Posted: 10/19/2016 9:48:05 PM EDT
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I have been looking for a solid resource on 6 meter operation. I haven't come up with much aside from the calling frequencies and some simple dipole antenna plans (and articles claiming how "magical" 6 meter is). Does anyone have a resource that explains propagation in detail? It seems everything I read claims that June and December are the two months to expect the best chance of an open band.
So does anyone have any tips or tricks for 6 meters? Thanks. |
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Put up an antenna, listen to and around the calling freq. Hear people band is open, don't hear people band is not open.
ETA: 6 can do some really awesome things, but just gotta be there at the right time. I've made some awesome contacts on 6 but it was out of dumb luck. |
Two field days ago we kept a station on 6 meters. I think we made 4 contacts the entire time. Oddly, it was armchair copy with 5 watts into a moxon with a station in Texas most of the night. Dead band with a conduit. So we chatted for a while when we got bored 
But as previously mentioned, monitor the calling frequency. Also use psk reporter set for 6 meters and you can see when the band wakes up. There's no known way to predict when 6 meters will suddenly become useful. |
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There's no known way to predict when 6 meters will suddenly become useful. This. Wikipedia has a reasonable brief introduction to Sporadic E-layer propagation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporadic_E_propagation 6 meters of course is a VHF/UHF band like any other and can be used for general local communications, with a few quirks. Signal fades like picket fencing in mobile use change with frequency... lower frequencies change more slowly. The slow fades in and out become very noticeable at 6 meters. Mobile antenna installation locations start getting very picky due to the relative size of the vehicle vs wavelength for the ground plane. Duplexors for 6 meters are huge and very expensive, as a result, 6 meter repeaters tend to be very few and far between. There are pockets of reasonable activity on 6 meter FM simplex. As an example, the Dallas/Ft Worth area apparently has a pretty active community of 6 meter FM simplex users on the air during their rush hour drive times, as I've heard the activity via E skip a few times. Among the VHF/UHF bands, 6 meters is far and away the most active on "weak signal" modes (SSB/CW). Local propagation is generally not as good as 2 meters, and 6 often doesn't get as much "lift" from tropo as does 2m, but Sporadic E is the "magic" in the magic band. Random propagation of a few hundred out to a couple thousand miles. It will come and go more abruptly than E skip on 10m, and generally a little longer range. During Es active times of the year, double hop propagation is not uncommon. During extremely good sunspot F layer conditions, 6 meter propagation has happened, but the last couple of sunspot cycles have been poor and not conducive to F layer propagation of that high of a frequency. It takes a reasonably strong E "cloud" to support FM QSOs, but it does happen with some frequency. Monitoring the FM simplex calling frequency can yield random contacts. Keep in mind that like all VHF/UHF bands, the convention for FM is to use vertical polarization, and for SSB/CW to use horizontal. For ionospherically reflected signals, polarization is randomized, but for local contacts it is important. One of the biggest detriments to people having success on the air on 6m is the number of people trying to use multiband wire HF antennas or some other kludge to get on the band. There are plenty of challenges to VHF/UHF weak signal operating, sabotaging yourself with a terrible antenna is a recipe for disappointment. You can make a lot of contacts on 6m with a simple dipole cut for the band. I homebrewed a couple of them from parts salvaged from broken TV antennas. A simple vertical 1/4 wave would work fine also for E skip. |
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One of the biggest detriments to people having success on the air on 6m is the number of people trying to use multiband wire HF antennas or some other kludge to get on the band... I resemble that remark! My inverted-L is fine for HF, but it's only barely good enough to provide some tantelizing weak euro-DX signals that I could hear, but not quite work. Don't let having a kludge-tenna keep you from trying out the band, but like the man said, a purpose built antenna is likely going to be required to bring home the good DX and weaker stateside contacts. Building stuff for 6 is dirt-easy. A coupla surplus fiberglass poles, some aluminum, and a few clamp-on ferrite chokes - For next season, I desined / built a simple 2 el reflector type broadband yagi for 6 meters, going up at 25 ft on the chimney along with the sat ants. Modeling puts it about 10 to 12 dB better than the hap-hazard pattern I get from the inverted-L..... 
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I had pretty good results with a 2 element Yagi made from an old TV antenna until some large bird decided to light on the driven element.
These links should help: Intro to working 6 Meters: http://www.qsl.net/n1irz/sixmeter.html 6 Meter beacons: http://www.dxzone.com/catalog/DX_Resources/Beacons/6_meters_beacons/ Six Meter International Radio Klub (SMIRK): http://www.smirk.org/ |
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I have no 6 m antenna BUT my 4 element Mosley tunes well on 6 m. Sure that makes it a rotatable dipole but when the band is open it works pretty well. I've made contacts from home QTH in NM to the East Coast, up into the Great Lakes and places in between.
Like others have said when it's open it's a pretty cool band. Just jump in and play! Sarge |
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I have been on six meters since the mid-'70's and can say it is hands down my favorite band. I worked all states on six using a dipole thumb tacked to the ceiling running about 12 watts PEP. Rig was a Yaesu FT-620B.
