24GHz anomalous propagation

Since 1114 UTC today, and despite no visible trace whatsoever on the WSJT-X waterfall display I've been getting continuous, averaged decodes from GB3PKT's 24GHz JT4G signal via "Drizzle scatter" :-)

This is over a 77km, totally obstructed path from Sea level here on the Fen Edge to Sea level at Clacton over the "Essex/Suffolk Alps". Signals vary from -19 to -21dB.

So much for the "experts" who that say that 24GHz is a water absorption band and only works when the atmosphere is dry.

I'm now monitoring the beacon 24/7 using a Raspberry pi running WSJT-X and a Funcube Dongle behind my transverter and it's popping up all sorts of interesting propagation. Followers of my Twitter feed @g4bao will have read my reports of "late night, after a hot day" propagation last week.

We need more home stations on the band (or portables prepared to get wet!) to experiment with these modes and make some digimode QSOs on this seriously under-used and underestimated band.

In a recent "GHz bands" I reported that G8ACE and G4LDR have shown that this type of drizzle Scatter/ Cloud scatter propagation (call it what you will) even works on 47GHz with decent eqiupment.         

You miss SO much by only coming on during contests and activity periods and working the "usual suspects" over the usual line of site paths. Do the sums as to how the probability of anomalous conditions falls when you operate on the fixed days determined by the contest committees! Anyway in these days of "No Tropo" it's something to keep you interested!

Here ends my appeal for more experimentation than competition!