I sat at the table for what felt like an eternity, twiddling the dial, changing bands, looking for someone, anyone to work. Calling CQ netted nothing. Finally on 20 Meters I heard YV5DTJ, Carlos from Venezuela who was booming in, I called him several times; but this was one of those instances where propagation was not reciprocal. You send your call and you get a "CQ" in your face enough times, you take the hint.
A little further on down the band I heard LZ3ND calling CQ. Nowhere as strong as YV5DTJ, but calling and calling with no takers. So I decided to give it a shot and ....... BINGO! Got answered on my first call. Go figure.
Nikolay was the only QSO of the day. I figured with it being summer time and some people on vacation, the bands might be a bit busy. Nope, they were deader than a door nail. Maybe more towards evening time they get busier? I remember during my Novice days that it seemed like finding an empty spot on the bands any time during the day was a chore. Back then, if the band was a dead as they are now, we would have attributed that to an intense solar storm.
So with the bleak outlook of activity looming over my shoulder, what did I do? I did the only thing a sensible Ham would do - I purchased another HF rig! I went online and ordered a 20 Meter QCX+ to go with my 40 Meter QCX (which is still in the box). Someday, I'm going to have a lot of solder melting to do. Hopefully soon. But for now, this week at least, I'll ply the bands every afternoon - looking for someone to QSO with.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
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