Heard from W9UCW

I got a brief email from Barry, W9UCW today.  He has been listening some of late but not heard much.  No surprise, as there has been a dearth of activity on 75m SSB for months.

I have been sick with a bad chest cold for 3-1/2 weeks and sleeping in, when I can sleep at all.  I did manage to work one or two JA stations on 160m FT8 at my sunrise a few days ago.

I will be back at my post, calling and listening on 3.796 in the early mornings as soon as I feel better.  73 all....

Good News - Bad News

26 August 2018 -- 75 m was dead, dead, dead for short skip until 1 1/2 hours after sunrise.  I did manage to work ZL2OK/P on 160 m SSB yesterday morning at 1122Z.  My static level was very high, as usual, and he was 37 on the Waller Flag which is optimized for the CW end of 160.  Dave gave me a 56 using my 65 ft. vertical & 1 kw.  I don't see much DX activity on any of the bands....73 and good DX!

ZL Back to Normal, JA Not!

June 16, 2018 -- ZL2OK & ZL1IU both in at 10/9 this morning. Abe, JA1MSS about 3x4 at 30 min. before sunrise.  Shameful China radar was readable also... congratulations!

Room for Improvement

Monday, April 2, 2018 -- The low bands certainly leave room for improvement.  The JA broadcast station at 3925 kHz was better than 10/9 this morning.  I still could not copy Hat, JA6BJT at 20 min. before my sunrise.  I did hear Abe, JA1MSS 58 at 2 min. past sunrise.  Yesterday Dave, ZL2OK/P was 58 just before sunrise; however, he is usually 10/9 from the beach.  More & more activity is shifting to FT8 digital mode ... the "joyless" way of computers talking to each other via radio, instead of the Internet.
Monday, April 9 -- Heard Abe, JA1MSS strong at 1054Z but he did not hear me calling. Maybe the radar was beaming his way.  The band was unusually quiet, but no DX present.
Tuesday, April 10 -- Band strong, but heavy QRN in Panama, 20/9 crashes.  I did manage to work JQ2SIX, JA1MSS, and JH4CES with good reports for me...terrible reports for them due to noise.

Antenna Work & FT8

3/7/2018 -- A good week to work on antennas. 75m band has been weak to missing and the shameful Chinese RADAR has been all over the DX Window.  I have the 160m vertical working at HP3AK and I have been on FT8 a bit.  I like to talk with people, even if briefly, so for me FT8 is the "joyless" mode.  It proves that my computer can talk to your computer, via radio.  Wouldn't the Internet be easier?  My new, 70 ft. crank-up tower is ready to tilt up as soon as coax, control cables, and the SteppIR beam are installed.  I would be waiting one more week anyway for a full 30 day cure on the base, so no rush.

Hope Springs Eternal

1-15-18 -- Band was blah. Worked a few U.S. stations and JA1MSS at my sunrise 56/57.
1-28-18 -- ssssssshhu!  (sound of the last air being let out of 75m DX in the mornings)
2-3-18 -- Finally, some DX not from JA that I could hear.  Phil and I worked Graham, VK3GA at 20 min. before sunrise. No radar, but could not copy other VK3 at sunrise. Abe, JA1MSS surprised me with a 59 signal at 5 min. after sunrise...the best signal from him in many weeks.
2-10-18 -- Same o, same o; JA1MSS was the only DX and my path to JA was weeeak!  3x7 both ways.  No propagation and apparently no interest by DX stations.
2/11/18 -- JA path is gone in HP!
2/12/18 -- SAD conditions!
2/13/18 -- Finally! A decent path to Peter, VK6APZ just after his sundown and 20 minutes before my sunrise.  5x8 both ways.
2/15/18 -- Hot path to JA this morning.  Several stations at 10/9 before sunrise.  First real opening to JA in weeks!
2-19-18 -- Back to very poor conditions. JA1MSS 3x6 /3x6 at my sunrise. Abe was weaker with Barry in TX as well.
2-21-18 -- Really poor conditions plus heavy QRN from a line of storms from TX to Quebec.  JA1MSS very weak in my noise at 5 min. after sunrise (peak).
2-23-18 -- RADAR loud...'shame' of China
2-24-18 -- Poor band..JA1MSS 47/47 @ 5 min after sunsrise.  

Missing DX Stations

1-8-2018 -- Where have all of the DX stations gone?  The last 2 mornings have been a total washout.  It is truly ironic that the only 2 new DX stations that I have worked in several weeks were both BH4 stations from China ... the land of the evening OTH Radar!  (Early morning in Panama and the U.S.)  I do believe that the #$%^&! Chinese have ruined the 75m DX Window from 1000 - 1200Z or later every day!!!  Poor Abe, JA1MSS, tries but cannot copy much due to the *&^%$# radar.  I guess that the only solution is to get Trump to tweet about it.
1-9-18 -- No radar, but no one trying...until after my sunrise.
1-10-18 -- Abe worked Phil & Barry, but only 2 x ESP with me.
1-11-18 -- No DX except Abe working Phil.  However, there was ENTERTAINMENT in the form of sniping on the DX cluster by people who should know better.  It looked like a "tweet storm" from the 'child-in-charge'.  Personally, I would need a much stronger signal to see anything outside of the 3 kHz normal bandwidth.  One advantage of an SDR receiver is that it does not show trash if it is not present...unless of course the ADC is overloaded. That takes something like -23 dBm (50/S9) and shows as a warning in the rx window.  Then it is simple enough to add attenuation before the rx antenna input (not in the later stages).
1-12-18 -- RADAR
1-13-18 -- No radar, band open, worked 2 JA & heard DS3EXX, but he had QRM from YB calling "contest".  *&%^$#@! 

