Listicles are always good reading and with six meters really hopping during this sporadic E season, it’s good to look up what the magic band has brought me over the years.
While I’d been thinking about this blog entry for a while, what really prompted me was working GM3POI this week for my first six meter European contact. We used FT8 for the contact and I was running 100 watts into a vertical dipole. When the band is open, it’s open with nearly any antenna you can put in the air.
After that contact, I ran through my logbook and compiled a list of firsts. That includes my longest contact, ZL1RS, as well as a few firsts including Transequatorial Propagation and Meteor Scatter. Here’s the table:
| Station | Date | Mode | Antenna | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZL1RS | Dec-2014 | CW | Moxon | 7,434 | Longest Distance |
| JA1UAV | Jun-2017 | JT65 | Moxon | 6,430 | First Japan/Asia |
| GM3POI | Jul-2018 | FT8 | Vertical Dipole | 4,447 | First Europe |
| LU4FPZ | Sep-2014 | CW | Attic Dipole | 5,132 | First TEP Opening |
| CX5BL | Sep-2014 | JT65 | Attic Dipole | 5,282 | First Uruguay |
| PY3PR | Feb-2015 | CW | Moxon | 5,314 | First Brazil |
| ZP6CW | Feb-2015 | CW | Moxon | 4,806 | First Paraguay |
| CE2AWW | Feb-2015 | CW | Moxon | 4,846 | First Chile |
| EA8DBM | Jun-2017 | JT65 | Moxon | 4,667 | First Africa |
| OA4TT | Feb-2015 | CW | Moxon | 3,457 | First Peru |
| WA4CQG | Dec-2014 | FSK441 | Moxon | 672 | First MS Contact |
| AC0RA | Jun-2018 | MSK144 | Moxon | 509 | Very Rare Grid EL58 |
Well, you can see that it’s actually twelve QSOs. I guess that’s just bonus content. Another thing that you might notice is that many of these contacts are CW rather than the current popular digital modes.
I’ll also note that I miss JT65 as it can really go down into the noise to pick up those distant stations — who can also hear you better. While I’ve managed to work some long distant contacts on FT8, what I find it more useful for is filling in many new relatively nearby grid squares. That, by the way, has brought my confirmed grid total on six meters to 401 as of today.
About two years ago I thought I’d never make it above 300 when I’d stalled out at 296. FT8 has made all the difference first in facilitating weak signal contacts and second in attracting many more people to six meters to make those contacts and activate many new grid squares. That has been fun.
If I haven’t yet worked you on six meters, I look forward to it. If I have worked you, thanks for the grids.
