VHFcontesting
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Re: [VHFcontesting] [222Activity] 222 MHz Aurora Report

To: "'Paul N1BUG FN55mf'" <paul@n1bug.com>, "'David Olean'" <k1whs@metrocast.net>, <NEWSVHF@mailman.qth.net>, <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>, <222Activity@groups.io>
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] [222Activity] 222 MHz Aurora Report
From: <k3sk@buckwalter.co>
Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2023 21:32:32 -0400
List-post: <mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Aurora is something we read about here in the south. These post about it 
brought back some fond memories.  I just to a trip down memory lane and flipped 
through my VHF logbook from when I lived in OH (EN90).  I worked a lot of 
aurora contacts back in the last century (mid-late 1980s) when my callsign was 
KC3CL.   My last 220 AU was in Feb 1986 and I filled have a logbook page with 
contacts.  If I remember that was when the K-Index went off the charts at 
something beyond K9.  It was visible almost directly overhead at our place.    

de K3SK
Dave
FM07

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul N1BUG FN55mf <paul@n1bug.com> 
Sent: Saturday, March 25, 2023 3:12 PM
To: David Olean <k1whs@metrocast.net>; NEWSVHF@mailman.qth.net; 
vhfcontesting@contesting.com; 222 >> 222Activity@groups.io 
<222Activity@groups.io>
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] [222Activity] 222 MHz Aurora Report

Thanks Dave,

It is as I suspected. I opened my eyes (sort of!) at 0150Z and decided to just 
take a quick look to see if anything really interesting was happening. I 
discovered aurora on 6 meters and made my first QSO at 0155Z. So I missed the 
222 activity! This is not surprising since I have found over the years best 
aurora signals generally  happen in the late afternoon through early evening, 
say 4 to 7 PM. It then usually fades for a while and re-intensifies later, but 
by then a lot of people have shut down.

I have no solution for the problem of evening availability here, but I sure 
hate missing a good aurora! It has been many years since I worked aurora on 222 
(or 432, where I have insufficient power these days).

73,
Paul N1BUG



On 3/25/23 12:12, David Olean wrote:
> Hi Mr BUG,
> 
> I noted that contacts were being made on 50 and then 144. I walked up 
> to the shack around 23:00 UT and fired up the 222 gear. Starting at 
> about
> 2345 UT,  I was answered by VA3ELE who was running just 25 watts on CW. 
> He had a good signal strength of 55A. A few minutes later, I worked 
> his neighbor VE3DS who runs more power and was very loud at 57A.   
> Another station worked was WX3K in PA, who also had a good signal. 
> That was the first ever 222 aurora contact for WX3K! I hope there are 
> many more.  I worked WX3K between 00:00 and 01:00. Best DX heard was 
> N4PZ in Chicago,
> EN52 at 950 miles, but Steve could not hear me. He was a good 55A at
> 00:44 UT and again later at about 00:57 UT.   The band dropped out 
> shortly after 0100UT. When things died down after 0115 UT I walked 
> home in the dark. I was sure that the aurora would come back around 11 
> PM, but having a shack 1/2 mile away covered in snow prevented any 
> more monitoring.
> 
> I figured out a good plan for a pair of 16 el yagis. I am going to fix 
> them at 300 degrees as an AU detector.
> 
> Dave K1WHS


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