40M dead?

[DonTom]

I have never seen the 40M band as dead as today. Not from anywhere. Not a single signal on the entire band from here. No CW, no SSB, not even any RTTY signals on the entire 40M band today. My QRN level seems perfectly normal, so I am receiving.

I would think it was the condx. But I check on Reverse Beacon. I am getting out just fine, to places such as Edmonton, Canada (VE6WZ) and several other places with a decent signal.

So it must be nobody is on the air but me today on 40M!

-Don- Ashland, OR

 

[HappyWanderer]

I haven’t been in shack today, so I don’t know how the bands are.

15 meters was open to Europe on Thursday, plus strong signals from across the US. A hopeful sign of things to come with the new cycle.

 

[DonTom]

I haven’t been in shack today, so I don’t know how the bands are.

15 meters was open to Europe on Thursday, plus strong signals from across the US. A hopeful sign of things to come with the new cycle.

Well, a few people got on 40M a few hours later and I had a few QSOs since then.

It was a bit rainy here today, so I spent more time inside than usual.


-Don- Ashland, OR

 

[John From Detroit]

40 meters is yo-yoing (up and down up and down)
Check 7183 long about 11:30 AM Eastern time. Tuesday or Friday

OIr 7272 most mornings (i like the Tue/Fri net better)7183 is run out of Buford GA (if I spelled it right near the Mall of GA or Lake Lanier (Two NCS's) One NCS runs a full gallon the other half that but I check in via VoIP as I don't have HF here.

I was playing around with a receiver though and 30 meters (Shortwave station) was solid on a short wire.

 

[DonTom]

40 meters is yo-yoing (up and down up and down)

Sure condx change, but often Reverse Beacon shows signals are getting out fine, just nobody on the air. Do you ever use Reverse Beacon?

73, -Don- AA6GA/7 Ashland, OR

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

RBN is da bomb, I use it when I operate mobile to see where I'm reaching. This past Field Day I used it to find a buddy of mine operating on 20M in WI. No way I'd find him the mayhem but RBN had him spotted and I found him right away. How cool is that?

With the past cycle, '40' is the new '20' and I was experiencing an open band all day. When it went long at night it often went dead but having daytime propagation I thought was a fair trade. Anymore though, when the band is "dead" tune through the FT8 frequencies. Odds are pretty good you'll hear something, seems most activity anymore is that mode to the exclusion of everything else. I haven't tried FT8 yet, I went to a forum about it when it came out and I guess I'm not wired for that kind of operating. But, like RBN it's a great indicator of propagation. Google "ft8 propagation map" and you'll see RBN type spots on steroids.

This weekend is Jamboree on the Air. Operating W5C from a bona fide New Mexico ghost town, Cabezon. Will start off on 40M SSB when I have kids around, maybe try PSK31 when it's quiet. DStar, FM sats and t-hunts as fill-in activity.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[DonTom]

No way I'd find him the mayhem but RBN had him spotted and I found him right away. How cool is that?

Yeah, I have also used the RBN to find other hams that way.

I just now got off 40M CW working K7NA, near Seattle. He was the only signal on the entire band but a good 599+ here into Ashland, OR. However, he was running 500W RF output to a long antenna up 80 feet. He gave me a 579 with my KX2 to a KXPA100 to a TW4040 on the ground right outside this RV.

It seems the band is doing fine, just not many on the air these days during the middle of the day unless there is a contest or something. I don't do contests. I rarely even work any DX. I got that out of my system back in the late 1960's when the bands were very hot and very active compared to these days. I mainly only rag chew these days. I just don't care for the ten second QSOs to prove a radio works, RBN does that job well enough for me.

73, -Don- AA6GA/7 Ashland, OR

 

[John From Detroit]

Sure condx change, but often Reverse Beacon shows signals are getting out fine, just nobody on the air. Do you ever use Reverse Beacon?

73, -Don- AA6GA/7 Ashland, OR

Do not have HF ability from the apartment.. Alas. And not often working portable. Still working on my portable install (at testing stage but bad weather just now)

 

[DonTom]

Do not have HF ability from the apartment..

I have worked many people who were in apartments. There's always a way to get on the air. One guy I worked was bragging about all the DX he has worked with his indoor antenna.

73, -Don- AA6GA/7 Ashland, OR

 

[John From Detroit]

I have worked many people who were in apartments. There's always a way to get on the air. One guy I worked was bragging about all the DX he has worked with his indoor antenna.

73, -Don- AA6GA/7 Ashland, OR

Yes and I'm working on it but indoors I have two issues.. Steel frame building acts like a faraday cage, and high noise levels (this is a major (over 400 units total) complex) I do have a wire outside just now that seems to be working for receive. But Currently my HF transmitter is in the car getting ready for portable use. And yes I tried a couple of indoor designs with no joy. But I'm still working on it. I also have a mag loop that too failed indoors.

If I want to work HF I van always use Ray's Radio or several others scattered about. No problem.
I don't do that much HF work.
I was able to hear WTWW TX-1 (Shortwave) on about a 20 foot wire outside the last couple of evenings. Clearly enough that I recognized the preachers voice.

