I called CQ on 30 meters a couple of evenings ago and got a surprise call from R1DX in Saint Petersburg. What was notable about this contact was the auroral flutter on Vic’s signal. I wish I had recorded it. The sound is very distinctive, though, and Vic even commented on it.
Here’s the great circle route between Ann Arbor, MI and St. Petersburg:
It doesn’t seem like that route goes north enough to be affected by aurora, but I suppose that it could be. The signal may have also taken a more northern route and been affected by the aurora. If you’re a propagation guru, I’d like to hear what you think about this.
Big pileups for TN8K
TN8K has been generating some pretty big pileups. Here’s one on 30 meters on January 8:
Personally, I just wait these things out, as I don’t really have a station competing in these kinds of pileups. I’m hoping to catch them towards the end of the DXpedition.
More new ops?
It may just be a coincidence, but it seems as if I’m working more new ops lately. By that I mean hams that I don’t have a record of working before. Some of these seem to be operators that have just started operating CW, like the KD4 I worked last night. Others are long-time hams that are coming back to CW.
I hope that this is a trend. We need as many CW ops as we can muster, and it’s always a pleasure to turn on the rig and see the band scope full of CW signals.Credit to CWops, Long Island CW Club, and all the other CW clubs and websites that are promoting the use of CW.
REMINDER: If you’re an experienced CW op, slow down once in a while and work these newcomers. Encouraging them today will help them become the experienced ops of tomorrow. And, you my just meet an interesting person and make a friend.
Rick Barnich K8BMA says
In the early 1980’s, I worked a lot of 2m CW & SSB. On one occasion, I worked 14 states in the Northeast via Aurora via CW. I used to monitor the calling frequency at 144.100 mhz and heard what I thought was a local ham who regularily worked 2m AM with 1KW. Then I noticed it was transmitting CW. Sounded like someone breathing Morse code. I pointed my antenna North, picking up many additional stations..
Because the ionized surface of the aurora is discontinuous, signals arrive at different times, giving it the breathy characteristic.
Dave New, N8SBE says
According to your waterfall of the TN8K pileup, sure are a LOT of dirty signals.
Most of them come from overdriving their linear amplifiers, by hooking up the ALC line and ‘letting it rip’. Seems that a lot of operators don’t understand that ALC is there to keep you from blowing your amp up, but it is NOT to be relied on during normal operation to set the exciter level into the amp.
ALC is a closed feedback loop which has a non-zero response time. If you overdrive your amplifier, by the time the ALC kicks in, it is TOO LATE. Instead, use the power control on the exciter, and turn the power down until you just peak the amplifier power at it’s maximum level or whatever lower level you wish to send.
Anything more than that, and your signal will look like those lids in that pileup, splattering all over the adjacent signals, and earning the ire of all those operators.
‘Nuff said.