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I'm a truck driver now have a Yeasu Ft-891 and a Tarheel screwdriver antenna once about 3 months ago I was In driving through Atlanta Ga about 2am went to 10 meters 28.425 with 100 watts and put out a CQ. Talked to a guy in Australia for 30 minutes while driving 10 meters is like that sometimes that night reminded me when I was a kid could talk around the world on a watt.
My longest contact ever was on 10 meters with 25 watts in 2017. San Diego to Vero beach Florida. Around 2000 miles, and blew my mind. The band was solid open that day. Talked to many others all over the south and mid west from west coast... Real conversations too, not just grid squares and 73s.
Back in the early 80s I was up one night and decided to do some hamming. When I turned my rig on it was on 10 meters. I scanned a cross the band and there were absolutely no signals. Just for fun I picked a frequency and called CQ. After very few calls I was answered by a station in the Falkland islands. We talked for about 20 or 30 minutes and when I decided to sign off as soon as I did all I could hear was a beehive of stations waiting to snag the Falkland islands. I never got a qsl from him because about 2 weeks later was the invasion of the Falkland islands. So you are quite right a band is just as Dead as you make it! Don't be afraid to call CQ you never know what surprises lie out there!
Now thats a bit of history there ! I wonder if that station was the same ham that was sending reports to the British forces about the situation on the ground until the Argentines final caught on to him ? That's reminded me to go find out. great story 73 de M6IEH
The tragedy of today is we are in three coinciding solar lows. With a basic antenna vertical, very little can be heard above 15 megacycles. Even the VHF and UHF FM simplex and repeater frequencies are deserted. These are bleak times for any sort of radio hobby, whether just a scanner operator, 11 meter CB, 31 megacycle JAKT radio, 49 megacycle FM handheld wlakir talkies, MURS, LPR433, FRS, GMRS, PMR446, 480 FM CB, or all amateur bands above 15 megacycles. I have postponed getting my amateur radio license because radio conditions are so band and activity is extremely low. I do hear activity on 15 megacycles and lower. 3.860 megacycles is a very colourful frequency.
The 1980s were magnificent for radio. I often spoke from Prince Edward Island to Mexico with three watts AM on just a lowly citizen's band walkie talkie. Today, no amount of power will do any good except for just around the local area. I can only hear international conversations below 15 megacycles. I have hesitated to get an amateur radio license because the bands above 15 megacycles are dead, save sometimes 2 meters. The entry level amateur radio license exam concentrates rather heavily on HF theory and bands. But the entry level license offers no HF privileges, save a tiny segment in 10 meters and tiny fragments of CW band segments. That is rather like getting a motor vehicle operator's license and only be able to operate a motorized bicycle but be tested on all motor vehicle operation. It seems ridiculous to me. Thus, I hesitate. Citizen's band is just as locked down as the HF bands above 15 megacycles.
I called CQ on MURS channel 3. It got people talking back and forth for the entire day and into the night. The first answer back to me was someone saying, "We do not call CQ on MURS." But, from there it just spread. The radio was not even mine. It belongs to work. But at home it became a party line for the rural environment I live. People started arguing, why not call CQ on MURS? Then someone started saying, you can use sideband here as well but they did not have any idea where to get a sideband radio. Someone then said that data is allowed as well. But they did not know how to do it. I just sat back and listened for a long time, every once in awhile saying a few things since I did not have the charger for the radio. Then the peppers got on and instead of running everyone off, they started testing range limits with those that wanted to drive away with their radio. There were even amateur radio operators talking about how their amateur radio can transmit MURS but they have to turn down the power to, I think, two watts and how it was on the grey zone of legality but nobody would care. Nobody got mad with each other. The amateur radio operators told us how to make antennas for MURS, and how to link a TNC to the radio. It was a great time. There were even some people retransmitting FRS traffic to MURS band by holding the two radios together. It was a blast for us. There were even talks of setting up a weekly MURS get together on the air. Since the radio is not mine, I do not always bring it home. But next time I will be calling CQ on channel 3 again.
