Posted: 4/7/2014 2:55:25 PM EDT
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It's that time of the year for Trans Equatorial Propagation (TEP). Today paid off.
Worked Falkland Islands and Argentina on SSB. Both new ones on 6m. Heard the OA4TT beacon in Peru blasting away for hours with an honest 599. Assuming I can get cards from them that bumps DX entity count on 6m to 10. Additionally it's two more grids toward VUCC. Just 40 more to go. |
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Quoted:
The guy 30 miles North of me works 6M DX all the time but he has a single 6M9KHW @85 ft. Quick check of the log shows it's the first 6m QSO since July 2013 and the first new 6m DX in well over a year. Listened to a lot of static between then and now. |
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Quoted:
100w and a M2 Loop in the attic here. Okay, that makes it really cool! 
There was a guy in Ohio last year with a 2-element 6m Yagi up less than 30' that had all states confirmed except Iowa, and I was trying to sched with him to be his last state but no luck. Then one contest weekend he worked me and the guy North of me and got WAS on 6. Amazing what you can do on that band! |
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Quoted:
LA to Falklands ..... nice My thing when I sit to operate is turn on the rig and see what 6m is doing. Only takes a few minutes to search the beacons, the CW portion, the DX portion, the phone portion, and where the digi loonies hangout. While I'm doing this the laptop is booting up and getting all the apps and spotting sites going. When done I leave the rig at 50.125 and since 99.9% of the time I hear nothing but static I move on. Today I turn on the rig and out booming is CQ CQ this is VP8..... One call and in the log. Called CQ on the JT65 freq for 15 minutes with no response. Moved down to the CW portion and heard nothing but a few SA beacons. Searched around the phone portion with nothing. Went down to the DX portion and there was Argentina booming with an honest 59. One call and in the log. Searched around for more but except for some US stations deep in the mud via scatter heard nothing else. Welcome to 6m. This cruel mistress can surprise you with gifts you didn't expect but at the price of long periods of being ignored. |
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Quoted:
I just saw the guy North of me with the 48' boom at 85' on 6m spot Argentina. What the heck, I got on and had 100% copy on Argentina too. Called and worked him easily with my 5-element 16' boom Yagi at 22'!!! A little TEP for us guys further North! |
