6 Meters
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Hi All,
I seem to be digging myself a bigger and bigger hole called 6 meters! First I just decided to see what could be heard on that band. Not much--at least at first. But then I got a dose of sporadic E, and things started getting a bit more interesting. Then one of my friends talked me into building a moxon antenna. That was fun, and pretty easy. The antenna seems to do a pretty good job. So, I said to myself, if a simple moxon works that well, a 4 element beam ought to be almost as easy to build, and work even better! That was all over the last 12 to 18 months. Then came the June VHF contest (last week), and some very good sporadic E--better than last year! Actually, there were a couple of sprints in between, which weren't all that productive, but right now 6 meters is humming pretty good! My K3 does very well, and I even use my R7 vertical much of the time (omni-directional) with surprisingly good results. I read some of the archives about 6 meter activity with the K3, and noticed a lot of commentary about the K3 being perhaps a bit light on 6 meter receive. Well, a PR6 pre-amp might take care of that! It does! I just added that little accessory, and the results are impressive. Not something you need for every QSO, but now I'm hearing stuff I couldn't even detect previously. Lots of additional oomph without raising the noise level very much at all. Very nifty product. Point is, I'm getting a little too intrigued with this for my own good! Is there a 12 step program out there for this? Fortunately (?) I'm deed restricted, so there won't be any towers and stacked arrays going up! Hi. There's even some pretty active CW operation at times--I like that! Bottom line--if you haven't put your toe in the water on 6 yet, do it! You probably have an antenna that will work fine, and don't realize it. If you have a K3, and like what you hear initially, get a PR6 pre-amp. Problem is that the sporadic E only lasts for a while, then goes away for several months. But there's a lot more going on with 6 meters, even during the down times, than I realized. If you have a radio that will do 6 meters, the rest is pretty easy. Dave W7AQK ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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David,
Your symptoms clearly indicate that you are suffering from 6m Bugitis, and I regret to have to tell you that there is no known cure! As you point out there is a lot going on on 6m, even during the lean times, more than one would believe from reading the text books. Also don't be fooled by Sporadic E, sure it peaks during the summer months and December, but it (or something very similar) can appear for brief periods at any time in the year. Happy hunting! 73, Geoff. GM4ESD (ex VE2AIO etc) David Yarnes wrote on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 5:18 AM: > Point is, I'm getting a little too intrigued with this for my own good! > Is > there a 12 step program out there for this? Fortunately (?) I'm deed > restricted, so there won't be any towers and stacked arrays going up! Hi. > There's even some pretty active CW operation at times--I like that! > > Bottom line--if you haven't put your toe in the water on 6 yet, do it! > You > probably have an antenna that will work fine, and don't realize it. If > you > have a K3, and like what you hear initially, get a PR6 pre-amp. Problem > is > that the sporadic E only lasts for a while, then goes away for several > months. But there's a lot more going on with 6 meters, even during the > down > times, than I realized. If you have a radio that will do 6 meters, the > rest > is pretty easy. > > Dave W7AQK ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by w7aqk
On 6/19/2010 11:18 PM, David Yarnes wrote:
> Bottom line--if you haven't put your toe in the water on 6 yet, do it! You > probably have an antenna that will work fine, and don't realize it. > I can testify this is true. Last night about 10:15pm cdt, I decided to see what I could hear. With my Elecraft K3 running 100w into my 7' tall Hi-Q 6/160 vertical @ 20' on the apartment building roof. http://tinyurl.com/26zd4ub I tuned the Hi-Q to ~ 11.65mhz so it would be a 5/8 on ~ 50.1mhz amazingly it tuned up with a flat 1.1:1, didn't even need the ATU there is about 50'? of RG-213 coax feeding it. Perhaps losses and the capacitance of the coax run made the match? MFJ 259B showed it as SWR= 1.2 R=38 X=0 Anyway made 2 contacts with Washinton state stations, I think I can feel the tug from that 6m bugitus hook being set... -- GB & 73 K5OAI Sam Morgan ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy
There is a cure! Continue to drink from the 6M well. Bigger antennas, more power, lower loss feedline, hours of listening to background noise for that weak signal to come through, etc., etc. My K3 performs admirably. It's the best I have used on 6M in 24 years of fun on the Magic Band. Enjoy it! 73, Lou, W0FK
St. Louis, MO
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." Albert Einstein |
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In reply to this post by w7aqk
Hello Dave,
