Why do I always have the feeling - that FT8 users always have to explain and apologize…
Guilty conscience?
Just stand by what you do. I make no apologies for CW either…
73 Armin
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I’ve no idea why you think that. I am not apologising. I activate with all modes (CW, SSB, FM, FT4, FT8, SSTV).
It was your inference that activators using FT8 do so because they have no patience. I simply pointed out that this was nonsense, and could only be imagined by someone that didn’t have any experience in the matter.
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Nor I for SSB. Such discussions are sterile. As long as people are operating, whatever the mode, ham radio life is good!
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Heh! That’s a pretty small pool of potential operators. I know, because I am very occasionally one of them (with 14 SOTA chases from 5Z in the last 11 years).
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A fresh cuppa and the beacon portion of 10 m full of EU signals. 0600z. That’s a brilliant start of day.
Seems, the Es season just’ve started. 
Ahoi
Pom
I said it was coming 
I’m on the wrong PC and so cannot check but there have been a few more Flares since yesterday.
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Three of them earth-directed (no direct hit though), eta from Friday evening to early utc hours Saturday.
Wide open to Scandinavia from UK last night. Noticed the Es around 1830z - 1930z but spent my time on 6m FT8, it was too late for any chance of 10m EU SOTA then…
edit - none of the 10m activators spotted today have been audible so far in Yorkshire…
73 Phil
later edit - @EA3AVV/P Ramon on 28054 now 0815z, weak 439 but there. Spotty eS on 6m, IS0 worked at 0800z +14 no other DXCC seen.
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Beacons from SM and (I think) OZ were strong at midnight, and right now 10m is open to EA. Happy days are here again!
Hi Phil,
Well that’s encouraging for the 10 m challenge. I worked one VK4 from a peak on Monday and one VK6 for a double hop Es. The London to Stockholm distance is similar to Melbourne to Brisbane. The US and Japanese contacts I made were probably TEP or F2 or maybe multi hop Es. I don’t know.
Any reasonable opening with Es here will produce a bunch of VK4s on 6 m and a good opening, ditto on 2 m.
Unfortunately there’s no bonus for 6 or 2 m.
73
Ron
VK3AFW
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The 6m challenge is next year so its worthwhile to practice!
DM/TH-844 Quittelsberg 708 m asl
IC-705, 40 W PEP, oblong 5 m agl
This wasn’t exactly what I expected. No Es, only a single inter-Eu contact to IT9. All other QSOs DX, but it took time and needed patience.
Space Weather Live app was meeping all morning long. Solar flare, type II radio emission, type IV etc.
I left home around local noon hoping that all those CMEs were over then. No need to mention that SWL app instead kept meeping all the time on the drive to the summit.
But this is the way it goes, after the ascent and deploying the station on the summit, I found 10 m dead. The only signals were on 28074 (FT8) and some German expats chatting in SSB (which I didn’t want to join). If you look at the picture closely, you can see the almost blank waterfall display. Mögel-Dellinger par excellance!
QRV / CQing shortly after 1400z.
Nothing.
First QSO 1416 EA8ADS.
Nothing.
Second 1430 EA8CWA.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
From 1500 the impact seemed over and condx improved rapidly. A dozen stations from LU, EA8, PY, YC, IT9, 9K (and local chap DO1AYJ) came to my log within 30 minutes. 
As all these flares seem to go on and on, I think it’s better to pack my radio rucksack with my VHF stuff by tomorrow morning at the latest, not to miss a possible radio aurora on the coming weekend.
Ahoi
Pom
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I was planning another unique for maybe today or tomorrow, a summit I’ve been putting off for years. Today is awkward with other things getting in the way of a big day out. Now tomorrow looks like being when the CMEs hiot and G4 storms etc. predicted. OK you can work around HF issues and this summit is OK for 2m into Glasgow/Edinburgh but there are big thunderstorms predicted for just when I’d be setting up and then when walking off. Having been out accidentally close to a thunderstorm last week I do not fancy doing it again. I think keeping a viable VHF setup with you is a wise move at these times.
Did someone say Carrington Event?
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Keep your wires running north/south to keep your rig safe! I’d worry more about a super Carrington, they are ten times worse but thankfully very rare!
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So far my 10m challenge has been going well, although I could not bust Ron’s pile up for an S2S last Monday. I could hear him but closer in stronger stations were not letting me be heard. I mostly get JA ops I have a band of faithful chasers who I try to work from home when they are on SOTA 10m as well. WA7JTM has called me a few times now also for a contact and a few other U.S. ops I can hear but not finish the swap with and not score them usually. The most successful DX for me is 20m afternoon long path get a lot of Early morning EU ops calling me. On CW of course.
Keep up the good work.
Regards
Ian vk5cz …
Yesterday, Thursday, May 9, around 9 UTC, I activated in the German Black Forest and experienced a total blackout for the first time.
An hour later, when I could hear some distant stations again, I experienced another effect:
I could hear some other activators quite well, but they couldn’t hear me, and vice versa.
Some new experiences!
73 Stephan
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I had an activation planned for today on Moel y Golfa GW/MW-027. It’s a good choice for this time of year - the steep ground is dry and not slippery, there is shade as most of the walk is through pleasant deciduous woodland, and the flies are mostly still inactive!
On 10m I worked 7 stations in 2 hours, all except 4X6TT were in the UK, and all on SSB! (Except Paul M0CQE who I also worked on CW) Including a nice S2S with Kevin MW0KXN/P on Cadair Berwyn GW/NW-012.
Tuning around, I heard 9J2BO on CW 599+, but he couldn’t hear me through the pile up and soon went QRT; 4Z4TJ, 9X2AW, F5YDX, ZS1AFS, F5JGL, LU9GBR and VU2DSI - he was working an Italian station, and I could copy both sides!
Propagation came and went periodically. I would have given up listening if it were not for the 10m challenge, but it is proving to be very interesting. Don’t just have a quick listen and assume the band is dead if you hear nothing…
The operating position:
This little guy kept me company:
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Just a heads up, I am hearing stations in Bavaria and Austria by sporadic E at S9, have worked SOTA stations OE1UHU and DA20XOTA. The games afoot!
PS opening now extends to S5 at 1240UTC.
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I spent 2 1/2 hours on FL/NO-095 this afternoon and was able to track the E-sporadic spreads. It kept popping up for a short time… and then totally collapsing again. There was nothing stable.
Shortly after 10 UT it started with northern Germany and Scandinavia… and tended to move over southeastern Europe towards Spain… shortly after 14:30 UT my battery was pretty empty.
Unfortunately there were few chasers. I often spotted and waited on the frequency for about 10 minutes until I went looking for stations myself. There were several contests - that obviously helped. In the afternoon a few PY and LU stations could be heard, but I didn’t reach any of them.
After all, there were 4 S2S
OM/SQ9JTR/P - OM/PO-016
DL/HB9BIN/P - DM/HE-054
YU1WC/P - YU/CS-046
DL/IN3ADF/P - DL/MF-072
73 Armin
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The counterparties seem not to be aware of it. And only some weeks, and it is over again, hi. Hélas!
73, Markus
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