This is the second 817 I have owned, and I should never have sold the first one....but I did. Anyway, it was time to get back into the QRP field, even though the solar cycle is on the downward slide to zero sunspots.
Today was the first time I've had the rig on HF. It didn't take me long to make some good contacts. First up was PY5QW in South Brazil (8,222 km), and IZ1UKF in Genoa, Italy (7.002 km). Both contacts done with 5w into my 148' inverted L longwire antenna. Feeling pretty pleased with those.
Propagation numbers today as of 1632 UTC were: SFI=91, SN=58, A Index=4, and the K Index=1.
Looking forward to next weekend when my club is doing an island activation, we'll see what I can do with it then.
