6 Meter Band Opening - 31 January 2010

Yesterday afternoon Russ, K4YGD was kind enough to call me and let me know about a 6 Meter band opening. I spent much of the morning and afternoon getting Groundwaves, the Coastal Amateur Radio Society Newsletter finished and sending it out to club members, so I hadn't had radios on to know it was open. Following Russ' call, I cranked up the FT-897D and hooked it up to the triband vertical to see what was going on. Straight away, I made contacts to New York, Ontario, and Quebec. After supper, before sitting down to watch the Pro Bowl, I checked 6 Meters again and found it open to the West and Midwest, working Illinois, Missouri, and Texas.

I don't have a 6 Meters setup down in Brunswick yet, so it was good to hear some Winter Es on one of my days off while I'm here in Savannah. Before the Summer E season cranks up I'm definitely going to have to get something setup for 6 in Brunswick.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT

Portugal on 6 Meters!

Earlier this morning, I heard EA8CQS in the Canary Islands on 6 Meters; it was the first time I've ever heard Europe on 6.

Just before 1030 local, I heard CT1HZE in Portugal on 50.115 USB and was able to work him via Multi-Hop E's!!!! I couldn't believe I was actually working Europe on 6 Meters. I only have a vertical for 6 Meters and was surprised I could pull it off without a directional antenna of some sort. CT1HZE must have one heck of a station!

Needless to say, this has just made my day. I could turn off the radios now and be happy (but of course that isn't going to happen).

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meters and Field Day Weekend

As I mentioned in my previous post, 6-Meters was not very cooperative during Field Day this year. Last year at the ARCS Field Day, we worked over 100 stations on 6-Meters on Sunday Morning, including approximately 70 in an hour. This year was just about the polar opposite.

Last evening, while catching up on email from the weekend and generally just recovering from Field Day, a friend from Florida mentioned in an IM that he was getting some possible low band DX from Canada. That was about the only thing radio related that could have piqued my interest at the time, so I hooked up the triband vertical and fired up the FT-897D. Sure enough, now that Field Day was over, 6-Meters was open. What else could you expect! During a QSO with Mike, WD8OST I found that we weren't the only ones to have no luck on 6 during Field Day; apparently not very many others did either.

The opening last night was a pretty good to the north. Prior to calling the CARS Sunday Night Net, I worked the following stations:

VE2RA - Quebec
VE1GBD - Nova Scotia
K2LTS - New York
N8OC - Michigan
WD8OST - Michigan
W0VB - Minnesota
VE2NRG - Quebec

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Arrow Antennas GP52

Last week, I ordered an Arrow Antennas GP52 6-Meter 1/4 Wave Groundplane antenna. It is a well built antenna; unlike many 1/4 wave groundplanes, it is not made from narrow gauge material or tubing. The vertical element is made out of solid 3/8" aluminum rod and the groundplanes are made from solid 1/4" wave aluminum rod. It is also a great deal, only $55.00 at $39.00 for the antenna and $15.00 for shipping.

This evening Guy, K4GTM came by with his MFJ antenna analyzer and we checked it out. It has an SWR of 1:1 at the center of the 6-Meter band and 1.5:1 at the edges of the band. Out of pure curiosity, I asked Guy to check it on the 2-Meter band. at 146 MHz and 147 MHz, it has an SWR of around 2:1. With a 2:1 SWR, that means it could also double as a 2-Meter antenna.

I bought it to have a 6-Meter field antenna, good for special event stations, field days, mini field days, etc. It should be a fine antenna for such use because of it's durability and ease of assembly. The fact that it can also double as a 2-Meter antenna makes it even better for a field antenna - it can be dual use.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meter E's

My radio plans for tonight were to do some military aviation monitoring, but a 6 Meter E-Skip opening changed things. Throughout the day I checked 6 Meters to see if it was open but each time I found nothing. After dinner, I decided to make one last check and I'm glad I did. 6 Meters was wide open into the north and northeast and it made for a productive radio evening. Taking advantage of the conditions, I worked 19 stations over a 3 hour period, several of which required patience because it took awhile to get through the pileups. Throughout the evening I worked stations in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, Canada as well as stations in Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. I also picked up some new grids: EN82, EN83, FN11, FN54, FN66, and FN74.

