August 7th...on the bands

It was a pretty busy day today on 20m.  Once again VE3MNE and I drove out to Hay Bay, this time to work Lighthouses and the Colorado 14er stations.  The weather wasn't the greatest, overcast with rain showers.  The humidity was high and almost unbearable.......but we survived.

Considering the SFI was at 105, the A index at 27, and the K index at 1, and the two or three earthbound CME's we had last week, the bands rocked.  I was not expecting them to be in the shape they were in. 20m was alive, and from 14.260 to 14.270 it was just jammed with stations working lighthouses all over the USA.  Among others we worked John at USA-262 in New Jersey, and the South West Louisiana ARC station at USA-714 in Louisiana. 

10m was also extremely busy with the 10-10 Club International SSB Contest.  I have not heard so many stations calling on 10m like this for many years.  As I don't have a 10-10 number I stayed clear of them, but it was very nice to see the band so busy again.

However (there always has to be a "However"), speaking of 10m..........the "LID of the Day Award" goes to a N9 station.  Who was screaming over a 10m QSO between a W4 station and my friend Tim, VA3TIC, that "there's no such call as VA3, he's a pirate".  Just how do these uneducated idiots get a license???????????  Perhaps somebody rented out this guys rock for the day?

You always hear that 6m is never active, and most of the time you go there it's very quiet.  Today was no different......but on eight separate occasions today I went to 6m, called CQ and got an immediate response.  Stations worked where in Virginia, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Idaho...as well as Ontario.  But it just shows you that people are listening, and if you call CQ they will answer. 

The other reason we activated today was to work the Colorado 14er Event stations.  Unfortunately we only heard one of them, KB0SA operating from Pike's Peak - 14,115 feet high.  I worked them on 20m SSB at 1616Z.  KB0SA is Boy Scout Troop 6 from Monument, Colorado.  This Troop has 16 licensed Scouts and 16 licensed leaders and parents. 

My hat's off to these guys for bringing youth into this great hobby of ours.  I listened for quite a while to these guys and let me tell you these boys are great operators, very professional in their skills.  They must have some great elmers working with them, and it was a delight to work them and hear them in action.  Well done Troop 6!!!   We, as a hobby, need to hear more youth on the bands. 

There was no sign of WG0AT or N0B, probably the two most sort after calls in this Colorado 14er event....maybe next year.

ARRL International DX SSB Contest

What a weekend!  This was my best DX weekend for many years.  Saturday morning the  SFI was 127, A Index=11 and K Index=1, and the bands just rocked!  Twelve hours later at 2130L the SFI was 135, A Index=5 and K Index=1 and it was wall-to-wall DX on all bands. 

On both Saturday and Sunday around 1600L the bands swung from North-South propagation to North-South.  I worked most of Europe and South America on 15m over the weekend, and a few more on 20m and 40m.  15m was just incredible, I haven't heard it that busy for a long time.  I went up and down the band and never stopped working stations.

80m was filled with the usual nets and "hillbilly roundtables" all weekend, but I did manage to catch both Poland and the UK on the band.

It was also amazing how many countries I worked on 10m. I can't even remember the last time I worked anyone on 10, but it was working well for most of the weekend.

The three big catches for me this past weekend was PZ5P in Surinam and HL3K in South Korea, both on 20m, and ST2AR in Khartoum, Sudan on 10m.

The downside of the weekend?  Well, that would have to be the many LIDS who just have to tune up right on top of the station calling CQ.  Why do these idiots do this?  Can't they understand that if you move off frequency 10Kc either side that it won't affect your tuning? 

I'm not the "perfect" operator, but I do understand the rules that make operating a great experience for all. So thanks to those few idiots who ruined our QSO's, I hope you all had a good time, and next time, please...try and use some common sense on the bands!

As I write this Monday evening I notice that the SFI has risen to 153, A Index=9 and K Index=2.  Hopefully the minimum is now behind us and it will continue to rise for the CQ WW WPX Contest on the 26th and 27th of March.