CQ means looking for any contact, contesting means you just want to contact as many people as you can in a period of time so calling CQ is a good approach to that. Echo Lima 97 is a QTH area code meaning central FL, you can look those up at k7fry.com/grid/ The rest is over my head too 😅
You’re hearing his callsign and location and the other station’s callsign and location, which is the “exchange” for this particular contest. Confusing matters a bit is that the other stations are often using non-standard phonetics, but it’s the same information.
Nice! My father was a long time HAM operator in the late 50's, 60's, and early 70's. He built much of his own equipment, and we spent much quality time in the shack when he would get home from work. CQ CQ CQ. Whiskey 4 Dog Yolk Charlie calling CQ on __ meters. Glowing vacuum tubes, partially smoked cigs in the ashtray, and conversations with stations around the world. Good times.
Oh man! That was a day in my life!!! W7MR was my father & recently became a silent key. I was fortunate to get his Collins equipment. Not sure what I will ever do with it, but it could light up a nation!
That's the way i remember it with my grandad, he fixed his old RCA himself when valves went. It came from an American WW2 destroyer. He never transmitted but he was technically capable as his own father had ran a radio repair shop. Still have the RCA but scared it might be too fragile to use and very heavy. He used to have a big world map and we charted with map pins every contact he picked up.
This applies to VHF UHF as well with your Hand Talkie. I called CQ on simplex on a mountain in Santa Fe, NM and got a contact back from 65 miles away almost immediately while the frequency was completely quite for the 10 minutes prior when I first turned on the radio.
I remember hearing CQ a lot back in the '70s. One of my Uncle's was a Deputy Sheriff, he gave me a SW radio that also covered the police bands for Christmas 1969. That was when I also discovered HAM radio.
Hint...if you are getting started in ham radio, like I am, and want to keep your HF rig costs in the sub-$1k range, don't get an HF radio with a scope. And if your rig is already in that category and you want to add a scope, I suggest adding an RSP1A from SDRplay to your shack. 2 connections, an SMA antenna jack and a USB 2.0 type B socket. Hook an antenna up, plug into your PC, and not only do you have a wide range receiver (1kHz-2GHz), you have the a full function scope right on your computer screen. And the best part is that this little gem is about $120 USD retail. Runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
This video is WONDERFUL Eric. I have had the same exact experience on dead bands.. and in particular, 6m. You don't need anything fancy for an antenna, either: my 6m antenna is a piece of wire, less than 5' long, added to my Michigan Cacti. In other words, my antenna is 4' 8" high and cost about 3 cents. lol.
Wow quite surprising this. I can't wait to get myself another icom . I have my set up years ago. Sadly missed. I had an icom ic735 and an antron 99 was mainly good for 20meter but awesome
Nice setup. I did exactly this on 144.2, 50.125 and even 146.52..... Not one person! I did work many from the top of Mt Mitchell and Skyline drive a few days ago. That was a blast. I had a ton of contacts in very little time.
As a kid in the 70’s I used to listen to ham radios on my shortwave radio. When sideband was introduced I was able to listen by tuning another radio to same frequency and with a little fine tuning could listen in. Back then CQ was only way to find any one on frequency. My how radios have changed since those early years. One guy I listened to here in Australia had a homemade valve set on a “breadboard” if you remember what that means. 🙂🙂
As an extra class we will often gather down at the low end of 75 meters at about 9 p.m. local on about 3650 and do SSB. We would have a contest to see who could turn their amps off and still be heard reasonably well. We often did this in conjunction with an EchoLink feed that was a programmable radio in Erie, Pennsylvania. Being on the West Coast we would dial up Erie, Pennsylvania and see who could be heard the loudest without running power or with the least amount of power. Almost night after night we could consistently hit the remote tunable transceiver. I was usually one of the Kings. Don't know why either because I was only using a wire antenna. Maybe because I oriented it for East / West Communications. we could also hear the Japanese fisherman loud and clear working up near Russia in the Bering Straits. But the point I am making is that the bands are not necessarily dead, just as this video is making! If we can hit a remote receiver two-thirds of the way across the United States or further with 100 Watts PEP you really can't say the bands are dead. Maybe the ham behind them has gone to bed already or like some figures the bands are dead so why Try. Try! If you want to be a real ham in my opinion, avoid switching to ft8 because it's so easy. Improve your skills by trying something harder is what I'm saying. All you do with FT8 is your software exchanges a handshake, your software sends them a signal and then gets one back and then your software terminates to contact. All you do is click a mouse. That's not ham radio. if you don't like that idea try working some satellites! all you need are some inexpensive to meter and 440 antennas that you can point up at the line of orbit. There's all kinds of things that you can do to drum up a QSO on ham radio. If all else fails, you can switch down to the CB Radio band... Just kidding! You didn't work too hard too go play on the kiddie radios. Breaker breaker 7230. Anybody got the ears on?
