 EA3AXV CQ EA3AXV CQ EA3AXV CQ EA3AXV C


And, a little later,

232400 14.4 400 10 26 -20 S!CQ 352 OK2PMS CQ 352 OK2PMS CQ 352 OK2


Both of which are quite gratifying on simple kit. No chance of replying, of course.

Anyway, back to the beamlet. It's been pointing towards London today. Been trawling down in the 144.135 ish region with PSK31 - no takers there, nor, indeed, anything on JT65B which is, if you read the internet, flavour of the month digitally for 2m - though I suspect all the activitiy occurs either as EME or during openings

But I did manage to pick up GB3VHF. This is located SE of London and, rather sweetly, beacons in JT65B if you set your QRG to 144.42850 USB. Today, in Shropshire, this has been a lovely -6dB, easily audible and well above the noise floor

So, still no QSOs, but at least I know I can reach to Kent.

I did try F5ZAM after that. It's a 10W beacon, probably CW, on 144.425. Pas un saucisson on that one...

I wish...

This was not bidirectional. I heard him. He didn't hear me.

Nuuk and Greenland would be utterly great for me. But that's the frustration of WSPR - it's amazing to see what you can pick up using simple wire antennas (in my case, frozen to a height of 2m) but these aren't QSOs. I'm using 500mW, and he hasn't spotted me. Sometimes, they aren't *really* QSOs - but in this case it's nowhere near. He hasn't heard me. But there's still a draw here. I've spend the last hour footling around on 160m and have managed a DL. I get far more buzz from hearing an XP...

This particular screenshot is 80m.

The other WSPR frustration is that I have no really neat way of logging this.