The ARRL Handbook has always had propagation characteristics of the bands and things have not changed regarding propagation, although weak signal modes of operation have helped the up to date operator. It has been said that six meters will provide every type of propagation known to man at some point if you are on long enough. Tropo, Es, F2, EME, TE, back-scatter, meteor scatter, aurora, the list goes on and on. There are propagation beacons on six meters and lists can be found using your search feature on the internet. DXMAPS website has a six meter tab that will show what is going on in real time. With the advent of HF + 6 transceivers there are many more operators on six than there used to be. In the old days CW ops were mostly Technicians that passed the 5 wpm code test. Now, there are many proficient cw ops at higher speeds. The fact is you never know when the band will open or how long it will stay open. As a result there is a somewhat contest like atmosphere. Many Qsos are short and to the point exchanging QTH, RST, Name & 73s. Then search and pounce on the next one. Five watts and a dipole will get you many contacts, 10 to 20 watts and a 4 element yagi is likely what you will find in the majority of stations. Obviously CW & SSB are the most used modes, but, AM still can be found on six meters. My experience here in southern Minnesota has been if the K-index is 3 or higher it is a good idea to point your antenna north as there may be aurora propragation. The thing is, you never know when there will be an opening or how long it is going to last. So, keep your radio on upper sideband, on the calling frequency AND your all-mode squelch at threshold. No one will listen to the white noise on a seemingly unoccupied band very long. Have the volume high enough to hear it when you are in the garage. Have fun! |
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As a result there is a somewhat contest like atmosphere. Many Qsos are short and to the point exchanging QTH, RST, Name & 73s. Then search and pounce on the next one. Quoted:
As a result there is a somewhat contest like atmosphere. Many Qsos are short and to the point exchanging QTH, RST, Name & 73s. Then search and pounce on the next one. Don't forget Grid Square. Almost anyone on 6 likely doesn't care about RST, but they will want your Grid. I forgot to put that in my earlier post, it's really frustrating when you work someone new-ish on 6 and they don't know where they are or even what a grid square is. V/UHF weak signal work is all about the Grid. The ultimate US achievement on 6 meters is the FFMA. So, keep your radio on upper sideband, on the calling frequency AND your all-mode squelch at threshold. No one will listen to the white noise on a seemingly unoccupied band very long. Have the volume high enough to hear it when you are in the garage. DSP noise reduction can also work wonders at this. Takes the white noise on an empty frequency down to nothing, but any voice will come through, even at a very low signal level. |
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I call 6m the psychotic band. Sometimes it acts like HF, sometimes VHF. I've tinkered on 6m for several years trying to get a handle on propagation characteristics. Swear I'm barely further along than when I started.
On 6m you have to have a different mindset. Think weak signal 24/7. Shift your spotting tools around to capture the 2m APRS beacons. Watch 10m. If short skip action is going on then there is a chance 6m has an opening. In the end it all boils down to listening. Every time you fire up the rig scan 6m for activity. Beacons? Hear any? CW? DX between 50.100 to .125. Check the phone call freq at .125 and go up to .170 or so. Not unusual to not hear anything on .125 but got armchair copy a bit higher up. Prop allowed one but not the other. For the money shot go to 50.276 and see what is happening on JT65. By far most of my QSOs have been using JT65. On 6m it is perfectly acceptable to pump 80w or so using that mode. Weak signal remember. Do that on HF and a South American hit squad will be at your door tomorrow. Put up the best antenna you can. You can start with a dipole but start looking at some sort of gain antenna. I've been running a M2 loop but I've taken it as far as it can go. Time to build a moxen or a 2 element yagi. |
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I spent the first few years as a ham on 6M with a 4 ele yagi. I love the band! Left the radio on 50.125 with the squelch just at threshold. You never know when something will pop up. It was also fun to make local QSOs when the band wasn't open. There was usually a few people a week locally that would call CQ. Sometimes the band would be open for a minute or 2 and sometimes for hours. The yagi helped A LOT for those fringe times, but I had a backup dipole that worked fine when the band was really open.
Now with the prop alert sites, you can set up for it to email you when the band is open. Very nice feature so you don't have to waste away your time sitting in the shack. With these new digi modes, there's fun to be had when the band isn't open. You just have to work a little harder and have a good antenna. Six Meters: A Guide to the Magic Band is a good book. |
| One thing to keep in mind with a dipole (or any horizontal antenna) is takeoff angle. With HF bands, most don't have towers tall enough for this to be a consideration, but at 6 meters it's not that high. Something like 25 feet seems to work well. Much over 35~40 feet and you start getting pronounced nulls in the elevation pattern. E skip does give you signals at a little higher elevation. |
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Unlike most HF beams, 6 meter moxons are super easy to build. They're small, compact, and should cost less than $50 to build. A buddy built one with crap he had in his garage - that's the one we used at field day that let us talk to Texas with 5 watts.
http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/wa0wox/wa0wox.htm |