I often regret not learning this , though it was a constant growing up. Dad hand built so much of his own equipment. I still have a cb radio here that he hand built the relays. Wish I knew where all his qsl cards got to. I know there were 8 or 10 shoe boxes full indexed . He had an oscilloscope big as a dorm refrigerator. He operates on a long line a big stick and a set of Mosely stack threes on a 30 foot tower. The entire house was wired. In the mid 70s with old bell telephone equipment salvaged from a demolished building. He could lock and unlock the house turn on the coffee pot ,TV and most of the other appliances in the house including the HVAC thermostat. The way I understand what he was doing was through a phone patch and some kind of repeater that activated different relays in the old bell system. He was even able to rotate the stack threes to his location across town this way. A literal ton of equipment back then that we do the same from the palm of our hand. All the radios were integrated the wall was one giant radio. The home built parabolic mics , there wasn't a sound missed for blocks. We could hear conversation on the decks of river boats on the Ohio river over a half mile away.
Checking the FT8 frequencies is a good way to check for band openings. On the higher bands, even with FT8, you need to try calling CQ to create some activity. I’ve called CQ many times on 15 meter through 6 meters when the bands appeared to be dead, and sometimes the bands are open a little bit. It’s too bad that AMTOR ARQ fell out of usage. That was a great mode for rag chewing that works great in these low sunspot years. Your AMTOR ARQ signal simply rides the QSB, and you have perfect copy, but the data rate slows down during the QSB fades, then speeds up.
@@MichaelLloyd I've tried JS8CALL several times. The problem with JS8CALL is that the data flow rate is very slow. It's like doing a 5 wpm Novice QSO. A rag chew is RST, name, qth, rig, and antenna, then about a half hour of time went by and it's time to QRT. That's not a rag chew QSO, that's just the first transmission of a rag chew QSO. The data flow rate with AMTOR ARQ is dramatically faster than JS8CALL. The other problem with JS8CALL is that it's a very unpopular mode. There's almost no one that ever uses JS8CALL. The QSO party days helps increase JS8CALL activity a little bit, then no one uses it again. For some reason unknown to me, the modern computers require an expensive TNC interface to communicate with AMTOR ARQ. About three decades ago, I was able to use a simple AEA CP-1 interface box, a Commodore 64 computer, and an MBA-TOR software cartridge.
@@daveborchard2019 It sounds like we've had similar experiences with JS8CALL. I haven't used it much at all since it came out of Beta. How does AMTOR ARQ compare to PSK31 or RTTY? Nothing against any mode, but, I stick with FT8, CW, and SSB depending on band conditions and what I feel like working.
