RSGB 2022 Convention - Sprinkles or Mirrors

Chris Deacon, G4IFX
Chris was the recipient of the 2022 RSGB Les Barclay Memorial Award for his research into sporadic-E propagation at 50 MHz. Perhaps surprisingly, sporadic-E is once again becoming a hot topic in professional circles and Chris has shown that it is possible to do real science with amateur equipment, resulting in two academic papers so far. In this talk, he explains his experimental approach, describes his latest results, and discusses some of the outstanding questions.
Chris Deacon was first licensed in 1971 as G8EUB, upgrading to G4IFX in 1979. In the early 80s he got interested in Band I DX TV, which led him to six metres and one of the early transmitting permits. Chris joined the UK Six Metre group and in mid-90s became the editor of its magazine, Six News. After 11 years in that role, he switched to being the secretary of the group, and is currently the chairman. Chris is also the secretary of the RSGB Propagation Studies Committee and, since 2018, has been engaged in a part-time PhD at the University of Bath, focused on sporadic-E propagation.