monday nights @ 21:00

[DaveInDenver]

Most times when I would be driving to work on Saturday mornings I had a blast talking to that area. About 1200-1400GMT on 20M.

10M is dead, unless, like you say, you are very lucky. Check the beacons. If you can't hear them, then you might not even try.

40M might work, but it would be about 0000-0200GMT.

I would have guessed 20m, too, but have been hearing people say 6m is starting to show its openings, although we're a year away from the upper F layer developing that's good for 10m. But yessir, lately the sun has been very quiet and so 10m would seem to be extremely unlikely.

http://solarcycle24.com

 

[Bruce Miller]

When you click on the link, go to "band spots" and look at the callsigns on the left hand side. These are the guys reporting the DX station they have worked. If there's any propagation between U.S. operators and anywhere else in the world, you will see U.S. callsigns in that left hand column. Note that there are none. This link is a very valuable tool and should be watched regularly by the amateur.

The 2nd column from the left shows the DX station worked. So, if your U.S. callsign is in the left hand column, and an HB9 station is shown to the right of your callsign, this would indicate that radio operators in the midwest U.S. are experiencing propagation into central Europe, Switzerland in this case.

Note, too, that the DX Summit also shows the sunspot numbers. Today, it's 73. It's been going down (poor propagation) instead of going up as it should be (improving to good propagation).

Unless you experience some very sporadic activity on the 10 meter band, it would appear that you are going to have a slim chance of working into Russia or any DX station. If you try, though, use 28.495 as your frequency. It is the DX "window" for the 10 meter band.

The sunspot numbers have got to go up a lot before we can work any DX on 10 meters.

 

[DaveInDenver]

The sunspot numbers have got to go up a lot before we can work any DX on 10 meters.

Very true, we are quite away from the sun spot max and it has been down this spring off predicted.

 

[Groucho]

I would have guessed 20m, too, but have been hearing people say 6m is starting to show its openings, although we're a year away from the upper F layer developing that's good for 10m. But yessir, lately the sun has been very quiet and so 10m would seem to be extremely unlikely.

http://solarcycle24.com

I was given a 6M beam antenna by a friend of Bruce's. It is a cushcraft A503S. I put it on my roof about 40 feet up. I was able to hear a beacon in Aurora, but nothing else. Granted, this was last year, but the only radio I own that does 6M is the FT-857D and I didn't want to be going in and out of the truck/house all the time just to hear a beacon. I have never heard an opening on 6M, but they say its the magic band.

Dave if you want to ry the 6M beam anytime, lemme know. Its just hanging in my garage until I need to use it, probably field day.

 

[DaveInDenver]

So Jeff whatcha think, give a try on Monday night for Russia? Start on 20m if you have access to it? Have seen a couple of promising reports on DX Summit, New York to Bosnia this morning for example. Lots of North to Central and South America. Not that 7AM MDT is necessarily a good model for 9PM MDT.

 

[Groucho]

You guys might try 17M. A guy in FLA reached a guy in European Russia at 1343UTC 28 May. 17M is most likely going to be open in Russia in the late afternoon. I made some pretty good contacts on 17M with the Hi-Q antenna just driving around Arvada in the afternoon. Nothing as far east as Russia, but they were good openings.

I would guess that the propagation for 20M would be best in the early afternoon, like 1400 hrs mountain time. I made my Spain contact about an hour later than that.

 

[DaveInDenver]

You guys might try 17M. A guy in FLA reached a guy in European Russia at 1343UTC 28 May. 17M is most likely going to be open in Russia in the late afternoon. I made some pretty good contacts on 17M with the Hi-Q antenna just driving around Arvada in the afternoon. Nothing as far east as Russia, but they were good openings.

I would guess that the propagation for 20M would be best in the early afternoon, like 1400 hrs mountain time. I made my Spain contact about an hour later than that.

No 17m antenna. :-(

I only have 10/20/40 Hamsticks for the 857. I need to get something up for the backyard, still a bunch of random parts for at least two antenna systems but been swamped here at work for the past 2 weeks. My goal is to build that Comet vertical copy first and then get the pseudo AS-2259 NVIS-type done before field day. Also have to build that Elecraft ATU kit for QRP. As far as the Comet I have the aluminum tubing and have wound a hasty matching coil (or I might more correctly call it a dummy load that leaks a little more than zero RF). I got the order into McMaster too late this week so I won't have 1.25" clamps and a back plate until Tuesday. I might rig up something with plywood to start testing it this weekend. Maybe.

 

[Groucho]

I await your instructions on the Comet dupe.......

 

[DaveInDenver]

I await your instructions on the Comet dupe.......

Whoops, thought I was waiting to hear back that you had some time! I'll call you probably after lunch today.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Any interest in something other than 2m FM? I put a new SSB filter in the QRP rig, wouldn't mind seeing how it sounds. Could do 6m to 20m easily but getting the tuner happy any lower would be iffy with my 20' vertical crappie pole with taped on wire...

 

[nakman]

If anyone wants to yak on 2m, I have to walk to the store will take a ht with and will be monitoring.

 

[DaveInDenver]

If anyone wants to yak on 2m, I have to walk to the store will take a ht with and will be monitoring.

Called on 147.225 a few times, supposing you were on simplex?

 

[nakman]

Huh. I had 145.460 going, did you hear some guy access a node? Ah well..

 

[DaveInDenver]

Huh. I had 145.460 going, did you hear some guy access a node? Ah well..

I twirled over late and didn't stick around long enough I think.