18 Mar 2018

Super 6m DX

A reminder than 6m propagation often extends far further than traditional 1 or 2 hop Es. Last summer, even with a modest V2000 vertical I spotted Japanese stations on 6m JT65 many times. I am not a great believer that many of these very long 6m paths are due to multi-hop Es. This may account for some, but not all. Personally I think some other mechanism is at work. One example is reflections due to noctilucent clouds. Maybe we are seeing some sort of chordal hop E layer propagation. There is much we do not know.

I guess next Es season the best mode will be FT8. I shall certainly be monitoring this band/mode.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .
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4 comments:

  1. Steve McDonaldSun Mar 18, 09:42:00 pm GMT

    Somewhat disheartening to watch FT8 taking over the traditional communication modes, especially on 6m. It truly is the epitome of the 'slam bam thank-you mam' method of a QSO and horrifically boring. Hopefully most will tire of this mode, come to their senses and return to actually talking with one another again.

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  2. AnonymousMon Mar 19, 10:48:00 am GMT

    I wouldn't agree.

    I have to disagree.

    I don't think it's displacing any existing activity, it's just opening up possibilities for new ones, especially when conditions are too poor or fleeting for more traditional activities.

    It also allows folks who don't have access to big antenna arrays to be able to use the band, when otherwise they may not have been be able to do so.

    I think it's better to have activity on the bands outside of 'openings' as they maintain use of the band and may provide a much earlier warning of any changes in propagation conditions.

    Regards,

    Martin - G8JNJ

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  3. Layne AE1NMon Mar 19, 02:00:00 pm GMT

    For 60 years, I'vve been a dyed-in-the wool CW fanatic not only because I love the mode but it has a 27 dB advantage over AM and a 17 dB gain over SSB. Now comes WSJT-X mode FT8 which has a 25 dB gain over CW. For my 100 watt rig, this is better than 1500 watts or a 20-element yagi!
    I'M SOLD!
    see my article, "IT's all about the Decibels" at
    https://www.n1fd.org/2017/11/07/decibels/
    ---LAYNE AE1N

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  4. Steve McDonaldTue Mar 20, 02:00:00 pm GMT

    I do agree that the digital weak signal modes are providing opportunities for those trying to operate from antenna restricted areas. It is ideal for this. But the vast majority now on FT8 do not seem to be operating under these conditions. Most are normal stations, that have come from the phone or CW bands or are new hams that have never been on these other modes. This has reduced the amount of CW activity, except it seems, during contests. This means that folks on HF may be technically 'communicating' but they aren't really 'talking' to each other, which is sad. I'm sure that you will agree that the JT / FT modes are pretty boring ways to communicate.

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