Thanks to everyone for the comments on and off list. I have been
busy with survival and am behind on replies.
I will wait until after the September contest to make decisions
about adding more bands. It is June and it may be that 6 meter
openings were a major factor in low SSB/CW activity on 2 this time.
I hope that is all it was.
I am VERY ***INTERESTED*** in CW/SSB contesting on all bands up to
at least 10 GHz, have been for 30 years. However due to extreme
financial limitations I will never get the chance to explore most of
those bands. I have to scrimp, scrounge, work hard and make daily
sacrifices for two or three years for EACH band I add with suitable
capability to have success from way up here. That's just life. That
is too much sacrifice if I can't get QSOs on the bands.
It is tough enough getting QSOs on 2. I have called CQ for many
hours in contests running 1500W and 13 elements on a 26 foot boom at
110 feet. Occasionally I work someone in an adjacent grid that way
but stations further away do NOT find me. Calling CQ is USELESS up
here. I am totally dependent on people calling CQ up this way or
twisting arms on ON4KST chat for QSO attempts. Frankly I find very
few there willing to try unless it is point blank range where
success is guaranteed. I guess there are just too many easy QSOs and
multipliers for people to work these days.
If I can't get QSOs on 2 then I sure won't be getting them on higher
bands!
Frankly, proliferation of digital modes and apathy toward expending
any effort for a QSO is killing VHF for me. It is heartbreaking but
the fun just isn't there any more.
For the record I have nothing against digital modes per se. I use
JT9 along with other modes on 2200m and 630m. I do NOT use JT65 or
FT8 for reasons I won't bother stating. Those who don't already know
why would never understand.
I have 1500W and 7 elements at 105 feet on 6 which wasn't even
hooked up this year because FT8 destroyed 6 meter DXing for me. I
have to climb 100 feet to switch the feedline from HF to 6. Someday
I will find reasonably priced relays to automate that.
73,
Paul N1BUG
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