My first post in a year and a half. A lot has happened since then.
I moved from Southern Oregon back to my home state of Texas. I now live 46 miles southwest of where I lived before I retired and moved west.
Finally, after 53 days over 100 degrees and half being over 105, I think Summer might be coming to an end here in North Texas. After the Summer of 2011 I swore I had had enough of this heat. When I retired 9 years ago, I really wanted to leave this state. We made the upper desert of Arizona home for 5 years. Put up and vastly improved my station (antennas, feedlines and a new rig) and made around 5,000 QSOs. WSJT-X was taking over the Ham World and I was having to adjust my operating habits.
In 2019, our daughter returned to Texas and we then decided to move to Southern Oregon. I left behind a lot of old antenna stuff for recycle, but kept the good stuff in hopes that I would put it back up in Oregon. A little birdy told me it wouldn’t go back up. I managed to put up a scaled down version of what I had in Arizona. DXing wasn’t easy due to a hill and mountain to my north and east, but working Japan on 6 Meters on two occasions removed a major Bucket List item. A new rig helped me focus on more than one Band at a time in the new Digital world.
After 3 years, we decided to end our western journey and return to Texas. The loss was that all of my fixed station antennas, masts and the tower were sold or went to scrap. About 30-50 years of my prized collections became history. I kept all my antennas that could be used in Mobile or Portable operations. All the rigs, feedlines and most accessories went back to Texas with me.
Last December after a couple of months with our daughter, we moved to a nearby rental house. I put up an Outreach Vertical on an old Fan Stand and my Dual Band 2M/70CM Yagi on a Camera Stand and managed to make a fair number of QSOs on CW, FT8/4, RTTY and PSK31. I worked more Europeans in 30 minutes than I did in 3 years in Oregon. In March, I pulled the plug and moved into a new home in a HOA infested 55+ community SW of Ft. Worth. Once I got the Cable Pass-Thru's finished, I put up the Outreach back up, the Dual Band Yagi on a Speaker Stand and for 6 Meters a Squalo on another Speaker Stand. On June 10, I started back up adding to the totals I had back from 1978-2013.
During my trek out west, I had loaded or manually entered all of my logged QSOs in Texas into LogBook Of The World. I was a bad QSLer for a number of years. Luckily I had kept all of my logbooks and had printed or placed on computers about all of the logs from Contests I had played in. It took almost 5 years with major eye issues to key and load it in, 17,000 Texan QSOs are out there along with 9,000 ones from my western excursion. If you don't LOTW, my complete logs from Arizona and Oregon are also on eQSL. In addition, I check any entries from Texas before 2014 on eQSL and verify them on LOTW as well.
I officially became radio active on June 10, 2023 in what I figured would be a little challenging. I figured I would make do with with a very modest set-up. My first incident was that my TS-2000 Rig-Computer Interface didn't function after 3 moves. I guess Dell's Plug and Play, plugs and kills. The old RASCAL served me well. An emergency order for a SignaLink was placed. At least the 2000 went to SKCC WES CW duty and maybe some 2-Meter SSB. I would set my FT-891 at 30 watts out for some 6 Meter action in the June VHF Contest for all modes. A 6-Meter Squalo on a 7-foot speaker stand should be a challenge I thought. Wrong!
I have always been a fan of working Sporadic Es. While in Oregon the hills and mountains that surrounded a good portion of my home were a hinderance. Most of my U.S. openings were in a 45 degree path to my ESE to SSW. My clear paths to the horizon were westward. I worked more Alaska, Hawaii and Asia on Es than I did the Midwest U.S. The VHF Contest began and I started battling it out with the Big Guns.
I was shocked. I made 76 total QSOs into 40 or so Grid Squares on all 3 Modes (SSB, CW & FT8/4). I was very please to do some CW. That will always be my preferred mode on CW since most of the 6-Meter DXCC numbers I have were on CW. The results are modest, but this on just 30 Watts into a Squalo was not expected. I just about worked everybody I heard or decoded (FT8/FT4). I really don't care for FT8/FT4 Contesting, but it is what it is.
The Yaesu FT-891 with a SignaLink is as perfect a team member you can ask for. It's hooked up to a low-profile (office) used HP Desktop I picked up for $100 and also a Celeron Laptop the XYL had killed the keyboard. The PC's are is totally dedicated to Hamming, logging and LOTW/eQSL maintenance. It provides your old computers a new life and use. I now have 4 laptops available for use and any 2 one them have a Rig-Computer interface.
I received a new Signalink and it was immediately put to use on the TS-2000. I decided its primary function would be on the HF Bands for all modes and for 2-Meters if anything developed. The Yaesu FT-891 was to be dedicated to 6-Meters. I operated CW whenever I could find an event such as Field Day or the SKCC WES and a CWT here and there. Other than that, it was mostly FT8. FT4, RTTY and PSK31. I rarely picked up the microphone except for checking in to a couple of 2-Meter SSB Nets.
