ARCHIVE: Australian Ham Radio Discussion Forum ( AHRDF )

The Spring Equinox indicates we are on the lead up to Summer and the running of the 6m & 2m WSPR Leaderboard Challenge for summer 2020/2021.

Last summers Leaderboard Challenge was the best yet capturing a number of 3000 km+ paths on 2m WSPR and some excellent long paths on 6m WSPR.

This summer is shaping up to be a cracker with numerous stations refining and rebuilding their stations to make their operations even better than last years. A lot more is known about the IC9700 now and its abilities to be (properly) locked to a reference signal for on air operations such as WSPR which makes successfully running 2m WSPR much easier to access for everyone.

Many radio enthusiasts around Australia and around the world will be watching the action in the southern hemisphere on the 2m & 6m WSPR database and maps, and the AHRDF WSPRview software. 
Many will anxiously be watching to see if a superlong 144 MHz path can possibly be achieved between WSPR beacon at ZL1SIX (run by Bob ZL1RS) and stations in southern Western Australia, specifically to Nigel VK6NI near Albany, which would be over 5000 km if achieved.

We will no doubt see some good Trans Tasman paths and Great Australian Bight Tropo paths show up on 2m band, and with enough stations around, you never know what else may be discovered.   

On the 6m band, we should have some stations such as Chris N3IZN attempting to RX or TX some signals into the Australian area. I believe last summer none got through from Chris, which is somewhat unusual, perhaps this summer we might see some more.

We should have the usual heavy hitters from the previous years 2m & 6m WSPR Leaderboards return, such as Alan VK3DXE, John VK2IJM and David VK2DVM, Jim VK3II, Phil VK5AKK and Hayden's VK7HH remote station. Ahh the excitement is building already.

Check out last years final results tally here -
6m - http://ahrdf.net/forum/thread-913.html
2m - http://ahrdf.net/forum/thread-912.html

Here is a summary on the EI7GL pages https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2019/12/recen...4-mhz.html

We have 144 MHz & 50 MHz WSPR Group pages on Facebook, do a search and you will find those.

As usual I will attempt to collate all the data for the 2m & 6m WSPR Leaderboard Challenge and the results will be posted here on the Australian Ham Radio Discussion Forum and also on the appropriate WSPR Group pages. 

There are usually areas where there is a lack of WSPR signals on 2m & 6m, and from these areas some beacons or operators would be most beneficial -
-VK4 - central coast and inland areas.
-VK8 - Alice Springs. Darwin.
-VK6 all areas, particularly south coast, the SW and NW around Broome would be helpful. Kalgoorlie perhaps.
-VK5 - Mount Gambier area, Ceduna. Camerons Corner

Hello & Welcome everyone! 
The time has gone 0000 UTC on the 1st of December 2020, thus see's the beginning of the VK/ZL Summer 6m & 2m WSPR Leaderboard Challenge for 2020/2021!

The band is seemingly quiet today, but it can often catch you unaware. Not to worry, there is two months ahead where anything could happen and it usually does.

Following up on my previous post, where we needed more stations or beacons using 6m & or 2m WSPR to help us to get a better idea of the propagation coverage for the Challenge.
- A big thank you to the VK8 Amateurs - to the Alice Springs radio club for setting up a TX only 6m WSPR station. You wont see it on the map unless someone decodes it, but it is running. Its very QRP, but you dont need a lot for WSPR. Also I have noticed a number of VK8s showing up on 6m WSPR from the top end around Darwin etc. I think there is also a TX only station in Darwin area too, someone may like to confirm that?
- From VK4 camp - There is a TX only station in Cairns I believe, again you wont see this unless someone reports it. Lloyd is often running VK4TVL in Townsville. There have been a few stations noted on the VK4 central coast, thats great, a few more wouldn't hurt. Great representation around Brissy etc too. 
- In VK6 - Surprisingly there have been a number of stations on the 6 & 2m Maps from around Perth and the SE corner, thanks guys. I think Ive seen VK6HV on 6m WSPR from the NW of VK6 which is great, I hope he has 2m? No one in Kalgoorlie or Esperance at this stage, it was a long shot, if you know someone there that would be amazing.
- In VK5 SE area - I've not noticed or heard of any stations running with any reasonable dedication down there which is a shame, if you know someone there get in touch and see what they can do. As for Ceduna and Camerons Corner well... we can dream.
- I should add in here - New Zealanders! There is some good stations in the north, but we could really do with some operators on the south Island particularly of course on the west coast or somewhere with a view to the west would be really great.

I will be trying to keep a tally/table of the leaderboard results as best I can, this will be the same format as last year, EXCEPT im going to trial making the table TOP 20, rather than top 10. There are many more stations involved now and it would be good to showcase a few more of the fine paths that people come across. A Top 20 means more work for me, but will give it a go and see what happens. I'll try and update at least once a week. 
As per previous years there will be tables for the maximum distance in both TX and RX. And also for two-way spotters. The Two-Way Spotters table I think I can include any operator from around the Australian area, ZL etc. But for TX and RX paths, I usually base the paths on VK callsign searches as its the easiest way, so its usually VK to where ever, ZL etc. I will attempt to include ZL into these searches and see how it goes.

Note that distance really needs to be worked out with 6 digit grids, so where possible, make sure your 6 digits are set up on the software and WSPRnet. There is no need to send 6 digit grid on the WSPR software though (ie type 2 msg) so only send type one messages still, the software and WSPRnet will do the rest if set up right. Some that I see with 4 digits or incorrect grids, false decodes, I will simply have to estimate the correct location myself or not include the paths at all. I wont have time to muck about. I'll do my best.

WHO ARE OUR RAINING LEADERBOARD LEADERS ? 
- 6m BAND - TWO WAY REPORTS - JIM VK3II (Overall 111 reports)
- 6m BAND - TX DISTANCE - JIM VK3II (RX by JH1GYE 8343 km)
- 6m BAND - RX DISTANCE - JIM VK3II (JH1GYE 8343 km)

- 2m BAND - TWO WAY REPORTS - ALAN VK3DXE (Overall 91 reports)
- 2m BAND - TX DISTANCE - DAVID VK2DVM (RX by VK6NI 3102 km)
- 2m BAND - RX DISTANCE - PHIL VK5AKK (ZL1SIX 3174 km)

Will we see some new leaders this season? time will tell. 

Enjoy the next 2 months, have fun and marvel at the results that you and others may achieve. I dont really class this as a contest or competition, although some may, but its really some social friendly fun and becomes an overview of what the propagation provided for us and is something to look back on in years to come to compare different seasons etc. Its also a great tool for learning about propagation and your station performance. Also, when the band opens up, feel free to QSY, have a QSO and say hello to others you wouldn't normally be able to talk to on air, especially on 144 MHz Sporadic E or 50 MHz International paths! (think big!)

First Leaderboard update coming soon.