Well things have been roaring lately on some of our VHF bands. This past
Sunday afternoon and evening there was a rip-roaring aurora that allowed
contacts up to 432 MHz CW. The buzz session caused quite a stir and
lots of people were closely monitoring the bands. I sure had fun looking
for contacts on 222 MHz. It was very difficult with such a sharp
directive antenna. Just a few degrees would make the difference between
success and failure.
So here it is, another Tuesday night and time for checking out your 222
gear and making changes so the next opening is better handled. For my
part, I need to make up a 2 way divider and cables to mount my 2 X 16 el
222 yagis as an Aurora antenna. My existing antenna is not very good for
the au buzz contacts!
People start showing up around 7 PM on the East Coast (23:00 UT) and
midwest activity peaks about an hour later. If you are looking for a
possible 222 contact, be sure to keep looking up to about 0100 UT on the
East Coast for any possible connections. The ON4KST Chat page is a good
place to line up a sked if you do not hear any locals in the immediate
area. Use the 144/432 MHz Region 2 Chat.
I plan to be on a bit before 2300 UT and usually start on 222.100 and
then move off as activity appears. A quick look at the Hepburn map
shows nothing going on for the evening anywhere in the US of A. That
does not mean much as the 222 band will still support contacts over 200
miles with simple gear on a dead band evening. Don't forget that the
next day is the fantastic 432 MHz Sprint, so after checking out the 222
gear, you might want to look over the 432 gear as well. I dragged up my
432 wattmeter and will be checking out 432 this evening in hopes of
being ready on 432!
We have had some significant activity on 222 of late. Lets make tonight
a great night for activity.
73
Dave K1WHS
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