Hello 222 MHz folks.
I was expecting a slow night on 222 MHz right after everyone beat their
brains out in the June Contest. I started listening at about 22:30. I
had a wet ride up to the shack and even drove into a low cloud bank on
the way up. There was a steady rain. The shack was nice and warm at
about 68 degrees and I got things started by monitoring the VE3WCC
beacon for a bit. It was quite copyable and only occasionally went into
the noise. Then I heard WA1RKS was calling CQ on 222.100 and he was
579. I looked at the rotor control box and I was not even aimed at him.
I suspected conditions were not in the tank for the evening. I don't
have the log in front of me. It is still up at the shack on a memory
stick still stuck in the computer. I worked many of the stations that
Good Buddy Ron worked, but missed W1TR and old pal WA2LTM. I am not
surprised as I was quite busy here working stations most of the
evening. I tried a MS sked with N4QWS in Tennessee and got three nice
bursts, but he never sent any RR so we quit. K1FMS also copied him and
was calling as well. Others worked included WB2VVV at his NH getaway QTH
in Waterville Valley, NH. A notable contact was K1HC in FN53, who just
got his 222 transverter working and connected to a fixed yagi on his
tower. Dick is in Harpswell, ME right on the coast so is in a prime spot
for coastal tropo this summer. I am about 30 miles inland and miss much
of that action. I noted some long QSB on W9KXI, Cousin Al in FN12, at
300 miles or so. We started on SSB with 5X5 signals, but Al was much
louder when we quit a few minutes later.
My attempt with WA3EOQ in FM09 was very interesting. I started calling
and immediately heard Howard peaking up well out of the noise. I did not
miss a character in his entire transmission and I sent him a 529, which
is very rare for me. Usually we stick to just the grid in the interest
of brevity as signals are very weak. Not so this time. There was some
QSB. Howard dropped down at one point, but was never out of the picture.
It was tied for the best that I have ever heard him. Later on I
listened in while he ran with W1GHZ and it was the same way. He was
solid at 529 all the time, and I heard W1GHZ complete a contact over a
very long haul of 485 miles. I think I also listened to WA3EOQ while he
was trying with WZ1V and Howard was good copy then as well. I don't know
if it is conditions or maybe that I am hearing better ever since I
removed the water soaked jumper cable between the preamp box and the
antenna power divider on the tower. I suspected that maybe there might
be some enhancement so I tried a tropo sked with K9MRI. We each heard
zilch- zip- nada! There was no tropo evident. I did talk to KC2KAE and
he said that a friend nearby had just bought a 222 transverter at a
fleamarket and had fashioned a small yagi and wanted to see how it
worked. They figured it was about four watts, so I listened for N2CJ and
he was quite good copy on SSB although the S meter was not moving. I mis
copied his grid at first. He is in FN30 and not FN20. That was quite
remarkable at about 250 miles. It is amazing how far QRP can go at
times. Just imagine what can happen with a huge inversion. Years ago, I
tried a test with Steve, WA1FFO/ K1FO. He was in East Hartford and we
were pinning each other's S-meters, so I hooked up my HP-608E signal
generator to my antenna and Steve would tell me when he lost copy on the
signal. Well, I kept cranking the attenuator until Steve yelled "Uncle".
The attenuator said -60 dBm. That is my best miles per watt QSO. -60 dBm
is one microwatt. We figured he was 139 miles away, so the Miles per
Watt value was 139 million miles.
So I ended up with 26 contacts for the evening, two new stations: K1HC
in FN53, and N2CJ in FN30. That is quite a number for two days after the
June Contest. Thanks to all who got on and made some noise. Next
Tuesday, the Moon will be setting during 222 Activity night here on the
East Coast. At 23:00 UT (7 PM) the Moon will be at 11 degrees here, and
will set at 00:15 UT. That could be interesting. I have heard WA1NLG,
N1YCQ, and WA3EOQ that way with a rising or setting Moon. It can get
confusing but the software can be manipulated to separate the doppler
shifted lunar return. You can also see the time delay error listed. With
a Lunar reflected signal, you will see about 2.6 seconds. Surely a lot
of fun and a good way to waste time while the Earth is spinning and
traveling around the Sun along one arm of the Milky Way.
73
Dave K1WHS
K1WHS FN43, WA1RKS FN32, N1JEZ FN44, W1AUV FN32,
K1PXE FN31, W9KXI FN12, N3RG FM29, WA1MBA FN51,
W1TR FN31, W1GHZ FN34, WA2LTM FN20, KA3FQS FN20,
KA1OJ FN42, WA3EOQ FM09, K1HC FN53, K2AEP FN32,
N1LHP FN42, KC2KAE FN20, N2CJ/QRP FN30, K1FMS FN32.
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