HF Bands 40-10M:
For the HF Bands, I repeated what I did last Winter at the rental property. I put up an Outreach 160-10 Meter Vertical on an old Fan Stand that I took with me from Oregon (minus the fan). It is a versatile antenna that you place a banana plug jumper for the band you wish to work. It is fed with a low-loss RG-8X. The antenna was not grounded due to the severe Heat this summer with no rain. It did have 4 ribbon cable ground wires measured for 20 through 10 Meters. Typically I rain 90 watts on SSB, 75 watts on CW, 60 watts on RTTY and 25-35 watts on FT8/FT4/PSK31.
We were blessed with lots of great Solar Activity and I managed to work some nice DX on the higher bands (20-10 Meters). 40 Meters was a little tough and understood with the lack of grounding, although I did work Europe a couple of times. Overall, when a CW event took place I worked CW (SKC WES, Field Day, CWT Sprints). Only a very few SSB QSO's and a nice mixture of PSK31, RTTY and FT8/FT4. There were no 100 Grid Counts, most near 70. 20 Meters had the most QSOs, followed by 15 and 10 Meters. 10 Meters was not as good as I thought it would be because 6 Meters was excellent. In the the PropNET days, I had noted the 10 Meter Sporadic Es propagation was much less in active solar cycle years. As August ended the higher bands were getting much more crowded and it was tougher making QSOs. The narrow band width for FT8 has made me do more FT4 and/or find a quieter band. I still believe there should be a Power limit on WSJT FTn modes and expand the band plans.
Results HF Bands 6/10-8/31/2023:
QSOs - 431 Total, 20M 193, 15M 133, 10M 76
Grid Squares - 20M 67, 15M 58, 10M 41
QSLs - 235 Total, 55% QSL Rate
6-Meters:
I was pleasantly surprised how well 6-Meters was this Summer. I expected to make a few QSOs when conditions were very good. I really had no idea that at least FT8 signals at the noise level (-15) would be worked most times. My policy is to never CQ except when I am trying to alert others (DX) the band is open. I avoided duplicating an earlier QSO. I spent a lot of time searching for new Grid Squares for the season. I was hoping to work a VUCC, but did not expect it. Boy, was I surprised.
Results 6-Meters 6/10 - 8/31/2023:
QSOs - 210 Total, 145 FT8/FT4
Grid Squares - Worked 142
DXCC - W, XE, CO, VE, V3, PJ4
QSLs - 167 Total, Grid Sq's 122, DXCC All, 80% LOTW QSL Rate
It was the most productive year for me since 2008, and might have been since 1987 the year of the World's Greatest Es Opening. On LOTW, it was the largest seasonal number of Grid Square QSLd. All done with 25-35 Watts out into a Squalo at 7 feet. Funny also is that it is fed with around 60 feet of old RG-8X.
2-Meters:
I am not a fan of FT8 on 2-Meters. The transmissions for that mode are too long for Sporadic Es. Whenever Es are on 2-Meters, most of the time it is like Meteor Scatter. Quick sequences work best. FT4 I believe has a better chance, but everyone is a bit FT8 crazy. I did not hear a single voice for the two VHF Contests. I gave in and handed out a few points in the VHF Contests. On 7/20 I was treated to my first 2-Meter Es opening in 6 years when I worked Ontario and Georgia on FT8. I also decoded signals from Virginia and Connecticut. I was running 40 watts into a Dual-Band 5-Element Yagi (Cushcraft A270-10) on a 7-foot high speaker stand. Keeping up with other FT8 users, all but one has QSLd.
Recap:
It was a fun Summer. I was pleased with the results despite no longer having much of a antenna system, nor power. I enjoy squeezing blood out of a turnip. As FT8 gets busier in the peaking of the Solar Cycle, I will be doing much more CW than fighting the crowds. I also see more FT4 in my future when FT8 becomes too much. I will be adding some antenna alternatives as time permits.
I no longer care to collect Wallpaper. The only ones that would see them is me. At my age, my legacy is making sure my logs are loaded into LOTW, eQSL and will be loading QRZ soon. I am having fun combining my QSL cards and LOTW to see what the counts are doing. Luckily I came back close to where I left and my favorite Award, VUCC counts will increase. I doubt I will ever acquire Fred Fish, but it would be nice to get closer. I also want more flavors of Worked All States and DXCC.
QSLs LOTW and Cards Combined:
QSL Data:
VUCC Grid Squares QSLd - 6M 349, 2M 142, 70CM 28
WAS - Mixed, CW
Almost WAS - 49 Phone, 48 Digital, 40 80M, 49 40M, 48 20M, 40 15M, 48 10M, 47 6M, 39 2M
Have fun. Enjoy the Bands
73 Art K7DWI ex-KA5DWI in N. Texas EM12ck
