Hello Alex
I think the problem is related to geography. Your location is at right
angles to the average direction of most QSOs. No one is routinely
aimed in your direction. I am aimed towards you quite often, but I
suspect you are not aimed at me all that often. Incidentally, between
7:15 and 7:35 PM, I was aiming NW ragchewing with Stu, VE2XX.
Many years ago, I had a single 144 MHz array consisting of 4 X long
yagis. I made that antenna as I was quite a distance from the activity
centers on the East Coast. (NYC-Philly) It worked very well. In
analyzing contest logs, however, I noted that I missed many stations
within range. Why is that? The reason is that sharp antennas only
illuminate a small area. If you have 360 degrees to cover, you will only
be pointing at a certain area for a very tiny slice of available time.
Now imagine that the other station that you are looking for has a sharp
antenna. Now the problem is multiplied by a huge amount. A 20 degree
beamwidth needs 18 adjustments to cover 360 degrees.
The solution is a wide beamwidth antenna, or possibly a fixed yagi aimed
at high activity areas and the ability to hear both yagis. I made a few
antennas to solve my problem. On 222, I have a fixed antenna that covers
180 to 270 degrees. I have a small yagi that aims northeast. Then I have
a rotatable yagi array that covers 360 degrees. I am planning to
install two unused 16 element yagis that can be manually rotated for
meteor scatter. Not sure where they will fit! Every QTH is different,
but being outside of an activity area presents certain problems.
This past Tuesday evening was interesting. Lots of variation in signal
strength. I worked K1RZ early on with very poor signals. Honestly, Dave
was barely audible. Later on I heard him trying to work WA1T and he was
S7 and steady! Quite a difference. Overall, the band seemed down a bit.
WA3EOQ was barely audible this time. I only heard him on QSB peaks and
then wispy weak. KO4YC at 520 miles or so was still OK copy on SSB.
The exciting part was the activity. There were stations all over the
place. K1TEO got on and Jeff's big signal was instrumental in building
up the activity. I heard many stations calling him.
Remember.....Activity breeds activity! W1JR was on and he is fixing up
some of his VHF antennas again. It was great to hear Joe on 222. John,
W2BYP ( Bippy) had a big signal from Western NY. It was great to have ex
WB2BYP show up! There was quite a group on from the Philly area too. I
talked to Brian, N3EXA a few times, and always with a pretty good
signal. Brian and I were ops together at N3NGE in the January contests.
KA3FQS, K3JJZ,and N3RG were all on and making noise. Somehow, I missed
old buddy Jerome, K3GNC. He was in there too. Between 7 and 9 PM, 222
was hopping.
N9HF was on from N Florida, but noted no local activity. I told him I
was going to call him after about 01:15 UT on FT8 (222.080) but I think
he QRTed. I called him for awhile. It was a good test of my repaired
preamp box relay. It survived the transmit sequences on FT8. Next is to
see what happens with JT-65! AJ6T is on from Nashville area in TN. He
decoded W5EME but no one else. That is a long haul of about 500 miles. I
tried calling with no luck, but I am almost 1000 miles away, so an
impossible path without a good inversion going on. I quit a bit after
10 PM.
My impression is that we have hit a critical mass here in the NE. Having
the likes of K1RZ in MD, and K1TEO in CT , really expands the reach for
stations who are trying to hear others on the band. The western NY
stations are doing very well in that regard too. KA2LIM, W9KXI, N2JMH,
W2BYP, and KD2LGX do very well keeping that area "lit up". VE3DS and
VE3ZV were absent this time, but are usually in there most Tuesdays. I
am getting reports that people are now looking for 222 MHz gear to join
in on the fun.
73
Dave K1WHS
On 9/1/2021 8:17 AM, Alex wrote:
I CQed (SSB) for 20 mins from 7:15-7:35 turning my beam in increments of 15 degrees. Zero
takers. That was on .100 and moved up a little when others came on. Like I wrote the
other week. I hear folks, they don't hear me. Yes, I did check to make sure I was
producing sufficient RF. :) Never have a problem working anyone during a contest. Go
figure. I did not use the chat page.
73,
--
On Sep 1, 2021, 7:35 AM, at 7:35 AM, David Pearl via NEWSVHF
<newsvhf@mailman.qth.net> wrote:
Having a blast with 20 watts and having my M2 signal shot into my house
and roof line, but it works at 18 feet. Worked: K1TEO, K1PXE, N2GHR,
WA2VNV, WZ1V, KC2KAE, N3EXA, KA3FQS, K1WHS, N1SV.
So 10 contacts.. Heard K1RZ on CW (41 to 51), but with 20 watts and bad
direction West/Southwest that was a stretch. Need TE amp fixed and
antenna up on roof should work great. For the bigger stations, let the
QRP make the contact before pouncing on frequency. It's not a contest,
but "activity night". No fun when you are trying to work a station and
4-5 guys come on and start calling.
N2GHR Paul congrats on getting up your tower after all that work with
the new hardware, looks great.
Until next week....
73 DavidN2SLO
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