GW4VXE's Station Diary

Well, you know conditions aren't great when you tune across 15m at the weekend, with a contest going on and there's only one or two stations audible!

Back on 20m, there was more going on. Curiously, stations from E7 were very loud as were UA9s - and fairly little in between!

15 and 10m opened up barely, as the sun intersected the path between here and Brazil. Worked a PY on both bands. This is like sunspot minimum!

Pete MM9SQL was doing the RSGB FT4 contest so I popped onto 40m to work him - nice too to find Jef ON8NT, one of my regular PW contributors there as well.

10m seemed to improve a little around sunset. Some FT8 appeared on the SDR/Loop from South America and I was pleased to have a simple CW QSO with Pedro PY4PDW, a young man who appears to be running a simple station of around 45W to a delta loop. Really great to be able to make QSOs like that. I remember starting off as G4VXE and being delighted to work into South America. Well, I still am - but it was very special at that time.