@@MichaelLloyd AMTOR ARQ worked much better than SSB, CW, or PSK-31. I don't know if AMTOR ARQ would be as good as FT8 is at working under poor conditions, maybe. When I used AMTOR, and the 20 meter band was closing for the the night, the QSB would get deeper and longer in the fades. The AMTOR data flow rate would speed up and slow down with the QSB, and ride the QSB. You could reduce your power and immediate know just how good the band conditions were because sometimes the power could be reduced to near zero and the data flow rate would slow down. Other times, the data flow rate would slow down. Normally, it was perfect error free copy. When the 20 meter band closed for the night, the AMTOR ARQ stations were the last stations on the band, long after all the SSB and CW stations gave up, just like FT8 stations are now the last stations on the 20 meter band late at night. When PSK-31 first came out, AMTOR was still being used. I tried using PSK-31 back then and was disappointed how poorly PSK-31 worked under poor signal conditions compared to AMTOR ARQ. You can hear AMTOR ARQ and see it in action if you search RU-vid for "AMTOR". I thought about trying to buy a Commodore 64 computer so that I could get back on AMTOR ARQ again with my MBA-TOR software cartridge and AEA CP-1 interface. But finding a Commodore 64 computer that actually works might be hard, because the electronic devices that old aren't reliable anymore. The new computers require TNC interfaces, which are $400 to $600. The really expensive TNC interfaces are $1,200 to $1,800. I've seen AMTOR FEC on some of the free ham radio software, but haven't seen AMTOR ARQ. You use AMTOR FEC to call CQ, then AMTOR ARQ for the QSO. AMTOR FEC could be used for round tables. However, AMTOR ARQ is dramatically more robust than AMTOR FEC. Sometimes, you couldn't even hear the AMTOR ARQ signal in the speaker and the signal would be perfect, error free copy at a decent data flow rate. JS8CALL will never be a good rag chew digital mode, because it's simply too slow, just like Olivia is just too slow. It's really disappointing that AMTOR ARQ isn't commonly used anymore. AMTOR ARQ would be the perfect solution for the low sunspot years, and poor band conditions. Today's HF radios have very quiet T/R relays, which are much quieter than the old clunky and noisy T/R relays. But the lack of soundcard software for AMTOR, and the need for an expensive TNC interface box is probably going to prevent hams from using AMTOR ARQ again, even though it would be the best mode for poor band conditions. KY0L
@@daveborchard2019 If you want a Kantronics TNC (I don't recall which one) to play with I have one that I would be happy to send to you, no cost, no return required. I bought it when I was first licensed and didn't ever use it because I got into CW pretty deep (I wish I had kept that up. The catch is that it'll probably be July before I can send it. My email is good on QRZ. de NE5U
Nice little run there. Definitely call CQ because it usually works. You should work on that S3 noise floor you have. You would hear more and see more on your scope/waterfall. 7300 has a receiver way above its' price point.
Yes I have been doing this for 25 years, just chucking a signal out into the air, and even if the band is dead for long distance propagation, I still always manage to score a contact with another local station.
LMAO!! Thanks, Eric! Love it! I look at it this way: When you look at your 'scope' and see a flat line, your CQ call is going to stick out and attract all of the 'scopeheads!' Problem solved! You're a genius! LOL Love the channel, Eric! 73 :-)
Older hams know that you first listen to see if the frequency is clear. A QSO (conversation) may be underway and you are not hearing half of it (or all of it) and if you go stomp out there with a CQ you might be on someone's frequency. A more correct procedure is to ask, "Is this frequency in use?" and give it a second or two *then* call CQ. Oh, he did that. Well, good for the operator.
I've been using the same method for years. Since 1992 i think. I would key my mic and call cq. Never have i used a scope to find someone to talk to. The radio i currently have has a scope but i prefer to be the signal than stare at the radio looking for one. Good video...73 de 8P6DY/W2 ocala fl.
As a BRAND NEW Ham, I concur! I've always wanted to do simplex but never heard any activity on the simplex frequencies. One day I just came home, grabbed the radio and started calling... And had the BEST QSO I've had to date. Since then I've gotten tons of simplex contacts... By just calling! Funny how that works!! Great video! 73 N5YCE
Well years ago repeaters did not exist. We called CQ even when mobile and produced many qso's. I had built a HealthKit 6 Channel 2m txrx in about 1975. Suddenly repeaters appeared one by one and we never heard any simplex single after that as everyone monitored the repeaters.
