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6m – past the best?
7 July 2014 | by I am beginning to think that 6m is now past its best both for Es opportunities and, of course, for F2 propagation. Almost zero Es on 6m in the last few days, mainly locals and a little GDX. I may give it a few more days before QSYing back down to 10m where both Es and F2 DX are more plentiful.
10m conditions should be good for N-S F2. Sunspot count is 256 (high) and 20-30MHz propagation is forecast to be “normal”.
If anything, solar activity has staged a bit of a comeback lately, but this may be just a blip.
UPDATE 1545z: As if to persuade me to stay on 6m, CN8LI (2113km) was spotted at 1450z.
UPDATE 1810z: No more Es here since CN8LI at 1450z. One blog reader tells me that I should try JT65 as there is more activity. JT9-1 worked well for me on MF with international 2-way QSOs with very low mW ERP. I think JT65 is more commonly used on 6m?
One Response to “6m – past the best?”
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I am beginning to think you are right Roger, as the only Es I have worked was last Wednesday July 2nd into Spain, the Balearics, France and Slovenia. A sign of the times is that I got eQSLs from France and Slovenia within half an hour of the contacts. The Slovenian station told me that I was the 211th British station he had worked that morning so far at 1100 Z. I get the emails from DX Maps umpteen times a day and rush to the radio just to hear noise and no hint of anyone else.
This year has been a wash out for me. Is it me or what?