11m Lift 21/02/22 17:20hrs

Hi All,

Bit of a propagation lift on 27.385MHz LSB and surrounding frequencies at the mo.

Corn-dog Tennessee shouting England/Europe

RC50 - Pete - Canada

etc.


Shame I'm only SWL!!!

Lots of London callers but ain't heard any Charlie Tangos yet.

Best of luck.

Not even SWL me lol.
FT4/8 from the house but not for long.(i hope)...

Probably a bit of greyline action going on Alan so will die off soon.
(Been fun SWLing on the old Lowe HF-225 for the last hour! )

Helps that we're in 'Kilowatt Alley' with Europe beaming over us and Stateside beaming back.

I like listening out on the old CB/11m band for radio activity as they tend to have their radios on rather than relying on propagation tools and not bothering.

Definitely greyline, all but disappeared now. Still, was a bit of radio fun.

Missed this unfortunately. Hopefully some others here managed catch a bit of action.

I missed it too, I always do on 11 & 10. 

73's Gary.

Never mind Lads I had hoped at least someone might have caught it on Charlie Tango but didn't hear any CT call signs in use. 

Although I was unable to transmit I had real excitement listening as the propagation swept across the USA and Canada with the usual stations shouting out. Was some great grey-line action today lasting for about an hour and always worth a listen out for. 

Channel 38 LSB often turns up the goods with barely a tickle on the triple five apart from some late entry Italians. Although 10m should be alive at the same time there's usually not a flicker but 12m and 15m can come alive at the same time.

Was great to SWL much as I have in years gone by and hope when I get sorted antenna wise thrilling that I might catch some of the action on CB or Ham frequencies.  



For anyone unaware of such propagation conditions simply search for 'greyline' or more usually the American spelling of 'grayline'. Some exciting radio opportunities can be had.


All the best,
Victor

Luckily enough to catch an hour or so of propagation this evening.2WR 730,2KP 865 and a few more but most seen to just use 2 division and a unit number.Which is a shame as I started collecting QSL cards (Big kid at heart..lol)
Victor is right as the 27.385 LSB can be a hive of activity with not a single station to be heard on the T5 at the same time.
The only problem is when the propagation starts here in London your competing with the local stations and not so much Mother Nature.So working up or down a channel normally does the trick or better still a switch of mode over to AM as I find this far more workable and a lot less busy but just as successful as LSB.One thing to keep an eye out for on the 27.355 - 405 LSB most morning are 43 division’s as I’ve had a couple of successful QSO’s to Australia.The next solar cycle seems to be slowly heading in the right direction as surprise contacts for me keep making appearances.When you get told your 5/9+10 into 91 division Indonesia or 5/9 into 5 division Venezuela it certainly opens your eyes and that’s the best £50 I spent on that Antenna and yes I did get QSL cards for both..lol
Next time you on 27.515 instead of USB flick it to LSB as I’ve had fantastic contacts to the West Indies lately.
Cheers and keep spinning that VFO…
Tom 26CT4029

Nice one there Tom and have always been impressed with your radio contacts.  

As you mention there can be a bit of a pileup when the propagation lifts and often a shift up or down frequency or modes is often helpful. Both Pete in Canada and old Corndog were using the same techniques successfully.
I still think you do rather well getting past some of the 'big gun' stations there in London mate!

Also as you rightly point out the dawn terminator works just as well as the dusk but bags you a different end of the world.

It's all awesome stuff and although you'll see a lot of greyline maps in Ham circles I think they rely on the MUF (maximum usable frequency) far too often rather than taking a punt. I think a lot of that kind of mentality has crept onto the 555 activity as well and there's not many ready to be up at the crack of dawn to give it a bash.

(Plus the Italians are pointing their beams the other way in the morning which can be helpful!)


I did mention searching for greyline propagation and some of you may have come across the beautiful but quite expensive Geochron clocks. Although not as 'pretty' there are free resources available including the 'live' map available at the following link :-

https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/greyline.html

Not as impressive on a desktop monitor but works just as well giving you the information you need and runs well on a smart phone too.

Some of the old CB hands (as well as old Hams) don't bother with anything 'techy' but just know what time to stick the radio on and what end of the world to expect. That can be handy because HF predictions can be just as reliable as the weather presenter telling you to expect clear skies and sunshine when it's actually cloudy and pouring with rain!

You don't need big expensive gear either, I was SWL on all this action with an old (but good) shortwave receiver with a bit of wire hanging out of the window. You could equally well manage with a basic mobile setup especially as we climb up this sunspot cycle and have the bonus of transmitting back.

Awesome feeling too doing this sort of stuff on a basic setup, a bit of dedication and some knowledge can go a long way.  


All the best to you all and enjoy your radio and you keep going with those QSL cards there Tom,

Victor

Good morning Victor and its early again,I may have heard you kick the cockerel to wake it..lol
What a fantastic post Victory I’ll read that again later when the cobwebs clear as your always a wealth of information.I’ve become a little bit obsessed with Ionospheric ranges and MUF’s.foF2 and index’s.They certainly seem to help and can give a slight insight into what to expect on the frequencies over the next few days.I think everyone should look on the RSGB website and Propquest as this is all you need.I don’t think they noticed I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing or should that be a 26CT in M0 clothing (Terrible joke I know).
Thanks again Victor and have a great day,I’ll give it 10 more minutes for 43OP153 Western Australia to make an appearance then it’s off to the grindstone.
Cheers Tom.
26CT4029