Re: [Elecraft] Is it just me or is 6 meters hotter than usual?

[Robie Elms]

Ed,

I am like you and don't think this year is unusual.  I believe that the 
interest in FT8 & JT65 has a lot more hams on the air and we are seeing a 
better picture of propagation.  I also think the modern rigs are better & that 
are easier to get on 6 meters is a factor!

Robie - AJ4F

> On Jul 29, 2017, at 20:09, KD7PY  wrote:
> 
> I have been on 6 meters since '63 and have seen a lot of up and down of band
> conditions in different years, but  don't believe this year is anything
> special.  the really good years is when the sun spot cycle really gets hot, 
> world wide openings,  this year for us up in the pacific northwest the band
> openings are below what we have in the past.
> What has everyone fired up is WSJT-X   FT8  everyone seems to be trying it
> out on 6 meters,  it will decode sigs way below the threshold of the human
> ear.
> this year I was able to put in the log BA4SI  ( china )  using FT8..  just a
> 5 el beam and the KPA500,  some of the local big guns have been putting
> europe in the log.
> I have  worked a  few HF'ers that put up a dipole for 6 just to try out the
> band.
> 
> FWIF  Ed   KD7py
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
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Re: [Elecraft] Is it just me or is 6 meters hotter than usual?

[KD7PY]

I have been on 6 meters since '63 and have seen a lot of up and down of band
conditions in different years, but  don't believe this year is anything
special.  the really good years is when the sun spot cycle really gets hot, 
world wide openings,  this year for us up in the pacific northwest the band
openings are below what we have in the past.
What has everyone fired up is WSJT-X   FT8  everyone seems to be trying it
out on 6 meters,  it will decode sigs way below the threshold of the human
ear.
this year I was able to put in the log BA4SI  ( china )  using FT8..  just a
5 el beam and the KPA500,  some of the local big guns have been putting
europe in the log.
I have  worked a  few HF'ers that put up a dipole for 6 just to try out the
band.

FWIF  Ed   KD7py






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Re: [Elecraft] Is it just me or is 6 meters hotter than usual?

[Charlie T, K3ICH]

E-Skip has been observed as high as 220 MHz.
It certainly is prevalent on 144 Mhz, obviously not as much as on 6 & 10 M but 
it DOES happen.
Multiple hop Es can get you quite a ways on 6M, especially if it is combined 
with some Tropo ducting.
During really good  F-2 openings, it seems that the higher the MUF, the less 
power it takes to actually make a contact.
I remember working a guy in Nome Alaska on 6 meters.  He was running 8 watts to 
a halo on his 2nd floor apartment balcony and was 20 over 9 here in nawthrun 
Vuhginya.

73, Charlie k3ICH




-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net 
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Fred Jensen
Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2017 3:41 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Is it just me or is 6 meters hotter than usual?

Es happens every summer.  It commonly is most prevalent on 6, however 10 is 
often involved.  I've experienced it on 20and 15 on rare occasions.  
It sure does seem to be more pronounced this year though.  For some reason, it 
seems to abhor the western part of North America.  I suspect part of that may 
be because there are precious few hams out in the Basin and Range to use it... 
you know, "tree falls in the forest, no one is there ..."

There's an RF-quiet QTH in the Bay Area? [:-)

73,


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Re: [Elecraft] Is it just me or is 6 meters hotter than usual?

[Jim Brown]

Hi Wayne,

There are many Elecrafters on 6M. Great antennas and high power are 
better than QRP into a wet string, but from Chicago, I worked a guy on 
Long Island loading a random wire in his basement, and from NorCal, I've 
worked KH6 and the east coast with 100W into an 80M dipole. :)


The hot ticket on 6M right now is FT8, a new mode that's part of K1JT's 
excellent suite of modes combined into WSJT-X.  I made about 8 QSOs this 
morning into SC, LA, TX, GA, AZ, NM, and OK. I'm running a KPA500 into a 
SteppIR at 120 ft.


