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1-10 of 18 messages
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Your Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 23?
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by KY6R on April 9, 2008
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For me - 40M has almost caught up with the "common" most productive band - 20M since we have hit the bottom of cycle 23.
What has been your most productive band at the bottom of the cycle - is it still 20M?
Rich
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RE: Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 23
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by N3OX on April 9, 2008
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You know, for all time new ones, 30/40 were probably my best when I was living in apartment, but honestly, looking back over the last couple years or so and looking at all-time new, this is what I got for the FIRST band worked for these all time new:
15m: ZL8
17m: TX5, N8S
20m: YU6, YV0
40m: VP6, 3B7, VU7
75m: FJ ( ;-) )
So 40m works well, but 17m and 15m still have some kick for Pacific stuff, especially, and even the higher bands are still yielding band countries (worked 4U1 Geneva on 15 RTTY maybe 6 months ago, CE0Z on 12m). I don't have big antennas for those bands.
I got TX5 and VP6 all over, all the way up to 12m in both cases.
I've been concentrating on band countries and trying to hit 160m and 80m hard the last couple years, to date, I've gone from 39 to 128 worked on 80, and 13 to 93 worked on 160... so the low bands are very productive, but I've been trying hard down there and keeping good track of my progress. I worked VP6 and YV0 on 160m, TX5, VP6, YU6 and 3B7 and YV0 on 80m, so if I'd been neglecting the high bands entirely, I wouldn't have missed too many of those all time new ones that I listed. All that I listed were worked somewhere below 20m in addition to the first QSOs listed there, so if I'd only been working 30m and down it would seem 30m and down were the best to be on!
The thing I'm missing out on is the over-the-pole SE Asian stuff I still need. I don't have enough station to reliably work there on the low bands, and don't have frequent enough and long enough openings to get there on the high bands... so I still need XY and XX9 and Spratly and so forth. If I were a bigger gun on 40m that would likely help that.
But otherwise, I've been finding fun, needed DX on all the bands now and again. I do miss working Indonesia from my dorm room on 10m like I could in 2000 ;-)
73,
Dan
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RE: Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 23
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by KY6R on April 9, 2008
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It is amazing when 80M at the bottom of the cycle sounds more like 20M at the top of the cycle. The last 3 or 4 winters made me love 80M - that;'s for sure. But - anything from 80 - 30M sure is great at the bottom of the cycle.
I think there is a lot more on 160M on the East Coast than West Coast, but I've really not tried 160M much at all.
I remember December and January 2005 and 2006 - when during the grey line, you could easily work DXCC on those bands in 2 months. EU was pounding in here - and I haven't heard that happen since. Radar sure ended that, but I also think the bands haven't been as good since then. Maybe the MUF caused DX to appear more on 80M ????
I am now starting to think 6M - now that's a band I'd like to play in / with. I do have 80M DXCC - but hardly anything on 160 or 6M.
73,
Rich
KY6R
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RE: Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 23
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by N3OX on April 9, 2008
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"I think there is a lot more on 160M on the East Coast than West Coast, but I've really not tried 160M much at all."
True. The pacific is not well represented by resident hams on the low bands. Europe is, and the Carribean is a potshot from here.
"The last 3 or 4 winters made me love 80M - that;'s for sure"
I have very little frame of reference on 80 because I went from a 30 foot high inverted Vee at my parents' place up through 2001, but only summers and Christmas breaks in college, to being in an apartment with a 25-30 foot high 100 foot magnet wire doublet, to my current setup which includes a full-size 1/4 wave vertical ;-)
So 80m has been great for me the past couple of winters, and I can work some good stuff even with 100W... but my station is SO much better now than it was in winters prior to 2006 that a comparison is pretty much impossible.
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RE: Your Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 2
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by NU4B on April 9, 2008
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From 04/09/07 to 04/09/08 which I hope includes a bottom last October:
80 - 32 countries worked
40 - 100 countries worked
30 - 26 countries worked
20 - 98 countries worked
17 - 25 countries worked
15 - 51 countries worked
12 - 6 countries worked
10 - 7 countries worked
Looks like 40 is the winner.
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RE: Your Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 2
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by KY6R on April 9, 2008
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NU4B: I think the 15M results are almost the most surprising. But I know that I worked 5A7A, KP5 and I think the VU7 first on 15M - then on other bands. The openings (if I remember correctly) were maybe 10 minutes max - but for those 10 minutes, pretty clear, actually.
Maybe because I had the patience to wait until a signal popped up from the noise? It was eerie - no pileups at all.
That's when DX-ing is really fun!
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RE: Your Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 2
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by KA3NRX on April 10, 2008
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I will be pursuing a mixed (CW & SSB) 40 meter DXCC. Does that tell you anything????....;-D....
Vince P
KA3NRX
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RE: Your Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 2
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by W5GA on April 10, 2008
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My numbers are for 04/07/07 - 04/07/08
160 = 5
80 = 113
40 = 154
30 = 21
20 = 132
17 = 29
15 = 101
12 = 4
10 = 24
I would say that being only 76 entities away from a 5 band DXCC at the absolute bottom of the cycle isn't too bad. And I'm definitely no superstation either. This was all done with either a ground mounted 4-BTV w/46 radials, or an 80 inverted vee up about 45', and QRO.
73, Doug W5GA
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RE: Your Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 2
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by W5GA on April 10, 2008
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Also, the most memorable QSO was working V51AS on 10m this last Nov. during the CQWW CW. About a 5 minute opening, and then gone.
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RE: Your Most Productive Band at Bottom of Cycle 2
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by N3OX on April 10, 2008
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"I think the 15M results are almost the most surprising"
Of course I was constantly working VU, HS, HL, BY, JA on 15m at the sunspot peak where now I get the occasional new one in Africa or the Pacific there... and static most of the time.
The lack of trans-polar openings for small-antenna stations like myself on 15m is probably really hurting my ability to work needed new ones. I miss 15m. But it's still worth CHECKING all the time.
Dan
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