About 20 minutes after turning on the radios this evening I worked Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. My contact with VE9SIX was my first 6 Meter contact in New Brunswick on 6 Meters although I have worked New Brunswick before on 20 Meters.

After numerous attempts, I finally worked KB3RHR/W1 working portable in Cape Naddick, Maine. Craig had quite the pileup and it took me a long time and a lot of patience to get through.

Similarly, it took me quite awhile to get through the pileup that K1RQG, Joe in Bucksport, Maine had going. Joe is in EN54 and that was a new grid for me, I kept on trying an patience finally paid off; now all I have to do is send off a card.

Another good contact was G6DHU/W1 in Buxton, Maine. I didn't realize it until after I ran his call through QRZ after the QSO, but it was Mike Chace-Oritz, the well known utility monitoring expert. I wish I would have known it at the time!

At the end of the evening, I was hearing N7JW in Utah on 50.139 USB. Utah on 6! I'd never heard that far west on 6 before. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make a contact despite numerous attempts, I had him at 51 at best and he was giving reports of 58-59 to the stations he was working.

Nevertheless, it was a great evening on 6 Meters and I truly had a lot of fun on the radio tonight. It never ceases to amaze me that you can work DX with 100 watts or less and an antenna not very much longer than your arm span. I'm looking forward to a great 6 Meter E-Skip season on 6 Meters.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meter E's

I've been enjoying a morning on the radios as there has been a 6 Meter E-Skip opening today. I've been working the occaisonal station on 6 Meters since shortly after 0800 local this morning. For me, the band has mostly been open into the midwest: IA, IL, IN, MO, and WI. I also worked a station in MS as well as working Ryan, AJ4MY and KS4K, Dennis both mobile here in Savannah. I also heard several stations working Larry, N5FPW, but I couldn't hear him - maybe one day our signals will cross!

Maybe this is an indicator of good conditions to come for the June VHF QSO Party this weekend.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meter Sporadic E

Last night after the Southeast GA 6 Meter Ragchew Net, I caught the tail end of some 6 Meter E-skip. 6 Meters was open into the northeast US, Ontario, and Quebec; I worked VE3EN in Ontario and VE2XK in Quebec.

Michel, VE2XK mentioned that there had been a winter storm in his area yesterday morning with a lot of wind and ice that had knocked power out. It seems that his quad survived just fine as he worked several stations down here in the southeast!

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Domincan Republic Confirmed on 6 Meters

I've been distracted from radio for several reasons this past week and hope to be more active in the coming week. One thing that bears posting, however, is the QSL card I received. Late in the week, I received a card from HI3TEJ, Ted Jimenez in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I worked Ted several times throughout the summer E-skip cycle; this card is from my first contact with him on 23 June 2008.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

QSL Card from CO8LY

In today's mail I received a QSL card from CO8LY, Eduardo Cremati, from Cuba. Eduardo was my first DX contact on 6 Meters, coming within days of getting my 6 meter equipment on the air.

Many thanks to Eduardo, and to his QSL Manager EA7ADH, Francisco.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Southeast Geogia 6 Meter Ragchew Net - 11 Aug 2008

Overall, the Southeast Georgia 6 Meter net is going well. We've been averaging 6 to 8 check-ins per week since we've started.

Last night, the net used the secondary frequency of 50.200 USB instead of the primary 50.130 due to some of the big-gun east coast stations working some west coast multihop E skip (unfortunately, I couldn't hear the west coast station, just the northeast coast stations!). Because of the frequency change, it seemed as if there was going to be slim pickings. Luckily, just as I was getting ready to close the net we had 4 more check-ins, which brought our total to 8. This week's check-ins were:

AF4KL
WD0GFG
K4GTM
KD4PDX
W4REQ
KJ4EGZ
W4JKG
KF4LMT - Net Control

All amateur radio operators with 6 meter privileges are invited to join us each Monday night at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time. We make relay calls for check ins, so even if you don't hear net control, hang around and you might hear one of the relay stations.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Turks and Caicos QSL Card

I received this QSL card the other day from VP5/WB2REM. I worked him on 6 Meters on 03 July 2008 while he was on Providenciales Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands (Grid Square FL 31). Makes you want to be there, doesn't it!?

