Are you monitoring dolphins?

As regular readers will know, I'm typically asked numerous times when out /P as to what I'm doing.  

A variation on this, perfectly reasonable question, is to suggest what I am doing - which is usually an entirely unreasonable proposition!

 

Almost all suggestions I get are about 'fishing'.  But last night, a couple of women out walking their dogs asked if I was monitoring the resident pod of dolphins?  People's perception of what technology is and does is really poor - and strange!  And in any case, the 'dolphins' that those women mentioned are, in fact, Harbour Porpoises.  Maybe they need to read some more...

One of our Harbour Porpoises, last summer. 

Anyhow, turning to what I was actually doing, I was happy to get good propagation on 14MHz.  My 4W was reaching the Pacific coast of North America quite confidently, two reports giving -16 and -17dB.

The rocky coast of north Anglesey is not, by any means, the best location for seaside radio; it's merely very convenient and just a couple of minutes by car from home.  The rocky cliffs mean that ground losses are not reduced anywhere near as much as on a soggy beach.

Working /P is really relaxing and enjoyable (unless I forget that I need to put the FT818 into 'Dig' mode, not USB for digital modes!)

Even so, I was pretty amazed to see that, apart from a handful of stations in the Pacific region, I was the only 14MHz WSPR station hearing VK3LU at that time.   Those kinds of surprises are always very satisfying, and what make /P work so fascinating.

14MHz, ~4W FT4 receptions last evening.

 

The only one hearing VK3LU outside the Pacific!

With warm weather contuining until a spell of wet and windy weather arrives on Monday, I'm sure I'll be deploying /P again this weekend!