Q65 on aurora, plus the arrival of the Es season.

Not long after Jeremy, M0XVF posted here that he had used Q65 effectively on aurora than up popped another aurora.

Stereo Ahead spacecraft image of CME on 23 March 2024.

A coronal mass ejection early on 23 March reached Earth later on 24 March. Although the speed of the arrival suggested a strong effect, the field quickly turned northwards and had smaller radio outcome than had been predicted.

At GM4FVM this was an early opportunity to see how Q65 might work on 50MHz during an aurora. At first I could hear OH6KTL and then even stronger DK8NE. This was once I had worked out that people were using Q65-30C submode. I worked G3YDY on 50.305, but OH6KTL was on 50.265. I decided to look for a clear frequency to call CQ, and I found 50.268. Eventually five other stations arrived on 50.268.

This map shows the QSOs I had on 6m Q65. All of them were auroral with no tone.

Contacts on 50MHz Q65 at GM4FVM, 24 March 2025.

 

I saw on KST someone calling those people anticipating a huge event "aurora maniacs". In the event the predictions of the "aurora maniacs" proved to be too optimistic. Auroras are notoriously hard to predict. Even if the identification of the material streaming from the Sun prove to be right, the polarity can swing to the north as it did during this event. Still, it quickly changed from being a widespread event into being a "Scottish aurora". More limited, but fine in my book.

 

The term "Scottish aurora" comes from the excellent book "Radio Auroras" by Charlie Newton G2FKZ. The type of thing he describes means a limited aurora opening with contacts possible with at least one station being in Scotland. Of course, radio does not observe boundaries and stations in the North of England and Ireland at one end are also often involved. However, Charlie's the term has stuck.

I might have hoped for more, but a Scottish aurora will do for me. Six contacts with the best DX being EI2IP at 579km. Another EI station was worked by several other stations but I could not hear it at all - which just shows how localised auroral propagation can be. I heard nothing on any mode on 70 or 144MHz.

 

Anyway, whatever you call it, this was an interesting event for me. I had also thought it might have been a bigger event than it was. However it still allowed me to prove to myself that Q65 could be a big help to me. I have always struggled to hear either SSB or CW during auroras. I am not sure why that should be, but being able to use a data mode would be a great advantage to me.

When I found that people were using 30C submode I followed suit. I guess that somebody knows that the other submodes do not work so well. It is a pity that we cannot use either B or A submode as those would allow us to fit several QSOs into one 3kHz filter's width. I am not complaining - if we can organise ourselves around a central point (I guess 50.275) then that would be fine.

Will Q65 work under more difficult conditions with more distortion? Will it work on 144MHz, or even the highly distorted events on 432MHz? Who knows, but let us find out.

Next, my first contact of the Es season also seems to have happened on 24 March 2024.

Contact via Sporadic E at GM4FVM, 24 March 2024

24 March is actually quite late this year. I have been looking into the length of the Es season from this location and I may write more about this on this blog. But anyway, it usually starts with a single QSO like this. Often there are a few short openings until around the end of April it really gets going. We shall see if this year is an average year.

So many of my contacts on 50, 70 and 144MHz depend on Es propagation. This is not only Es directly, but also through linking to TEP and the like. It is always good to get the first contact out of the way. That map my not look like a big deal, but 1620km to OH7XM on FT8 was a really good QSO for me.

 

Each one of the contacts mentioned on this page was much appreciated by me. It may not be 14MHz where you turn on at any time and work somebody. There are the days when nothing happens at GM4FVM. Yesterday lots of things happened. Keep up the good work lads!

73 

 

Jim GM4FVM