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT

kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meter E's Into Canda

6 Meters was open from the southeast United States into Ontario, Canada during the afternoon and evening of Saturday, August 2, 2008. I worked three stations in Ontario (2 in FN03 and 1 in FN04) during some casual operating:

VE3VII
VA3TLS
VE3KZL

I worked Tom, VE3VII twice. I really enjoyed the first QSO, as we talked for a few minutes about NASCAR and motorsports while we were watching the NASCAR Nationwide race in Montreal. Later in the evening, after helping W4REQ demonstrate amateur radio to his neighbors, Tom heard me again and we spoke for a few more minutes.

6 Meters was also briefly open into the Caribbean yesterday afternoon. I worked Eduardo, C08LY again on 50.125. Unfortunately, the band did not stay open in that direction very long. Eduardo faded quickly and I didn't hear any other Caribbean stations while tuning above 50.125 USB or in the DX Window below 50.125 USB.

All in all, 6 Meters was open to some degree for most of the day. I experienced a lot of QSB (fading) and noise (possibly from some storms in South Carolina) today, but I can't complain. I had QSOs and put some stations in the logbook, so it was a definitely a good radio day.

In addition to the amateur radio activity today, it was also a pretty good scanning day. A C-5M, LOCKHEED 99, worked in SEALORD's area. A couple of MH-60s from 3-160 SOAR at Hunter also went out to the offshore training areas, talking to SEALORD on 284.500. Given that it was a nice summer weekend, the USCG and USCG Auxiliary were also quite active on 157.050 (Marine VHF Ch. 21)

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Southeast Georgia 6 Meter Ragchew Net Returns

Last night, a group of amateur radio operators here in the Savannah area re-started the Southeast Georgia 6 Meter Ragchew Net. The net will meet each Monday night at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time. The primary frequency, for the time being, is 50.130 USB. Given the proximity to the calling frequency of 50.125 USB, this will likely be changed in the near future. The secondary net frequency, for use when the primary is occupied or unworkable is 50.200 USB.

Counting net control, there were seven stations checked in for last night's first attempt at re-starting the net. I handled net control duties, with the other stations checked in making relay calls for check ins. A variety of antenna types were represented, so I utilized both the JTB4 vertical and the MFJ-1764 dipole to pull everyone in. The check-ins for this first net were:

W4JKG
KD4PDX
K4GTM
W4REQ
K4YGD
WD0GFG
KF4LMT ~ Net Control

The Southeast Georgia 6 Meter Ragchew Net was WD0GFG's first 6 meter contact, one we were happy to provide!

One purpose of the net is to encourage the use of the 6 meter band in the southeast Georgia area, this was realized when several stations stayed on the air after the net conversing. Hopefully, as the net becomes established we will bring in more stations and generate some good activity on 6 meters here in southeast Georgia.

Thanks to the stations that checked in and made our inaugural net a success.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Southeast Georgia 6 Meter Ragchew Net

I am hoping to re-start the Southeast Georgia 6 Meter Ragchew Net beginning Monday evening (28 July 2008) at 2100 local (9 PM). At this time the date/time/frequency information is:

Mondays at 2100 Local (9PM)
50.130 USB Primary
50.200 USB Secondary

Here is to hoping we can get the net off the ground and have fun on 6 meters! Over the last weekend I found that I can reach the Salt Creek and Bloomingdale areas of Chatham County on 6 Meters, so let's give it a try.

I look forward to hearing you on the net!


