This summer stew was interesting from Oregon. The band was surprisingly quiet - especially in the morning.
Sunset was at 0405 UTC. I could hear a handful of stations to the East just before sunset, but none of them could hear me. W9RE was the first station other than "locals" at 0402. I didn't realize he was running low power. Typically the QSOs started with me calling a few times and I would get a question mark, then eventually they would piece my call together. KZ5D had a good signal, but got away before I could work him. However, this was pretty late on the East Coast and many stations were going QRT. I heard perhaps a dozen stations that could not hear me before they went QRT and I never heard them again. Around 0530 UTC, I sensed that EVERYONE out East had gone to bed, The band was empty and there really were very few USA West Coast stations active. This felt like a good time to get a few hours sleep. I got back on the band at 0841 and worked a handful of East Coast stations near their sunrise (K3UL, KM1R, AA1K, K9WX, WT9Q, N3BB) and that was it. But for summertime, it was much better than nothing. After 1004 UTC, I only worked stations on the West Coast - or DX to the West. JA3YBK showed up with a good signal working the AA contest. They called me and we had some difficulty getting the exchanges worked out as they were looking for my age and I was looking for their grid square. They thought I was 85 years old for a minute or two. They were a beacon on the band until my sunrise. JA9FHB called in with a grid square which was very nice. Then VK3QB started calling CQ DX around 1110 UTC. KL7KY and I were answering him, but he couldn't hear either one of us. Eventually, conditions improved and I was able to get his attention. Took some work to get him to send a grid square however. After almost a half hour of nothing in the log - VK3HJ shows up with a pretty good signal for my second VK QSO. They are worth 26 and 27 points. I watched HJ and QB work each other on my bandscope. They both had good signals and for a while, VK3QB had a steady signal up to my sunrise. I had worked Phil, VK6GX in the Spring Stew and was keeping an ear out for him and he finally called me at 1202 UTC foor my last QSO. Turns out, I was his only QSO. A nice 30 point adder to the score. Finally pulled the plug around 1225 UTC and went back to bed. This actually was a pretty good result for me in the Summer Stew. I am pleased to see how many times K7RAT shows up in the listing as the best DX. It really felt like I was in my own world as there were very few other stations from the West Coast - especially in the morning. I installed my new phasing box for the HiZ array (a single box instead of the two that I had before) and it seemed to work very well. Was using diversity the whole time with the HiZ in one each and a Beverage in the other (either pointing N/S or East or West). The K4D continues to be very easy on the ears. Great to hear all of the activity. Hope to see everyone in October. 73 Tree N6TR / K7RAT On Mon, Jun 19, 2023 at 6:45 AM Charles Morrison < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi QRN due to nearby storms. > TF4VQ & DR5X only. > I was QRT by 0215Z. > -Charlie N1RR > > On Mon, Jun 19, 2023 at 5:14 AM Roger Kennedy < > [email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > Well I don't know how others got on . . . > > > > But I didn't hear one single North American station on Saturday night ! > > > > Roger G3YRO > > > > > > _________________ > > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband > > Reflector > > > > > -- > > -Charlie N1RR > > 401-742-7240 <(401)%20742-7240> 8AM - 9PM > > *E-mail*: [email protected] > > *Website*: www.n1rr.com > > *Youtube channel*: NovemberOne RomeoRomeo > > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDzEf57Ad80cVKOiLZLB7w/videos > _________________ > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband > Reflector > _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
