The AM Forum

6M WIDE OPEN!!

No One on .400!

Gack!

KLC

Was it something I said??

T-storms and very heavy rain been blowing through here for the last hour or so. Everything disconnected!

I made 7 contacts yesterday around the country on 50.400 using my 10W Lafayette HA-460 w/D-104 and a Buddipole as horizontal dipole mounted to the top of the ceiling in the living room using a plant hanger!  Seems like my conditions where going  down south and over to southwest from Michigan.

I'm so angry I missed the summer openings.  After months and months of daily CQs on 50.4 I gave up for a month or two.   :'(

Its a  open now, no one on .400 'cept me.

klc


"now" means 1:40 Eastern.

It's been open almost every day for the last several weeks. I'm chasing European DX down at the low end of the band.

Wow, I must be living on a different planet or just have crummy luck.  I have heard no 6 meter activity from my QTH--just a beacon in Orlando.  I have been wishing for a 6 meter AM QSO for close to two years now and nothing outside a weekly QSO with a local ham.  I call CQs regularly and monitor the real time maps.  Sigh...  :( 

6 meters is open as I type:

Thanks, Pete.  No AM activity what-so-ever after putting out an hour worth of CQs.  I am using a 3 element Yagi up 40' and my Lettine 262... I've about had it with this band and the dearth of AM activity!   

I'm rebuilding the shack after the lightning incident, and hope to be active on 6 this summer and into the fall. I make a point of calling CQ on .400, and 'WIG, I'll point the beam towards Syracuse and we'll make it happen.   ;D

C

Klc

Open right now.


klc

   I have been calling CQ and monitoring 50.400 for days with no replies and no carriers heard.  This is during times DX maps shows opening to my area.

   Did work a K8 today on SSB and dragged him to .400 and had a brief QSO.

   Oh well, will keep trying.

   Ed

   

The online prop maps are lite up like downtown on a Saturday night.
And Im at work.   GACK!!

KLC

Been playing down the low end part of the evening. Band is still open and now opened to the west coast. I went up to 50.4 several times. Did hear a weak QSO on 50.4 (couldn't catch the calls) and another QSO (9 land stations) around 50.45. Called several CQ's around 50.380 but got no response. I worked several guys initially on SSB and then realized I was using my 80 meter inverted vee as the antenna. Their signals reports to me gave me a clue.  :D

I fired up my Clegg Zeus/Interceptor 6M AM station and gave a CQ on 50.4Mhz. W4ICU Alec came back to me from FL and we talked for about 15 minutes. Band was in very good shape.
73 Jerry W1ZB

I happened to see the posting so I fired up the new gear and worked North Dakota, Utah, California, and western Canada! Not bad for a first outing on six in a long while. I also called CQ on 50.4, even pointing the beam up to Syracuse  ;D, but no joy on AM.

Yes, another good day on six and no AM at all.  I was calling CQ for hours until practically blue in the face.  C'mon folks, dust off your Gonsets, Heathkits, and Cleggs and fire them up!

Over two years and still trying for a six meter AM QSO!

Hallelujah!  :)  I just made my first non-local contact on 6 meter AM.  I briefly spoke with a nice gentleman, W1CKI, with my Lettine 242 transmitter and Hallicrafters S-106 receiver.  Our conversation was brief as the band faded but Bill's Johnson 6N2 was sounding great.  The Lettine with a Shure 450 received a very nice audio report.

Throw a little VHF contest and some Sporadic E propagation into the mix and you have wall-to-wall 6 meter activity.

Big signals this morning in Texas. I worked a Wisconsin station on AM 50.4 with my Flex 3000 barefoot into an 80m OCF inverted V. That was my first 6m contact in several years. Some of the signals heard lower in frequency (SSB) were 20/9.

Jim
Wd5JKO

Want to work Europe, Iceland, maybe Africa, get on 6 meters now.

Its open now, 4PM DST.


klc

Lots of activity on phone and CW. Even some reported double hop.

I saw the post and fired up the Lettine after returning home from work.  I called CQ and received a response from K0QMR on 50.4!  Yes, I am hearing lots of SSB and CW activity!

There is life on 6M:

24 hours later, 6 meters is still open.
Forget 80 and 40 meters, 6 meters is where the action is:

http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/mapg.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&ML=M&Map=W2L&HF=N&DXC=ING2&GL=N

Groovy.



KLC

Yup, I can confirm that!  I made several AM contacts on 50.4 over the past few days.  It has been fun!  C'mon folks, get your Gonset, Ameco, Clegg, or whatever out of the closet and call CQ!  People are responding to my CQs; but there are a good number of stations monitoring and no one calling CQ!

I called CQ till I was blue in the face. Ohio must be a black hole.

Hearing no beacons except K8MMM at 50.010

You have to watch the prop maps to coordinate when you operate and might be successful. At roughly 8:30 PM tonight neither you or I(NJ) have any Sporadic E propagation. But, many other parts of the U.S. - WOW!

It has been fun!  The prop map has been a valuable tool.  We are experiencing great openings!  In all cases though, I am not hearing ANYONE calling CQ on 50.4.  All stations are responding to me with "I was listening and heard you calling CQ".

Finally some good action in Ohio. North/South path seems good. Will be calling CQ on 50.400 AM in 5 minutes from EN91gd.

Monitoring daily, Called CQ no replies

Anyone up on 6m?  Sunday eve' 22:22Z, Bill

I'm back after like a 2-3 year 6 meter hiatus. 6 meters was wide open today here in EN82. I checked into the 50.400 AM W4ICU Marianna, Florida 6 meter AM net on my recently acquired Clegg Zeus/Interceptor station and he had over 50 check-ins from all across the country, also including a guy on a flagship Icom 7851 rig, which sounded good.  The net lasted a long time!  I also made a quick contact on 52.525 FM to AC2N in EL89 with my 5 watt icom T8A HT hooked up to a MFJ 1728B mag mount slapped on the top of the fridge in my kitchen! That is the furthest I have talked with 5 watts so far on 6 FM.

I am on 50.4 just about everyday talking to locals in the evening and listen and call out during the day when I can here in EN82 southeast michigan about 16 miles north of downtown Detroit.

Hopefully we can make contact with some of you guys/girls out there

As I type, 4:54 PM EDT-2017Jun02, 6 meters is open from U.S. to Africa, South America, Central America, Caribbean, west coast, and northwest into Canada.

Get those rigs off the shelf and fire them up. At my location right now, 6 meters is more active then 20 meters.

Its wide open all over..


klc

Worked VE4VHF on cw!

VHF contest over now.

172 Q's CW
64 Q's SSB
4 Q's AM

All on 6 meters.

Fun weekend.

6 meters now is the place to have AM fun. Those old Gonset, Clegg, Knight rigs, etc. all work great on 6. Don't have a 6 meter antenna. Most of these old vintage 6 meter rigs have a pi-network output. Hook up your 160 or 75 meter antenna to them. 160 and 75 are dead during the day anyway. I worked Arizona Saturday with the Clegg Thor and my 75 meter inverted vee.

Below is 6 meters at roughly 4PM EDT today:

June 28, 2017, at 2PM EDT, big opening from entire Eastern U.S.(and some points West) to Europe and Africa.

Its open now.....  0 land into C NY on .405 KC

klc