Are the Bands A Changing?

[Richard Stouffer]

From my base station on Monday morning I had good domestic signal from one of the 40 meter nets I visit; mostly east coast and eastern Canadian stations on that net. Recently there have been a lot of VK's checking in, but I haven't been able to read them well enough for a legit contacts. However this Monday I started to read VK1GG well enough that we exchanged signal reports.

Then this morning on the same net, I couldn’t get a copy on any of the North American stations that normally boom in here, but I had a 5-9 signal form VK1GG for over an hour. He also copied me. I have seen that the next cycle has started, albeit meekly, but I was wondering if anyone else is seeing improved DX propagation.

Richard, WU5K

[Andy N1ORK]

Nice going on the VK Richard! What time and freq is this net? In the General band I hope. Would be nice to get a VK with my 100w into G5RVjr invertedV in the attic.
73
Andy

[Richard Stouffer]

They are on the Extra portion of the band. The one I usually visit starts on 7.162.5 around 5:00am EDT. Usually, but not always, thet switch to 7.134 at 6:00 EDT. The VK had moved to 7.175 around 7:00 EDT or so this morning which is where I caught up with him.

I have been running barefoot, so it's not impossible to work some pretty serious DX with that. One of the guys on that net was messing arond and got a report from VK land with his power cranked down to 10 watts; it's in the antenna. Just ask Radio about that.

73's,
Richard, WU5K

[Andy N1ORK]

Thanks for the info Richard. Maybe one day I'll get up early and just listen in. Since retirement, been getting up later. Used to get up at 0400 to get to work by 0500. But that was then and this is now. You're right about the antenna. My antenna theory is the more metal the higher the better.
73
Andy

[wa8yxm]

In todays' "Weaver's Words" (Jim Weaver, Great Lakes ARRL Division Director) he mentiones DX is blooming. And a long chat on the Kosovo DXpedition. (Kosovo is part of Siberia and counts as Siberia)

[Andy N1ORK]

Don't you mean that Kosovo is/was part of Serbia (not Siberia in northeastern Russia)?

[Richard Stouffer]

That net I mentioned above has changed the second frequency from 7.134 to 7.150. They make the switch at 1100 UTC.

[Manual Garcia O'Kely]

10 was open from SF to Hawaii this afternoon.

And on Sat, Argentina, LT1F was on 28.405

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by Andy N1ORK

Don't you mean that Kosovo is/was part of Serbia (not Siberia in northeastern Russia)?

Most likely, Typokinesis don't you know...

I was in a chat Friday night and, strangely I was not making all that many typos. But the person who was, I never noticed them.. I'm so good at making them my auto-corrector (mind) just puts the proper word in there.

Anyway, The DXpedition is asking folks to petition the ARRL to make Kosovo a new country. However the ARRL rules are very clear. To be a new country, among other things, they need to issue their own permit/license, and that has not (yet) happened. There are several other issues too. Several