I need a lift.

I definitely need a lift.

Not in the sense of a small moving room allowing me to reach different floors in a building (which some call an elevator).

No, I mean a psychological pick-me-up.

Maybe it was just the January blues, when VHF amateurs often face closed bands and white noise. Maybe it was just having to deal with various equipment breakdowns. Maybe the long nights and short days, it being dark at 15:30 in the evening and nothing on the radio, have combined to depress my mood.

Then this arrived ...

Contacts at GM4FVM 3 to 13 February 2023

As usual click the image to enlarge it if you need to. The red pins on the map are for 144MHz contacts, the blue ones are for 432MHz. There are two 70MHz FM contacts in there but they were both local and have no coloured pins.

This tropospheric lift came in two phases, one 3 to 4 February and then again on 11 to 13 February. The high pressure though was present for almost the whole period, so I was able to work F5APQ on 6 February at a healthy -04dB.

Best DX, SP8WJW in KN09 1721km? That looks very much like the six SSB and data contacts I have had with Peter over the last ten years or so. But no, it was in fact my second one with him on 144MHz. I worked him before on 2m on SSB back in 2017.

OK, so a lot of these contacts are with stations I have worked before. Not all, as I picked up a number of new squares, mostly in Poland. For me that is not really the point. I enjoy watching the propagation develop and I am not so keen on collecting squares or new stations just to compete with myself our anybody else. Very few of those 136 contacts could have been made under flat conditions.

Sure, I like to see the squares total edging up, but that is not my main goal in life. The point is that it shows progress.

These tropo openings had been accurately predicted by the two sites I have provided links to on the right hand bar of this blog. Hepburn gave around 5 days notice, and F5LEN around 7 days. Generally Hepburn gives more generous predictions, and this shows up the weaker events. F5LEN is a bit more cautious, but his site has the advantage of giving rough predictions for a week in advance. The further ahead the predictions cover the less accurate they tend to be, though in this case they were both spot on.

Hepburn tropo chart for Monday 13 February 2023

Both the 3 and 4 February and the 11 to 13 February followed the same paths, and this was as predicted by the two sites. The high pressure built over Spain, before travelling in a clockwise direction to pass over England and the North Sea, before heading off over Denmark and into the Baltic Sea area. The propagation followed a similar path, first to France and Spain, then Ireland and South West England, eventually Germany Sweden, Poland and off into the distance. The bands were open and then abruptly closed as it passed.

It has to be stressed that tropospheric predictions are just that. Predictions. They are really a guess based on weather forecasts which are also fairly approximate. Despite this, they often good indications of what will happen. This is especially true for the next day or two, but less so the further ahead they cover. 

I would take note of the predictions, but I would not place too much faith in them. It is true that both sites predicted another opening this year which never happened. In that case the high pressure arrived, but the enhanced conditions did not. As other factors come into play such as the moisture content of the air and the wind speed at any particular point it is hardly surprising that they get things wrong sometimes.

Anyway, they were both correct this time. 15 countries worked on both bands, DL, EA, EI, F, G, GM, GU, LA, OK, ON, OZ, PA, SM and SP. In the not so distant past that would have been a good lifetime achievement for me on 2m and 70cm. Now it happens in ten days, or actually two days at the start and three days at the end.

This is thanks to nothing I have done of course. The troposphere has not changed much either. The developments at my end really come from having adopted better technology. In particular I would mention (with the real innovators) better antennas (I0JXX on 2m), better radios (Icom) better coax (M&P), better masthead preamps (SSB Electronics) and of course better software (K1JT et al).

Looking particularly at 70cm contacts, as usual low activity levels limited what could be done. It still looked pretty good

432MHz contacts at GM4FVM 3 to 13 February 2023

Even with limited activity, 9 DXCC on 432MHz is pretty good for me. I still get great joy from working into France, never mind Spain. Spain for me is real DX on any of my three high bands (2m, 70 and 23cm). Oddly I heard no signal on 23 cm for the entire period.

It looks a bit like EA1W should have been the best DX as at 1393km in square IN73. That is a long haul for 432MHz. But no, SP2JYR gains the crown at an additional 6km further at 1399km to JO92.

That contact with Ryszard, SP2JYR, was almost my best DX on terrestrial propagation on 70cm (F5DYD/P at 1415 beats it) but it is still remarkable. Rather like the SP8WJW contact above, I am more accustomed to working Ryszard on 70MHz. I have had 19 contacts with him on 70MHz over the past decade, two on 144MHz, one on 50MHz, and now one on 432MHz too. SP2JYR becomes a DX four bander on VHF and above. We even had a contact on both 2m and 70cm on 13 February.

So SP2JYR gave me a new 70cm square, and SP2FRY gave me JO83, and DL1VPL gave me JO61 ... no need to go on. On 70cm I have now worked 93 squares. Time to think about the century?

Look, once again, 37 contacts on 70cm, one an FM one to a hill top walker nearby so 36 DX. 27 squares, 9 DXCC, Spain. Poland, Sweden etc, etc. Plus higher bands mean extra points. And as I always say, points mean prizes. Well, no, there are no prizes. However, the thrill of working stations on higher frequencies continues to energise me when other radio things do not.. 

I have had more 70cm linear trouble which I may relate later. Actually, a nagging problem from ages ago which I have now decided to fix. This has stopped me doing any more moonbounce on 70cm at the moment. So all this recent activity was on about 80W with the 16 element Wimo. That antenna has been panned by a certain other amateur who tells me I could do better with something more elaborate. I dunno, more money for an antenna which is no longer and claims no more gain? 

I do have a new 70cm masthead preamp, with the SHF 432VOX having been replaced by an SSB SP70. This is something I had been planning but which I had to do urgently following .. erm ... a mistake on my part. No need to go into that just now.

So what is next? High pressure due to return briefly next week! Disturbed geomagnetic conditions thanks to solar activity so possible Aurora/Es this weekend. Is my mojo working again?

Anyway, there you go. I got my lift.

Perhaps with my knee still giving trouble that lift to get me up to higher floors might be a good idea. Can I get a portable one.

Do Stannah make one on wheels? A bit like an aircraft staircase like the one you see at airports, but with a motorised chair on rails, maybe?

Can I apply for a patent?

73 Jim GM4FVM