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Solar minimum got you down?

Not so much local, as what I get passing through different areas in southern California for work. There are only a handful of operators in the area & it's a crapshoot as to when their on.

Channel 19 is pretty much the same in the AV. But it's a good bet on Fri. If it's quiet, I just hit xmit till a trucker gets pissed.
 
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At least I'm not the only one noticing a lack of skip. I remember turning the radio on and you could get skip almost whenever back in the late 90s. Some nights the radio was almost useless for local.

I did catch a little this morning on 38LSB. Tried a few times, but only one ear is working right now so I couldn't pick up what he said to confirm if it was me or not - this ear infection thing is ridiculous!

We have a small group local here that uses 21AM. I get on there a lot and just listen - I am on the outer edge for most of them, I cannot reach them without help, about 15-20 miles away. Most of them can hear me though, and I them, but there are a couple that usually it is 1/2-2/3 of a conversation that I can hear.

19AM is hit and miss. I live 5 miles from the interstate, and travel it a lot, so it is usually drivers shooting the breeze as the pass thru on their way from Cleveland to the landfills down this way.

One thing I have wondered, talking about "then and now", i usually turn the squelch to 'just quiet', but lately it seems that there are a lot of bursts thru the squelch that I am constantly turning it higher and higher. I am not running the radios in my mobiles I used to run (90's DX88HL), I'm using a newer 2yo Cobra 25 and a 1.5 year old Uniden 520XL pro. Are the radios that much more sensitive to crap, or is there just that much more crap out there?? The 25 is on a 102 Whip, the 520 is on a Lil Wil... Both have the squelch up to at least the 1:00 position, used to be rare to go over the 11:00.
 
Actually, I'm kinda enjoying the lull in solar activity. It allows me to be able to chat & bs with the locals, even the slightly distant ones. I have been able to chat with Hawai'i while running down the road. Even as brief as it was. It has VERY enjoyable to hear a couple of people out in the middle of nowhere having a little chat, instead of listening to the 'Superbowl bleeding over from channel 6 to 38.
I have to agree. I like being able to hear local signals out to 30 miles or so. Even just to test out my rigs, base to mobil or mobil to mobil. Not to say it isnt fun making the trip from PA to Okc.
 
I like talking locally, but making the dx contact is more interesting to me. Even when there is great dx conditions you can still talk locally, you just need to find a quite frequency.
I was in Oklahoma Thursday and heard some skip coming in. I was able to make two contacts. One to Arizona the other to Nevada. Good to know my radio still works.
 
Gotta have rain to appreciate the sun.. kinda like you gotta have the bottom of the cycle to appreciate the peak..
Very wise words. I missed the last peak. Was working 12 hour shifts with a 90 mile drive each way. Different priorities then.
 

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