These QSOs were all E-skip, and those beyond about 1200 miles were 
double-hop. E-skip is called "sporadic E" for a very good reason -- it's 
quite sporadic -- and for double-hop Qs to work there must be a 
reflecting cloud at two sequential points. FT8 has a s/n advantage of 
about 10 dB over really skilled CW ops on both ends. JT65 provides an 
additional 10-12 dB of noise immunity but takes four times longer.


Es conditions peak around the summer solstice, and most openings are 
within 6-8 weeks of that date. There's also a smaller peak at the winter 
solstice.


Serious 6M ops also work meteor scatter, tropo, and even EME. WSJT-X 
includes modes optimized for each mode of propagation.


Before the advent of FT8 (about 6 weeks ago), I found CW and JT65 most 
productive. This summer, I've made fewer than a half dozen CW Qs. In a 
very exciting opening about a month ago, I worked two JAs on JT65 in 
about ten minutes. Both called me when I was CQing to the east!  As I 
responded, I swung the antenna their way and worked them. :)


73, Jim K9YC


On 7/29/2017 11:14 AM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

I’m pretty new to 6 meters. I was expecting very limited activity. But now that 
I have an alert set up on dxmaps.com, I’m finding there are multiple openings 
every day. There’s an opening right now that includes the west coast.

Is the propagation better than usual for July?

Unfortunately my antennas for 6 aren’t all that great, and the local noise 
level is high, so I’ve been making use of every tool in the K3S toolbox (IF NB, 
DSP NB, NR, AFX, narrow filters, diversity, and CW-in-SSB). I’m considering 
taking the rig mobile to an RF-quiet location in the Bay Area next time there’s 
an opening. I have my eye out for a portable 6-meter beam.

Now know what they mean by “magic band." Give it a whirl

73,
Wayne
N6KR


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Re: [Elecraft] Is it just me or is 6 meters hotter than usual?

[Fred Jensen]

Es happens every summer.  It commonly is most prevalent on 6, however 10 
is often involved.  I've experienced it on 20and 15 on rare occasions.  
It sure does seem to be more pronounced this year though.  For some 
reason, it seems to abhor the western part of North America.  I suspect 
part of that may be because there are precious few hams out in the Basin 
and Range to use it... you know, "tree falls in the forest, no one is 
there ..."


There's an RF-quiet QTH in the Bay Area? [:-)

73,

Fred ("Skip") K6DGW
Sparks NV USA
Washoe County DM09dn

On 7/29/2017 11:14 AM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

I’m pretty new to 6 meters. I was expecting very limited activity. But now that 
I have an alert set up on dxmaps.com, I’m finding there are multiple openings 
every day. There’s an opening right now that includes the west coast.

Is the propagation better than usual for July?

Unfortunately my antennas for 6 aren’t all that great, and the local noise 
level is high, so I’ve been making use of every tool in the K3S toolbox (IF NB, 
DSP NB, NR, AFX, narrow filters, diversity, and CW-in-SSB). I’m considering 
taking the rig mobile to an RF-quiet location in the Bay Area next time there’s 
an opening. I have my eye out for a portable 6-meter beam.

Now know what they mean by “magic band." Give it a whirl



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[Elecraft] Is it just me or is 6 meters hotter than usual?

[Wayne Burdick]

I’m pretty new to 6 meters. I was expecting very limited activity. But now that 
I have an alert set up on dxmaps.com, I’m finding there are multiple openings 
every day. There’s an opening right now that includes the west coast.

Is the propagation better than usual for July?

Unfortunately my antennas for 6 aren’t all that great, and the local noise 
level is high, so I’ve been making use of every tool in the K3S toolbox (IF NB, 
DSP NB, NR, AFX, narrow filters, diversity, and CW-in-SSB). I’m considering 
taking the rig mobile to an RF-quiet location in the Bay Area next time there’s 
an opening. I have my eye out for a portable 6-meter beam.

Now know what they mean by “magic band." Give it a whirl

73,
Wayne
N6KR


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