3:44 I hate when people do not use proper phonetics. The phonetic standard exists so weak audio signals can be clearly understood. When someone uses things like "America" instead of Alpha, it can be confusing if they are hard to copy.
@@theunconventionaldeal3879 @TheUnconventialDeal: I couldn’t agree more! I have lost count of the number of stations I have ignored when they call out with ridiculous phonetics. More usually those stations turn out to be supercilious, uninteresting operators.
I am with you guys 100% ! I corrected a NEW ham once and he got offended, lol. All I said was please use the proper phonetics because you are new to the hobby and I would like you to use them correctly and this "newbie" stated: I will use what is easier and sounds cooler to me" AND here was my response: Cooler? and then LOL on air and then I ended the QSO BUT still gave him a 73 before ending. (not much of a reply, but I hate to get into arguments on ham radio) By the way, he did ask for a signal report before ending and I told him he was "Loud and clear and sounded cool" I just had to do it guys! LOL This is NOT only related to new hams but OLD and or veterans of the hobby as well! Pathetic IMO. So many change the actual meaning of a letter you'd swear they are referring to something other than the actual "Letter" if you know what I mean. Geeze, sorry I could go on so much more. Best 73 DE KD6SBR (KD6 Stop Bangin Rita) LOL, Tom in NV
Definitely a group of elitist dbags here. You guys are definitely the demise of ham radio. Can't have a proper QSO because their phonetics aren't easy enough to copy? Being jerks so you can correct and berate someone because YOU want them to do it YOUR way. You guys are definitely laughable at best and an embarrassment to the rest of us that enjoy a QSO without the need to correct and discourage anyone in the process.
KJ4YZI FROM KA7FFF, well sir back in my beginning I used2 try that on all sorts of bands!! and even with no criminal malice or activities on my part!! one ham radio extra be in avondale,az took it upon himself to have me run off of ham radio,and with the help of a few disgruntled followers who had nothing better to do he dammed near has!! his stalking and slander got me barred from one club!! the other club was too afraid to oppose his evil knowing PL tone jamming would b/a consequence!! so yeah,I'm a lone wolf in the wasteland of unoccupied repeaters!! and the memory of my former rv motor home destroyed by their arson!! so thankyou for your little bit of info and time!! it's not like something I haven't heard or tried myself!!
Many hams dont have all bands. Where i live most general can use 10 up to 40. Half bands only. I think that if general class hams can use all bands there would be more traffic on hf. Also ham radio in my area is dying
@@Isochest thankyou sir!! but the deputies saying arson is one thing!! proof as to who in particular is a whole other ballgame!! but again,thankyou sir!!🥰*HUGS*
Been monitoring bands past 20m with scope and they seemed dead. I am shocked by your results. Going to throw out CQ's in a few minutes and see what happens. Thanks for the heads up.
@@eugenecbell - So what I figured out is that I am 100% a scope head. Never realized it until he mentioned it in the video. Since then I am aware now that I like to scan the band and switch frequencies to see what is going on. Great for DX by the way. To answer your question - I have spent a couple minutes each day around the frequency in the video calling CQ (50.125 is suppose to be SSB calling per AARL band plan). I have gotten exactly no calls back - zero!!! :-( The bands are dead...lol....just kidding
Calling CQ was the normal way of making virtually all contacts on Ham radio during the 1940's and '50s. Furthermore, most Ham radio operation in those days was on HF, and until the 1950s, all rigs were vacuum tube design/construction. Oscilloscopes were expensive, and there were no radios with panoramic signal displays, except perhaps in laboratories or perhaps some "shacks" of well heeled hams.
Was on 20 meters after 11:00 PM last night, I'm out west, had a station in Colorado, 20 to 30 over 9 at the same time stations from New Zealand and South Pacific up the band, worked these stations with a 3 ft diameter home made magnetic loop running 90 watts. The bands are not near as dead as the number of operators on the air.
