Ha, just saw you on 15m! 

Just following up -- I've been playing with this mode quite a bit now.  It can be a little addicting, I think.  On the downside, there's zero personal information exchanged.  I mean zero, unless you can squeeze your life story into 13 characters, ha!  I've filled the gap by sending an occasional post-QSO email.

On the plus side, it seems very efficient, though time consuming, and affords the ability to connect around the world with a pretty humble set up. Also it's possible to set up remote desktop on your rig PC and monitor or QSO from any room from the house... OR maybe even from work (?).  :-)

73,

Chuck

Thanks, Doc!  I'm running windoze, though of course I have a great affinity for Linux (I'm a web developer).  I run HRD logging when running other modes and I guess I'd be stuck doing "double entry" for my logging activities, though I guess it isn't that much of a hassle.  I did make a few contacts last night, though not really using a great rig interface.  I just ran an output line from my laptop to my W2IHY EQ box input and put the rig on VOX.  Seemed to work.  The http://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html PSK reporter map had me all over the place, which was really very cool.  Excited about this mode, it seems like lots of fun.

I got the software last night and monitored a bit.  What's amazing is how many calls I could see, even though it didn't appear to the ear to be that many actually on frequency.  What's the reasoning why the clock sync needs to be so perfect?  Just curious.

That's just my own ignorance, when I recorded the video.  I'm looking into the software though to check it out. Looks like a fun mode to get into.

Terrific.  Thanks!

The audio is a little low, feel free to adjust:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwd9DmN8Cxs

Sorry for the "NOOB" question.  I've been trying to identify this digital mode, I know it isn't Olivia, some kind of FSK.  MT63?  It's been quite active all day in this area of 40 meters.

Thanks for any info!

73,

Chuck
W1CEW

Don't you know... there's some huge market of people envious of ham radio operators who have bad dietary habits!  Weird.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7dy8/velveeta-ham-radio-guy

Anybody see this commercial?  I have no idea what they were thinking.  I always thought this cheese was gross!

73,

Chuck
W1CEW

I did work 1A0C on 20 and 17 in the last 24 hours so I shouldn't feel too badly about it!

Must be a cluster boo-boo, to put it nicely.     Thanks so much and 73.

I've been hamming for 30+ years and haven't worked Antartica, but stumbled across this station in the cluster this evening.  Any sense of whether this station is in Chile versus Antartica?

Thanks so much and 73,

Chuck

I've got my extended monitor set up to the left of my "main" monitor and it does save windows (WinXP OS).  The issue I have is that the system wants me to drag to the right, which is counter-intuitive since my monitor is on the left!

I noticed the opening last night as well, and it seems to have coincided with a meteor shower (?), though I'm not sure if the opening was sparked by that?

Right now my only antenna is a 40 meter delta loop, fed at the bottom apex, long flat horizontal part between two trees.  I'm suspicious that it might favor vertical polarization on higher bands though, I'm thinking about some other DIY option for 6 meter DX operation.

-Chuck

Well, I did end up opening this puppy up and found that the surge resistor wired into the parasitic suppressors (which I believe is a mod) was disconnected from "lug 2."  So the parasitic suppressors themselves were completely disconnected.  Reconnected and now things are working.  Yay.  Testing on 40 meters, I'm seeing a carrier output of just under 200 watts, and can whistle-up maybe just under 400 watts.  I think that's maybe 30-50% shy or more what it should be. Found some relevant thoughts here: http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?225896-Heathkit-SB-200-Power-Out.

Thanks all for your input (so to speak!).  
-Chuck