I tried working John AE5X who was doing a stint on 40 Meters tonight as K6JSS/5. No joy. I saw him post himself on QRPSPOTS around 00:30 UTC and tried answering his CQs for about a half an hour.
He was about 229 - 339 in NJ with plenty of QSB; and since he didn't hear me - I guess I was even less on the flip side! The good thing is that there's still plenty of time to get K6JSS/5 in the log. I will keep trying every night this week and even during the day this coming weekend if time allows.
I'm thinking that at night, it might actually turn out that 80 Meters might be my best shot. The band has been soooo noisy here this winter, though. If K6JSS/5 were to call CQ on 80 Meters, they might have to be 569 or better for me to even hear them in the muck that I am witnessing. A few years ago, the band was so quiet that a decent signal stood out like a beam of light in the darkness. Even the weak ones were easy to 'bear down" and listen for. This year the band is full of loud, whooshing background noise; and weak signals are just getting sucked up in the soup.
However, the fun is in the challenge; and I think that Texas this week just might be a good challenge. There's nothing more satisfying than meeting the challenge and mastering it. If it were easy, it would be boring and not as satisfying. That's what QRP is all about.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Larry, we just ended a 24-hour rain with all the QRN that implies. I'll be on again tomorrow and in full force Wed-Sat.
ReplyDeleteI think some othet ops will also begin their stints soon as well.
73,
John
Good morning Larry, you hit the nail on the head....it was the challenge of QRP that attracted me to it as well. I find you really get to know your radio well too. knowing how to use your rig to dig out a signal sure is a challenge and then there making contact to boot. Good luck with K6JSS/5 I am going to give it a go this weekend.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteThanks, but I think the problem is on my end - not yours! And as you're losing your rain QRN, it looks like we'll be getting some heavy duty snow QRN here.
Take care!
Larry W2LJ