LOOOL I watched the video again the second time after learning more about amateur radio and I just discovered that revealing your secret was a sarcastic joke hahahahaha! Great video buddy, keep up the good work! :D
Great point. The waterfall is a great tool used in discretion. If you are calling CQ like mad and not getting returns, you can see if anyone else is on and where they are. However, your point is well taken. If no one is calling CQ (or involved in a QSO) they won't be seen on the scope but they are there and want to have a QSO. It's like at a school dance. Boys line one wall, girls line another wall. Everyone wants to dance but no one asks anyone to dance so no one dances. But, when a few daring people get it started, others are encouraged to give it a try. So, call CQ!
I have a ham friend who makes his own HF antennas,and says you "Need to Make Noise on the band,a good example of that I made a CQ on 10 meters one day 10 meters was dead,but a person from Montana came back to me I never would have made the contact if I did not call CQ I'm from the Everett Wa area So make some noise call CQ and you would be surprise
So true, and a voice keyer is great because you can loop it and annoy people into answering. I happen to like regional/local comms and VHF simplex whether FM or SSB is fun to play with but so few people monitor, but if you aren't calling, you'll never find anyone.
I heard you do the CQ demo and alternative to “scoping” It’s hard to hear call signs sometimes. How do you train yourself to hear well or do I need a better antenna or unit ?
You get better with practice. I was a full time Army MARS op in Vietnam in 1971, and I was carrying on a QSO with a stateside ham under poor conditions waiting for the band to get good enough to run phone patches. A guy walks into the station and watches for a few minutes. I stop to talk to him and he says, "I thought you were taking to yourself. I could not hear a thing but static coming out of the radio (Collins S-line).". The human brain has fancier active filters than any rig.
Some Hams keep a dedicated radio in their shack tuned to 6 meters to continually monitor for band openings. It never hurts to try calling CQ, since someone might be listening.
Ross Bassette why 6 meters, specifically? It’s funny, I ask because I just built a tuned 6 meter dipole. “Why a 6 meter dipole?” you ask. I only have to raise it 9’ off the ground.
@@DJChrisArgueta The six meter band normally shows HF propagation during periods of high sunspot activity. Currently, we are about in the middle of the 12 year cycle of low sunspot activity. The VHF bands, including six meters, are more useful for HF propagation during periods of high sunspot activity. However, during the summer months, HF propagation in the VHF frequencies can be seen. In addition, propagation on six meters will sporadically appear, without warning - hence hams monitor the band for openings on an ongoing basis. You are smart to have that antenna in your arsenal. A six meter dipole is a heck of a lot easier to install than a 40 or 80 meter dipole. When the six meter band opens, you can sometimes see a lot of activity and DX contacts from great distances
This is ham. Good old analog communications. This is exciting! Yes I have DMR, but that's like making a phone call. I like radio that doesn't involve a network or wires. I was talking to someone the other day and he said I talked to Argentina. I said what band? on ssb?. No on Fusion. He said what a great advancement. I said hell I did that in the 70's. I picked up my cordless phone which talked to my base station which was plugged into the wall phone lines and talked to a friend in California on his cordless phone. We used rf to connect via phone lines. Isn't that the same thing? So was I a ham before I ever got my license?
I admit I look on the cluster but I think the contacts I enjoyed the most were casually calling CQ into my EFHW with 45watts and getting Croatia on 15 meters....or perhaps my very first HF contact on 20 meters to the Canary Islands. More effort than sitting on 40 meters in the afternoon? Probably, but much more rewarding. I don't have room for a 40 meter antenna to get high enough so 20 meters and 15 meters when the band isn't "dead" are great!
Licensed 61 years ago used 50w cw only xmtr called CQ all the time as it was the easiest way to make contacts with that setup. Even now don't have a radio with a "waterfall"! WH6ELX in Hawai'i 1962 now NI7U in WA State. Oh and CW is still my fav mode.
