Hotbeds of CW activity?

[N8TI]

I ragchew on 80 meters, 3.54 - 3.55 each night. Where are the other spots where there is a lot of activity?  It seems like 30 meters is empty at night. Where on the bands do you guys hang out when looking for a QSO?

Joe

[N3QE]

Most of what I do is centered around 40M:

40M casual DX'ing (more than just 599TU but not necessarily true ragchewing) from 7000 through 7025 late afternoon through evening

40M casual, ragchew and QRP activity 7025 through 7035 mostly evenings

From 7035 on up a ways is mostly a dead zone of PSK31 and other digital modes but there are some persistent CW'ers who show up there too :-)

There's scattered CW above the PSK31 dead zone but (mostly out of habit) I don't spin the dial up there very often.

There are early morning 40M guys too (often high-speed CW) but I rarely jump in

80M evenings 3025 through 3040 (although there is a lot less activity than just a few years ago; I don't notice the fall-off on 40M so much)

During christmas break from work I casually moved through the 10M/12M/15M/17M/20M bands in the local daytime and was pretty impressed.

There are some regular/semi-regular evening CW very-low-key-QSO-party type events I like to take part in: NCCC sprints Thursday nights, NAQCC activities, SKN. NAQCC stuff for me tends to be 40M unless it's like the 160M night.

[K3STX]

40M casual, ragchew and QRP activity 7025 through 7035 mostly evenings.

BINGO!
paul

[KB9BVN]

Lately I have been spending most of my 40m CW time on 7100-7120....particularly 7018.

73

[W1JKA]

   Ditto both above.

[NR0U]

Lately I have been spending most of my 40m CW time on 7100-7120....particularly 7018.

73

I agree with BVN, have seen an increase in activity in the "slow zone" which is quite
nice.  Pretty frequent SKCC folks and others at 7100-7120.

Lance

[2E0OZI]

7.025 to 7.035 is where I'm probably going to have my first CW QSO by the look of it....

[W5ESE]

80M evenings 3025 through 3040 (although there is a lot less activity than just a few years ago; I don't notice the fall-off on 40M so much)

When I was a Novice and new General (1976-1977), you could make 80m Novice
band contacts in the mid-afternoon in the winter.

I had forgotten about that, until I spent some time leafing through my novice logbook.

Quite a stark contrast to today; when 80m CW is vacant locally after about 9 AM.

[NK6Q]

20 meters daytime.  Ragchewing around 14.050 and up, to maybe 14.063.  RTTY above that.  Mostly faster ops 14.040 on down, where some DX is chased.

Interesting obsevation: DX pileups occur regularly around 14.058. 

[N8TI]

I wish all the cw ops would try to make at least 1 contact a day. I think we spend too much time on the computers talking about Ham radio and not enough time actually doing ham radio.

Joe

[KC9TNH]

I wish all the cw ops would try to make at least 1 contact a day. I think we spend too much time on the computers talking about Ham radio and not enough time actually doing ham radio.

Joe

Woke up both weekend days and the world hadn't ended due to TEOTWAWKI CME from the big orange candle in the sky. So... not being able to father an amp on my own I've decided to adopt and prepared a couple of things (ground, xmit relay cable) in anticipating its arrival. Then critiqued & congratulated a friend on his antenna-building foray. While hands were wringing over "the bands! the bands!" I played CW from 15-80, all over, day/night, when not otherwise occupied. The hotbed this past weekend was in my commo bunker.
 

[N5MAV]

I wish all the cw ops would try to make at least 1 contact a day. I think we spend too much time on the computers talking about Ham radio and not enough time actually doing ham radio.

Joe

Well said, Joe.  I never break the 10wpm wall because I get busy with something else and don't get on the air with CW for weeks or months.  I got into PSK31 and made matters worse!  One QSO per day would be perfect.  I think you're on to a "club" idea similar to WAS.