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11 meter is very quiet?
- Thread starter Tweetybird
- Start date
Several contacts into Europe today and one into Republic of Cape Verde very cool thats a small island off coast of Africa. 205AT038 Rauol said he is the only operator on the island made my day.
DX is one of the things totally new to me and I’m still trying to understand how contacts are made. I do get that conditions have to be right. ie. solar activity. I’m guessing dxing is what back in the day we called shooting skip. There are too many AM and SSB channels to be able to monitor all of them. What’s the trick? Are there certain frequencies/channels that are more popular than others? Is a ground plane a sufficient antenna or do I need a beam to make the contacts? I do have a couple of different amps available to use if that helps. Regular local traffic is dead around the KC area.
These last few days have been awesome due to the sun. Skip is big time at the moment.
During skip I monitor 38 lsb. Ch6 AM has all the mega-watt guys gettin’ down. So I usually don’t have a chance.
Antenna is almost everything. You can run an amp but if your antenna isn’t correct running more watts is useless. I run a Sirio 5000 Performer on a magmount on top of my truck with a little “help”.
Just call out or tell that station they are making the trip to (Insert location and your call #) If you don’t call out you won’t know if someone can hear you.
Thanks for the info. How does does one go about getting a callsign. Back in my day they were assigned by the FCC but no one used them. They just used their made up handles. I have noticed while reading up on ssb and dx that everyone seems to be using a number or combination of letters and numbers. Antenna wise I have a new but finely tuned Maco V58. Right now it’s only mounted on a temporary mast about 10’ from ground to base of antenna. I’m working on a 36’ mast now. I also have an old Shakespeare Big Stick that I could put up. I have recently read somewhere that they make decent antennas for dxing and they are mounted close to the ground to get the signal going up instead of out. I’m a little confused by all that but I’ll learn. I’m proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks! lol
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SSB guys just make up a call. The numbers are easy to make out in a pileup.I use something like 878Connecticut. So when people call back 878 they already know what state I am in.
AM guys mostly use handles but I hear them doing the numbers thing also.
I normally leave the radio parked on 38lsb.
Shadetree Mechanic
Delaware Base Station 808
For international dx, people just make something up if they are not part of a club. I am 2 Delta Echo 808. The 2 is for the USA division 2, DE is Delaware and 808 is the local handle I go by. The channels around 38 lower side band are a good place to start. For dx to another state, I use 808 Central Delaware. Just about every other AM channel will have some traffic when conditions are good.
For equipment, run what you got because the conditions do all the work. If you want to upgrade, this hobby can get real expensive real quick. It doesn't have to be expensive though, I buy most of my equipment second hand.
http://fldx.org/site/11m-dx-howto.php
For equipment, run what you got because the conditions do all the work. If you want to upgrade, this hobby can get real expensive real quick. It doesn't have to be expensive though, I buy most of my equipment second hand.
http://fldx.org/site/11m-dx-howto.php
Shadetree Mechanic
Delaware Base Station 808
S&W357
$upporting Member KO4RJD....WDX-556
Yeh...what they said. I usually talk Skip on SSB. Stateside USA skip I go by 556 North Carolina. International stuff I go by 2NC556 (2 November Charlie 556) for all the same reasons Shadetree Mechanic stated. Each country has their own division number...some people don't use them but most do.
Have fun
Have fun
Hearing Steven 124 South Africa real good here in CT but can’t bust the pileup 
Maine, Maine and more Maine lol. Scorcher too. That old man is funny af...
Shadetree Mechanic
Delaware Base Station 808
I was hearing him too. I wish the ratchet jaws would QSY.Hearing Steven 124 South Africa real good here in CT but can’t bust the pileup
I've got both coasts at the same time. Maine to Nevada at the moment on 28