Dude Both of my parents are ham radio operators they whould absolutely Love this they don't even know that RU-vid has ham radio videos !!! They whould absolutely Love this I'm going to have to tell them about this !!! I actually learned something from watching this video I learned that looking into the dead zones on ham radio is vary simply all you have to do is call CQ !!! This video is absolutely Epic Awsome !!! Love it !!! Much Love Dude you Rock !!! My parents Always said that they whanted Me to become A Ham Radio Operater too just like them !!! Awsome !!!
As G2KQ has said, "Forget propagation - the activity of any band is directly proportional to the number of amateurs prepared to switch on their transmitters."
Do you have to present the EL97 grid marker for 6m only or.... do you put the call up for all bands. Usually I just say QTH Central Florida, pardon my ignorance. 73 de KN4GEI
I think for VHF you use the grid because of the fact that 2m and 70cm and higher only make it statewide sometimes multistate. 6 meters can be worldwide, but for the "contest" log i think grid is required.. Same for satellite, instead of shouting "Tuscaloosa Alabama" it is just the grid (Whichever that is for AL)
Don't forget on "dead bands" you can set up one of your voice memories to call CQ, then pause for a programmable period of time and repeat calling CQ. You can solder something on your bench while it calls for you :) If someone reply's, just bump the ptt will make it stop or press the icon on the screen if someone answers you. It can really save your voice and you can make more "noise" on the "dead band" to attract attention. With 8 memories you can actually set up a contest style QSO without ever saying a word in real time. Of course that concept works in CW or RTTY modes as well. 73 de James KØUA
@HamRadioConcepts - A great job showing how easy it is to take a dead band and make it come alive. I've been saying what you just said for years and nobody seems to want to listen. With or without band scopes. I'm curious if you were using a 6m yagi turned north because that seems to be where all your contacts were coming from. Sounds like you had a nice opening averaging 1,100 miles away. But I would seriously consider changing your PO Box number Brother. LOL. Also a nice job showing how to call CQ by checking to see if the frequency is in use first. You da man! One of my favorite band openings on 6m was fast and brief. 10m was open so I flipped over to 6m and hit tune on my LDG AT-1000 auto tuner on my Workman 5/8 wave 10m antenna and worked a mobile in St Louis Missouri with a 5-9 contact with 100w PEP. I forgot to switch to the 6m antenna! LOL. My group in Southern California likes to work down low on 80m and we play this little game where everybody turns their amplifiers off and there's an Echolink node in Erie, PA that is tunable. We will tune it to our frequency and everybody will take turns calling to see who sounds the best from California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona into Pennsylvania. Without fail with 100w PEP on a band that people would say is dead we can hear ourselves loud and clear on the other end 2,400 miles away! We progressively lower our power to see who can make it with the least amount and you'd be amazed at how many of us can do it with 20w PEP. The bands aren't dead. People just need to turn on the radio! Most of us are doing this with simple dipoles. Thank you for showing others how easy it is to bring the band's alive. In my opinion quit using FT8 or DMR. Get out there and talk! 73 de AF6D
A really good set of headphones can help pick out that weak audio signal from the clutter. There might not be a blip on the scope, but those headphones might help you hear that weak DX station calling from the Azores thru the atmospheric noise.
Good tips.. Also, If the ic-7300 had a triple band-stack register, you would be able to jump back and forth between 50.125, 50.095, 50.125 + -.... Or park the 50.095 (middle of the cw subband) freq on a 'regular beacon catch' frequency in your area. Because the 7300 does not have this common feature, you could alternatively place 50.125, 50.130, 50.135, 50.095, 50.313, 50.293(wspr), 50.26(meteor call ch), and a few beacons in the memory positions for 'quick prop checking'..73, n6spp
*grins* 2 part epoxy. I do my best here in middle Norway though I'm 11m only. So far, not ONE Norwegian contact, but quite a few from Europe when the conditions are right. I keep trying though, on FM 27.295, USB 27.305 and 27.555 and some more. I don't have a waterfall, nor do I want one :)
This video has reinforced my belief that I DON'T need a new rig with a scope (although I was thinking about the 7300 recently), so thanks for saving me some money! 73 de W4PKR