Happy New Year to All!

1-1-2018 --  It took the "sunrise" bump of 2-3 dB and the help of patient friends who stood by for almost 10 minutes, but I was able to work BH4SYG @ 3x3 both ways.  I suspect that he was hearing me better than that, as he had been patiently trying for the contact for 20 minutes.  NOW (2nd 80m contact) HRD logbook shows that I have worked China on 80.

I'm Shocked!

I'm still in shock.  75m was open this morning to JA, although partially destroyed by CHINESE RADAR again.  Signals were S7 to S8 in Panama for the first time in weeks...maybe months.  BTW, the radar kept me from making a contact with a Chinese BH4 the other morning, so they are equal opportunity jammers.
12-24-17 -- back to poor path to JA & HL for me, but W6UC had good rx and worked them.  Radar after 1120Z.
12-26-17 -- Overcame the radar to work Hat, JA6BJT. He was 59+5; gave me a 49 (radar).  I heard Barry working the late shift after I left this morning but I don't know if there was any DX for him or not.
12/30/17 -- 75m was not great but managed to work 4 JA stations before Barry arrived.  Not a real opening to JA yet! Wenty, 6Y5IC has a new beverage toward JA and was able to hear them talking ... just needs a little better propagation. The RADAR came on later, around 1140Z.  

Mike is in TX - now we'll get DX!

12-20-2017 News Flash ...Mike, W9MK will be QRV from TX this week!  Now we'll have some DX action. *That is if he can drag his lazy behind out of bed.  The dynamic duo, W9UCW & W9MK should bring out all of the rare DX that has been taking a break from 75m for the past year.  Now if we could just get W6UC to swim across and disable the Chinese RADAR....
Update, Fri. 12-22 I was right.  All kinds of DX the past 2 days.  A BH (China) even called me this morning.  However, he was very weak and the (China) radar took him out.  Mike is headed back home, so we will see....

**** Rules for efficient working of DX (not DXpeditions):

1. First, their callsign & be sure that they have yours
2. Then, & only then, their report & confirm yours 
3. THEN, your name ... not your equipment, weather, etc.
4. Chit chat like...Conditions are not very good, I'm not hearing you very well, lots of noise here, my grandkids are brilliant, bla, bla, bla are not helpful and often confuse the DX station.  They certainly use up time while other stations are waiting!  My 3 cents worth -- HP3AK

You can save the 'folksy' comments for your next rag chew.

Going, going, gone...

12/16/17 -- Warning -- the following may not be optimistic.  In spite of doing the same thing over and over, the results are the same.  I have very poor propagation to both JA and VK / ZL in the mornings now.  In contrast to what I have always been told, the band has been getting progressively worse over the years as the sunspot numbers have declined.  "Some days it's not even worth chewing through the restraints!"

Signals from Asia were so weak this morning that I could not even hear the Chinese RADAR, even though it was very strong in JA. My few contacts with VK and ZL over the past many weeks have been down 5 to 12 dB (1 to 2 s-units) from what they were a few months ago.  They are much weaker that a year ago.

Where are Low Bands going, or are they GONE??? Is it Global Warming?

Good Evening Optimists and DXers,

80 meters in the morning seems for this Mid-Westerner has become a different band this year. I have heard a couple of the Big Gun JAs but could not work them. VK/ZL are rare this year. OH was on this morning almost readable at sunrise but KE9L could not raise him. Several DXers stop by to visit the 80 meter DX window but don't stay long or come back often. The East coast guys at 3793 are having a similar experience.

And with the Chinese Radar continues to win the day blanking out most JAs and other Asian DXers.

The bands are a changing at least for me. I like working 40 meters in the evening however most times there is not much DX in the evening. ZS6CCY Bill is a fixture on 40 phone and is strong but he is almost the only game in town most evenings.

Lately 40 has opened to Europe in the afternoon starting around 1pm Central Time and ending by dinner time. Good and even some rare DX have been spotted and worked on both Phone and CW. I do really like my (new to me) Rotatable Dipole. It is a quiet antenna and really offers a great option over the Hytower which has always been a good antenna on 40 meters. Only a few of the big gun EUs working in the US at our sunset in the evening. Better days ahead.

My Ft-2000 is still in the shop. It is still a mystery as to what happened. I was under the impression that I may have gotten too much RF into the receiver. It seems that it is a control board issue which is not close to a receiver input so the hunt for the fix continues. So maybe I did not do it. LOL

We are at a time in the year where our sunrise is about an hours and a half before panama so Jay is in and gone before Texas and Illinois have any impact from the suns power. Global Warming impact?? I believe the impending sunspot minimum is the larger issue on the weather changes as well how are bands are acting.

And lastly I think that the age of this group of DXers has an impact on our ability to remember what that last sunspot minimum looked like. Just saying! And I resemble that remark.

Best 73
Stay Thirsty My Friends
W9MK