I hear VK/ZL almost every morning from here on 40 meters around 0900-1000 Z. If you look at where the terminator is, usually they are still in darkness and we are maybe an hour past sunrise. In most cases the path to them and the terminator is about 90 degrees as viewed on an azimuthal projection. This supports the sunrise enhancement theory. This kind path is also described in "Low Band DXing" He makes the argument that signals coming from the west are louder since the E-layer has built up East of the terminator and "blocks" the noise from that direction, increasing the S/N level from the West. VK/ZL signals are usually stable and S3 to S5 during this period (higher no doubt with a better antenna) with a fade out as the sun climbs into the sky.

On the other hand, I have worked into Europe via true grayline where the signals come out of nowhere and are S9 for a period of tens of minutes, fading quickly to zilch as the "window" passes. They seem to have more fading than sunrise/sunset enhancement types, but are very efficient. You can do Europe via QRP this way.

KA2P

I would pick up a used Bencher BY-type. I used one for a couple of months and to be honest it felt just as good as my Begali (read: I am not good enough to tell the difference). In addition, Benchers are very common so if you go to another shack to operate, you will feel right at home.

KA2P

I send left handed with dahs on my thumb. I get many strange looks from the OT but I have no problem guest operating--I just slide the paddles over to the other side of the table.

I find this nice because it frees up my right hand for messing with the radio or clicking a mouse.

Those are the kind of maxims I was looking for. There are so many combinations of time of day, season, and terminator position it almost boggles the mind.

"Pointing over the North Pole to Eastern Russia at 0100 Zulu means it is morning over there. A good time to find operators at their radios."

I was looking at this on VOAProp. How much does the season affect the opening? January they are on the terminator but not in June.

"Long path to India at 0300 Zulu in the winter time gives you a good daylight path over much of the route. "

I noticed the long path in summer is also well lit. Is it open during this time as well? I know summertime is generally not favored due to higher recombination rates, but W9KNI talked about summer quite often in his book.

In "Hello World" they said something that I had never heard before; that DX during low sunspots allowed for longer skip because the apex of the refraction will be higher due to lower ion density.

I honestly don't see a lot of discussion about specific paths like this anywhere. Usually only the very basics of propagation are discussed and seem to be missing most of the juicy details.

I don't like to cross post but I had zero responses to my question over at QRZ so here goes.

Been reading through "Hello World" and "The Complete DXer" and they both have me dreaming of DX. These books talk a lot about propagation but never go into much detail.

These guys did not have fancy computer programs to show them openings. It seems they acquired the knowledge through on-air conversation and trial-and-error.

I tried to model their maxims such as, "if you want to talk to the Pacific, you must get up early." I assumed a few things and ran the numbers. Indeed that combination of time and direction seems to provide solid openings on 20 meters, assuming the solar flux is high enough.

My question is this: How much can you skew the path with a beam? That is, if the band is open to the S. Pacific at such and such time, can you point it 45 degrees away and "brute force" an opening where there is none? Or, does a beam just provide you with increased gain but no ability to skew the propagation path (i.e., what's open is open and that's it)?

Also, if you have such a high gain, how do you decide where to point it? How much does F/B and F/S ratio matter? Contesting with one sounds tricky!

I notice there is definitely a high level of skill involved in fully exploiting a beam's capabilities. It seems most just set it to EU and let it rust on the tower.

73,

Kirk

I've heard a similar "hall" effect and wondered what the cause is. I would call it CW with a "studio audio" sound like it was played in a room. That's the best way I can explain it.

All the different CW sounds are great and it's fun to hear buzzing and chirpy cw--you know it's likely DX or an old boat anchor.

ac adapters are notorious sources of rf noise. My first thought would be to put an RF choke on the adapter cable.

Not sure why, but I've tried several versions of tqsl and they all crash when I try to sign an ADIF file. I'm using a Mac with 10.4.8. Everything else seems to work just fine.

Well guys, thanks for the good info. I apologize for the initial confusion but we eventually got on same page. I thought I had the propagation thing figured out from SWLing,  but the added dimension of a two-way QSO is an entirely different beast. So much to learn. cu on the bands!

73, Kirk

If Neo was hear he'd say "Woah." I did not mean to imply that I started talking about my interest in collecting toenails, but that some of my QSOs started off fine and ended up with no response from the other guy after a simple exchange. They weren't trying to end it, they just disappeared. This was more a propagation question than anything else...I obviously struck an ill-sounding chord with some of you.

73, Kirk

I finally got on HF last weekend and have tried to make a QSO every night.  Something that is frustrating me is that I'll CQ, somebody will answer, we'll get through the basics, and then poof, they are gone! No ragchew for you!

I call and call thinking they might come back, but no such luck. Is this just bad propagation on 40 meters or am I doing something wrong? These are guys who are 579 or better when they answer.

73, Kirk

I answered a CQ from WB8YZH on 40m tonight. I had a few mistakes but overall it went very well. The best part is that my "paddles" were two component leads soldered to a bare plug that I stuck in the back of my K2. It worked surprisingly well!

73,

Kirk

At first I was excited about the ease of obtaining an Extra class license. As a tech+, all I need is to pass two tests and the entire spectrum is mine. My K2 is almost built and I know there is plenty of CW DX just waiting in the first 25 kHz...


***Puts on Flame Suit***

but as I was perusing the vanity call database trying on calls,("hey hon, do you like the way this sounds?"), I realized that many of those Extra calls were likely SK. OM who worked their way up the old-fashioned way; to them, those extra kHz meant something.  

I got the feeling that just because I could easily pass the tests (largely due to my educational background), I shouldn't until I actually have some operating under my belt, like working some DX or building a few antennas.

I feel that if I am going to take some SK's call, that I'd better be a good operator and know my stuff.

**********************

So, should I (A) forget the past and upgrade to Extra, or (B) pause at General and smell the solder?

At what point did people in the past decide to upgrade from General?

Looks pretty good. I have a similar row of shrubbery that borders my lot. I might give this a try instead of putting up a low dipole. What kind of SWRs are you getting? Are you putting out a decent signal?

Thanks for all the information, especially the link to the filters. What is the qualitative difference between a 250 Hz and a 500 Hz filter? Does the 250 have a different shape than the 500 or just half the width? My plan is to operate CW exclusively on 20m until I have the room to put up a 40m antenna that won't just warm clouds.  ;-)