[MiQP-Mail] Work 80M!

[Jimk8mr at aol.com]

I, too, agree.
 
Unfortunately at the solar minimum there just isn't enough flux to heat the  
ionosphere to the point that 40 meter signals will go straight up and come  
straight back down.  In a year or two we shouldn't have to worry  about this - 
40 will once again work in state.
 
But in the meanwhile, 80/75 will likely be how someone can work guys within  
300 miles. Even as a mobile,  I have stopped worrying about 10 meters and  
installed the Hustler 75 meter resonator full time. Since then I have had more  
SSB qsos on 75 than on 40 and 20 combined in the 2006 Ohio and Pennsylvania QSO 
 Parties.
 
I have also determined that I can run both 75 and 80 meter antennas as a  
mobile. There is some interaction, but the IC-746 tuner seems to handle  that.
 
I plan to have 75 meters full time, and may even occasionally swap out the  
20 meter HamStick in favor of the 80 CW one during daytime hours. After 20  
closes I'll have both 80 and 75 full time, so will be able to QSY for both  modes 
on 80.
 
Just please don't completely abandon 40 and 20 - there are lots of people  
outside Michigan who want to work us too!
 
73  -  Jim  K8MR
 
Mobile somewhere, with some callsign, in Michigan on April 21
 
 
 
 
 
In a message dated 3/19/2007 5:19:39 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
k8cc at comcast.net writes:

Todd  Fonstad wrote:
> John Getz, AD8J, posted:
>
> "The other  thing that was interesting, in VA, was the amount of daytime
> activity  on 75/80.  When I operate from LEEL next month, I will make it a
>  point to be on 75/80 some during daylight."
>
> John is absolutely  correct!  In the WIQP on March 11, I began working
> close-in  stations (including many county multipliers) as early as 1:35 pm
> CDT  (contest started at 1 pm). This was from the mobile with a mag-mounted
>  75-meter Hamstick with an alligator clip at the end of the stinger to  
bring
> resonance down to 3550 KHz. By 6 pm, I was not only continuing  to work WI
> counties and the upper Midwest, but was getting calls from  stations as far
> away as ME and FL. In the last hour (7 to 8 pm CDT), I  made 70 Q's on 80M.
>
> I think it was two years ago in the MIQP  that 80M was wonderful the last 
few
> hours of the 'test. I was sitting  in some little 'burg in the UP just 
having
> a blast on that  band.
>
> With some luck (wx, family schedule, etc.), I'll be back  doing the solo
> mobile in the UP this year. And ... I'll have three  antennas ready to 
switch
> to instantaneously ... 20, 40, and 80 and  will work each of those bands 
from
> the git-go.
>
>  73
> Todd
> N9NE
>   
I remember in the 1999  MiQP (the first time W8MJ and I went mobile) that 
40M was so bad from a  flare that people were successfully running MiQP 
QSOs on 80/75 in the  second hour of the contest.  When we're done our 
K8MQP multis, we  have a full time station on 80/75 starting around 20Z 
(4:00 PM  local).  It's broad daylight, but signals are not bad and more  
importantly, most are of short skip to in-state stations (many of which  
are valuable multipliers).  80/75 is a GREAT MiQP band!

We've  seen the same thing (80/75 good early) for the same reasons during 
the  OhQP in August.

So don't neglect to  check 80/75  early!

73,

Dave/K8CC








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