I am not sure, but the K1PXE curse seems to be real. To be fair, Pete,
K1PXE did not directly administer the curse, but I am afraid that his
comments about it raining on Tuesdays has become true on an all too
regular schedule. Last night had some awful storm action from
Philadelphia to NYC and over to the CT shoreline, RI and southern
Massachusetts. There was also much rain minus the lightning in New York
state and northern New England. All that pyrotechnic activity sure
dampened the activity. Being so close to the 222 and Up Contest also
meant many VHFers were slightly burned out from all the activity over
the weekend. I was not highly motivated as it was threatening to rain
as I drove the truck up to the shack. WA3NUF was my first contact and
Phil was worried about all the storms around. Of course I got to
thinking on how this series of events would affect propagation for the
evening. I am working on my VHF propagation Merit Badge for Cub Scouts,
so the thought was front and center in my mind. There were wide swings
with QSB on everyone beyond the local area. The storms were definitely
having an effect. Phil was up and down, but peaking at a normal
strength. W9KXI would also go from S7 to about S3 on SSB on a 500 km
path. WC2K was loud but still had the QSB effect.
I tried to contact K3SK on CW, FT8, and Q65 with no luck in either
direction. I tried CW out to the West and there was nothing there. I am
sure that the Lake enhancement was not in play last night with all the
rainfall there. Meteors seemed a bit paltry as well. While there were a
few nice ones, the total number was down and no easy 10 or 15 minute
contacts resulted with the likes of K9MRI and W7JW. We did try some MS
attempts. Around 0100, W7JW was trying an MS sked with K1ZK in VT. I
copied one burst from W7JW as I was shutting down the station. I am not
sure how that sked turned out. It was raining then and I turned off the
big diesel and it got very dark. I had no flashlight so I started out to
go find my truck in the dark. I eventually found it but only after I
found a nice mud puddle with my leather sandals. That was much fun in
the dark.
K1DY was on from FN54 and Bill was there on 222 working stations, so
that was a nice plus. Howard, WA3EOQ was also on the band and I was
interested to see how his signal would fare with all the storms at mid
path. A closer look at the map showed that his path was just west of the
big T storms, but still went thru some rainy areas. The midpoint (The
scattering area) was located NW of Port Jervis in NY and just North of
Lake Wallenpaupack in PA. I was really surprised to hear him peak up at
the end of the QSO to the strongest that I have ever heard him on a
Tuesday night. The S meter was actually moving a bit. It was actually
blinking LEDS, but you get the picture...he was loud for 100 watts at
500 miles. I was quite worried that some towering T storms might ruin
tropo scatter. In the past, I have observed that quite often. Long haul
signals can fade with big T-storms. I think GB Ron WZ1V was well
situated to observe that, being on the East side of a line of storms. I
think he was having much trouble as a result. Rain static is no fun.
My list for the evening is below. I worked 18 hardy souls. Thanks to all
who got on and made noise and let's hope that next week is quieter on
the weather front!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DATE TIME CALLSIGN LOCATOR TX RX BAND MODE
PRO.REMARKS QRB (km)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
08/06/2024 23:02 WA3NUF FN2ØKE 55 55 220 MHzSSB
TR 496
08/06/2024 23:08 WC2K FM29PT ` 220
MHzSSB TR 506
08/06/2024 23:08 K1PXE FN31KE ` 220 MHzSSB
TR 303
08/06/2024 23:15 WA1MBA FN51AS ` 220 MHzSSB
TR 198
08/06/2024 23:16 WA1NLG FN41XS 59 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 196
08/06/2024 23:20 N1GLT FN42IW 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 58
08/06/2024 23:23 N3RG FM29KI 559 579 220 MHzCW
TR 568
08/06/2024 23:25 N1ROZ FN32TF 559 220 MHzCW
TR 174
08/06/2024 23:29 WW1Z FN42ET 59 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 84
08/06/2024 23:33 N1LHP FN42KM 59 57 220 MHzSSB
TR 98
08/06/2024 23:43 K2AEP FN32OW 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 157
08/06/2024 23:43 K1DY FN54JQ 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 200
08/06/2024 23:51 W9KXI FN12NE 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 501
08/06/2024 23:55 WZ1V FN31RH 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 266
08/07/2024 00:00 KA1OJ FN42EH 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 132
08/07/2024 00:02 K1ZK FN34JJ 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 212
08/07/2024 00:25 WA3EOQ FMØ9JO 539 220 MHzCW
TR 805
08/07/2024 00:37 K1FMS FN32QB 59 220 MHzSSB
TR 201
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of QSO listed: 18
73
Dave K1WHS
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