Sadly the receiver I"m using does not tuen WTWW TX-2 at this time (I'm going to have to fix that)

 

[Larry N.]

40M is poor this morning, having to use SDRs to hear anyone on my net this morning.

A=13, K=6, major geomagnetic storm, so band is lousy.

 

[DonTom]

This is the deadest I have ever seen 40M. Right now, 2245 hrs local time (0545Z). Not only are there NO signals on the entire 40M band, I am hitting no sites at all on Reverse Beacon. I have never seen nothing hit on the RBN at any time in the past on 40 M. This is a first for me.

BTW, I had the opposite experience last November when I was 200 feet below sea level in Death Valley. I was then running QRP (5W) and working one station after the other, using this same antenna.

Now I am running 110 watts (KX2 to a KXPA100) to a TW4040.

I wonder if 80M is just as dead. I left my 80M coil at home, thinking 40M would be all I need.

I just now checked again on RBN. I am now getting into VE6WZ (Galgary, Alberta, <I don't know how I came up with "Edmonton" in my first post here in this thread>) with a 4db signal. Nothing else. The 40M band is deader than I have ever seen in all my 55 years as a ham.

73, -Don- AA6GA/7 Ashland, OR

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Participated in JOTA this past weekend and reports of dead bands have been greatly exaggerated. 40 and 20 were in great shape, both during and before/after the event. At night/early mornings I was on from inside the camper and easily made contacts on 40M SSB into the midwest and a few to the east coast, running about 20W. Rig is a 746Pro, and the antenna a Sigma (N6BT) 40M vertical dipole. Bands were quite "thick" with QSO's or nets every 3-4kHz most all day long. Lots of POTA on the air for some reason. Made my job a bit easier scaring up contacts for the kids on short notice.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

 

[DonTom]

Participated in JOTA this past weekend and reports of dead bands have been greatly exaggerated. 40 and 20 were in great shape, both during and before/after the event.

Yes, I noticed band conditions improved a lot since Oct 12. Or there was something strange about Ashland, OR and how it mixes with RF.

73, -Don- AA6GA/7 Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

Condx on 40M just as strange tonight. Less than 30 minutes ago, 40M was packed with signals. Now nothing at all across the entire 40M band.

Very big change in less than 30 minutes!

80m seems normal, so I am now there.

-Don- AA6GA Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

40M is really dead today from here. And I need something to do because I am stuck in the RV until tomorrow because of the rain. Are there any signals on any band today from anywhere? I have all the loading coils for my TW4040 with me for all bands made for it, 80, 40, 30, 20, 15, & 10m.

The RBN really shows how dead 40M is today from here. I can occasionally get a one DB single into Ko7SS on Lemmon Mtn, AZ, but that is all at best today. Most of the time today RBN shows nothing at all from here during the day. But last night the band was very hot. I was probably getting into every RBN location possible in the USA and Canada as well as Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. And one QSO after the other on 40 M CW.

BTW, as I travel, I edit my location at QRZ.Com for the ham radio grid square. It takes a day or two for the info to get uploaded to RBN, but then RBN shows our signals coming from our exact location. For an example, RBN shows my signals centered from here to be coming from Mission, TX as it should. I don't know if others hams here who travel know to do that.

-Don- AA6GA/5

Grid Square

EL06te

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Unless there was a solar flare I'd be checking your coax, coils, and maybe try a 2nd antenna.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

 

[John From Detroit]

I believe I heard something about a CME (Coronal mass ejections . ) messing up the radio waves.
You might try a different band... Alas since moving into an apartment I don't do HF any more.
I do D-Star.. Just now on XRF757A (QCWA Digital net) also on REF035C (A nice friendly reflector in Washington state of) and REF030C (THe big one) and REF024C when the scanner hits the local D-Star repeater.. I'm using hotspots for all the others.. Ham radio over the internet.. Tons of fun.
I also do Allstar.. With no radio at all. I use this computer and a Pi-2B in the next room cabled to ye old router.

 

[DonTom]

Unless there was a solar flare I'd be checking your coax, coils, and maybe try a 2nd antenna.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

No need. It all works very well by the time it gets just a little dark. I am already hearing many signals on 40M now at around 1600 hours local time. But nothing at all, all day long.

I will check RBN right now with a CQ (I will probably get a reply this time)on 7.0333 mhz . . . Yep, I just worked WS5E in Sunnyvale, TX on 40 M CW. And I am now hitting a half dozen sites on RBN. The skip should be a lot wider soon, now that it is getting close to being dark here.

So there is no doubt that the daytime conditions on 40M was just dead today.

73, -Don- AA6GA/5 from ham grid square EL06te.

 

[DonTom]

You might try a different band..

Yeah, as strange as it seems, I hear ten M is wide open these days even when lower bands are quite dead. But I have not been on 10M for years. But I do have the center loading coil for 10M with me. I am more active on the lower bands where there is more rag chewing and usually more reliable conditions.

But I did not want to go outside to change my loading coil on my TW4040 in this pouring rain.

73, -Don- From EL06te