Well, I sure hope you were on this morning for the biggest Es opening ever from North America to Eastern and Northern EU! Watch the ON4KST 6m chat pages and maps for signs that things are starting to open. It went from the northeast USA all the way across to the Pacific Northwest! Even blocked here by mountains toward EU, I weakly copied OH and HA - the first time I have ever heard EU from here on terrestrial propagation. Of course, those with less than 13 degree horizons toward EU worked dozens of EU stations! Even though I got skunked on the Es opening to EU today, I can't complain TOO much - I did work two new ones last week... VP2EMR on 4 hop Es, and SV9GPV on EME during his moonset ;-) Good luck on the Magic Band - especially over the next 3 weeks! VY 73, Lance On 6/20/2010 4:18 AM, David Yarnes wrote: > Hi All, > > I seem to be digging myself a bigger and bigger hole called 6 meters! First > I just decided to see what could be heard on that band. Not much--at least > at first. But then I got a dose of sporadic E, and things started getting a > bit more interesting. Then one of my friends talked me into building a > moxon antenna. That was fun, and pretty easy. The antenna seems to do a > pretty good job. So, I said to myself, if a simple moxon works that well, a > 4 element beam ought to be almost as easy to build, and work even better! > > That was all over the last 12 to 18 months. Then came the June VHF contest > (last week), and some very good sporadic E--better than last year! > Actually, there were a couple of sprints in between, which weren't all that > productive, but right now 6 meters is humming pretty good! My K3 does very > well, and I even use my R7 vertical much of the time (omni-directional) with > surprisingly good results. > > I read some of the archives about 6 meter activity with the K3, and noticed > a lot of commentary about the K3 being perhaps a bit light on 6 meter > receive. Well, a PR6 pre-amp might take care of that! It does! I just > added that little accessory, and the results are impressive. Not something > you need for every QSO, but now I'm hearing stuff I couldn't even detect > previously. Lots of additional oomph without raising the noise level very > much at all. Very nifty product. > > Point is, I'm getting a little too intrigued with this for my own good! Is > there a 12 step program out there for this? Fortunately (?) I'm deed > restricted, so there won't be any towers and stacked arrays going up! Hi. > There's even some pretty active CW operation at times--I like that! > > Bottom line--if you haven't put your toe in the water on 6 yet, do it! You > probably have an antenna that will work fine, and don't realize it. If you > have a K3, and like what you hear initially, get a PR6 pre-amp. Problem is > that the sporadic E only lasts for a while, then goes away for several > months. But there's a lot more going on with 6 meters, even during the down > times, than I realized. If you have a radio that will do 6 meters, the rest > is pretty easy. > > Dave W7AQK > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[hidden email] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > -- Lance Collister, W7GJ (ex: WN3GPL, WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8, E51SIX) P.O. Box 73 Frenchtown, MT 59834 USA QTH: DN27UB TEL: (406) 626-5728 URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj 2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815 Interested in 6m EME? Ask me about subscribing to the MAGIC BAND EME email reflector! ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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And coming from Lance, you know it had to be a big one!
Here is what the QSO's looked like at the height of the action. http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff305/Starman555/Ham%20Radio/June122010EU-NA6MOpening.jpg Lou, W0FK
St. Louis, MO
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." Albert Einstein |
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In reply to this post by w7aqk
On Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:18:07 -0700, "David Yarnes" <[hidden email]> wrote:
It's even more fun and more DX productive on CW and a better DX mode than SSB (My opinion ;o)). I easily worked Japan from Texas this evening with 100 watts K3 and 5 element Yagi-Udah. BT 73 ES GUD LUK DE N5GE, QCWA LIFE MEMBER 35102 AR SK [hidden email] http://www.n5ge.com >Hi All, > >I seem to be digging myself a bigger and bigger hole called 6 meters! First >I just decided to see what could be heard on that band. Not much--at least >at first. But then I got a dose of sporadic E, and things started getting a >bit more interesting. Then one of my friends talked me into building a >moxon antenna. That was fun, and pretty easy. The antenna seems to do a >pretty good job. So, I said to myself, if a simple moxon works that well, a >4 element beam ought to be almost as easy to build, and work even better! > >That was all over the last 12 to 18 months. Then came the June VHF contest >(last week), and some very good sporadic E--better than last year! >Actually, there were a couple of sprints in between, which weren't all that >productive, but right now 6 meters is humming pretty good! My K3 does very >well, and I even use my R7 vertical much of the time (omni-directional) with >surprisingly good results. > >I read some of the archives about 6 meter activity with the K3, and noticed >a lot of commentary about the K3 being perhaps a bit light on 6 meter >receive. Well, a PR6 pre-amp might take care of that! It does! I just >added that little accessory, and the results are impressive. Not something >you need for every QSO, but now I'm hearing stuff I couldn't even detect >previously. Lots of additional oomph without raising the noise level very >much at all. Very nifty product. > >Point is, I'm getting a little too intrigued with this for my own good! Is >there a 12 step program out there for this? Fortunately (?) I'm deed >restricted, so there won't be any towers and stacked arrays going up! Hi. >There's even some pretty active CW operation at times--I like that! > >Bottom line--if you haven't put your toe in the water on 6 yet, do it! You >probably have an antenna that will work fine, and don't realize it. If you >have a K3, and like what you hear initially, get a PR6 pre-amp. Problem is >that the sporadic E only lasts for a while, then goes away for several >months. But there's a lot more going on with 6 meters, even during the down >times, than I realized. If you have a radio that will do 6 meters, the rest >is pretty easy. > >Dave W7AQK > > >______________________________________________________________ >Elecraft mailing list >Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >Post: mailto:[hidden email] > >This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Amateur Radio Operator N5GE
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