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meters Open with QSB

6 Meters has been open with QSB this morning. I've been able to make a few contacts into Ontario, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania in between monitoring F/A-18s working out of Savannah International Airport and some JSTARS activity in the Savannah area. Signal strengths are varying with frequent QSB. Conditions aren't steady, but definitely workable.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meters Open to the Caribbean

This evening, there has been a good 6 Meter E-skip opening to the Caribbean. I've worked three Puerto Rican stations, 2 Dominican Republic stations, and a US Virgin Islands station since 1730 local this evening. All stations were received with an RST of at least 57. The MFJ-1764 performed poorly this evening, so I immediately switched to the JTB4 vertical and had much better signals. The first station I worked, KP4YI went from S1 to S7 on the FT-897's S-meter.

1933Z - 50.135 USB - KP4YI - Puerto Rico
2250Z - 50.115 USB - HI3/LY3UM - Dominican Republic
2333Z - 50.110 USB - WP4AZT - Puerto Rico
2336Z - 50.140 USB - NP4A - Puerto Rico
2353Z - 50.107 USB - HI3TEJ - Dominican Republic
0025Z - 50.120 USB - KP2BH - US Virgin Islands

Tonight, by the way, was the second time I've worked Ted, HI3TEJ. I just sent off a QSL card to his QSL Manager last week in hopes of eventually getting a QSL card for the contact.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meter E-Skip and the MFJ-1764 Works

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to put the MFJ-1764 6/2 Meter Dipole through its paces and see what it could do. It didn't do bad at all.

Early yesterday afternoon, 6 Meters began opening up, with E-Skip to the south and west of Savannah. I worked Cuba, Mexico, and Texas just after lunch. After working CO8LY in Santiago de Cuba for the second time in a month, I finally was able to work XE2WWW in Mexico.

I've heard XE2WWW several times over the last month, but was never able to make it through to him. The difference this time was the horizontally polarized MFJ-1764, the previous attempts were on the JTB4 vertical. I have to think that being horizontally polarized this time helped make the difference.

The E-Skip continued to work to the west through the afternoon with unsteady band conditions. Later in the evening, it shifted more toward the Midwest with more steady conditions and I worked Illinois, Iowa, Michicgan, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

June 2008 VHF QSO Party

This past weekend (14/15 June 2008) was the ARRL June VHF QSO Party. I am not an avid contester, but I did take advantage of the contest to put some logs in the logbook. Due to work and an otherwise busy weekend I was only able to get on the radio for an hour, from 0941 to 1041 local on Sunday Morning (15 June).

Luckily, that hour occured during some outstanding 6 Meter propagation. I worked 20 stations in 11 different states, adding Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and New York to the logbook.

That hour of radio also provided me time to play with the DSP on the FT-897 and get some learning experience with it. I mostly used the DSP Noise Reduction to lower background noise and the DSP Notch Filter to cut interference from adjacent frequencies.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Cuba on 6 Meters

Monday morning just after 1030 hours, I was able to work 6 Meters into Cuba, making a contact with CO8LY in Santiago de Cuba on 50.125 USB. Apparently the band was also open into Puerto Rico, but I never heard anything other than the Cuban station.

Otherwise, the high activity from the Sunday wasn't present on Monday. The only other station I heard was XE2WWW from Mexico, but he never heard me; he seemed to be mostly answering stations from the 9 region.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

6 Meter Band Opening - 8 June 2008

I finally caught a 6 Meter band opening while I was off from work! Yesterday, 8 June 2008, was a good day for working 6 meters. During midday, I worked a station from Texas the between 2030 and 2200 hours local, I worked stations on 6 Meters USB in Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas:

N5GE - Arlington, TX
N5KWB - West Monroe, LA
W5FKX - River Ridge, LA
W5PF - Montgomery, TX
K5AH - Ponchatoula, LA
W5JLH - Haughton, LA
K8LEE - Lawrenceburg, IN

2 Meters was also open today. I didn't make any 2 Meter SSB contacts, but I did hear the W4YJC repeaters on 144.330 and 144.360 with NASA audio again; the 144.330 was at S9+ at one point. I also heard the 146.700 W4IZ 146.700 repeater from Jacksonville at half to three quarter scale around 1730 local while mobile in midtown Savannah.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net