Poor HF conditions during Field Day

[DonTom]

I have never seen the bands so dead as today. Field Day, but only a very few sigs can be heard, at least on CW ( I do not listen to the SSB bands). And those few sigs are very weak. Mostly on 20M.

I do not do FD, so I decided to check my signal on 10 mhz/30M on Reverse Beacon. I cannot hit even one site from here. I think this is the worse HF conditions I have ever seen and all on FD.

73, -Don- AA6GA, Auburn CA

 

[Larry N.]

Propagation was oddly poor on 40M phone this morning, too- folks I normally get direct weren't getting through my noise (S7+) so I had to use SDRs to hear most of them, FLA to WIS to KS to TX to COS from DEN.

 

[John From Detroit]

Band Conditions appsays
80-40 Poor day good night
10-12 poor night good day
Everythign in between GOOD GOOD

Save for VHF only green is 50MHz

I'm not operating as my HF radio well a 705 (10 watts) and a dead TS_2000 (Zero watts near as I can tell)

 

[Lou Schneider]

Maybe dead bands, but there are also far fewer active hams. ARRL says the active ham population is far less than in recent years, especially among the younger generations.

Long distance comms lost their allure for the younger generations when it became far easier to pick up a cell phone or press a couple of buttons on a keyboard and effortlessly get two way audio AND VIDEO to anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

 

[DonTom]

Maybe dead bands, but there are also far fewer active hams.

A lot fewer. And on CW to work anybody younger than I am is very, very rare. Most hams I work are in their 80s these days, sometimes 90's.

But that is not the issue today. When I cannot even hit one site on 30M (checking on Reverse Beacon) then we know the conditions are extra poor.

73, -Don- AA6GA Auburn, CA

 

[Larry N.]

Maybe dead bands, but there are also far fewer active hams. ARRL says the active ham population is far less than in recent years, especially among the younger generations.

While this is true, Lou, the 40M propagation problem I mentioned was with our daily morning net, with the same dozen plus people on there day after day, such that we get to know what to usually expect, even to the propagation changes between winter and summer, and when going from nite conditions to daytime, since our net is at 0700 mountain time.

So certain folks are generally strong, others weak, with some of the weaker ones getting stronger as the net progresses.

So this morning's propagation weirdness, though not unheard of, was definitely out of the ordinary.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Check your antenna. I was working coast to coast on 15 and 20 QRP CW this afternoon. There was a nominal pileup for an england station on 15 which I stood no chance. Last Q I put in the log was W3AO before I packed up.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

 

[DonTom]

Check your antenna. I was working coast to coast on 15 and 20 QRP CW this afternoon. There was a nominal pileup for an england station on 15 which I stood no chance. Last Q I put in the log was W3AO before I packed up.

Perhaps because you're in a different location and your skip reaches more populated areas.

I notice during my RV trips that conditions change a lot between locations.

One good example is this part of CA. If my sigs are very strong from 200 to a thousand thousands miles to the west, I would never know because there would have to be a /MM out there to reply to my signal for me to know, which is somewhat unlikely. And no Reverse Beacon locations within that range.

73, -Don- AA6GA Auburn, CA

 

[John From Detroit]

I notice during my RV trips that conditions change a lot between locations.

Where I now live is an apartment, One of abnout 1,000 in this multi-building complex all with cable digital TV an internet care to guess the noise floor: Think stratosphere or higher.

A few mles away I (I am about 10 miles east of Flint, MI)
A few weeks ago I set up m 705 with an ALPHA portable tripod mount and talked to the pacific coast on 40 meters. 5x7 he said A few miles makes a BIG difference.

 

[DonTom]

A few miles makes a BIG difference.

Likewise, sometimes a slight change in frequency makes a big difference. But is often difficult to prove on HF because QSB is the norm.

But even on VHF/UHF conditions change and moving up or down the band can make a big difference. QSB is usually very slow on higher frequencies, but it still exists. Just happens for different reasons than HF skip.

73, -Don- AA6GA Auburn, CA

 

[John From Detroit]

One or two fun things though My club does a trunk swap 9-noon on FD Saturday I picked up a couple of antenna mount assemblies for my Jeep (Fixed non-magnetic() and a GE communications speaker w/o Bracket that is now setting behind me sounding good on the net that just Finished insted of the 2" Radio Shack job (just too small do do a proper job)

I drove a woman from one corner of the lot and back to check the storage building for cooking supplies.. .No joy so I dropped her back with her husband and hit the road and spent 12 bucks to get what they needed.. Got lunch (I actually needed it, I don't often lunch)

As the radio came on I ask her 'Your favorite radio station?" and she confirmed it was.
(Kind of figured it was.. She's the owner.. well she's the titled owner her husband really)
WMRP-LP you can google them go to contact and the "listen" link there.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Perhaps because you're in a different location and your skip reaches more populated areas.

Like southern CA. Bands were loaded with them and they were busy making Q's.

It's been my experience that ops reporting dead bands aren't on the bands that are open or their antennas suck. Sometimes both. One year at FD an op showed up with some kind of portable antenna contraption, futzed with it for half an hour, declared the bands were dead and packed up. Meanwhile I'm filling log sheets with an ATS3 and a wire tossed into a tree with a water bottle. Not sure what you were running there, prolly the TW vertical dipole thing which is decent for what it is but might not cut it all the time.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

 

[DonTom]

Not sure what you were running there, prolly the TW vertical dipole thing which is decent for what it is but might not cut it all the time.

At the time, I was at my Auburn house with my G5RV. Kinda low, only about 20 feet off the ground in the trees. But it has never been THAT dead as on FD.

Besides, low to the ground should be better for short skips. I am a CW rag chewer, not a DXer and certainly not a number exchanger.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[PancakeBill]

One of my back home buddys goes to Maine for FD every year, he said they did well.

 

[John From Detroit]

Club I belong to does not do a major FD (one I used to belong to did (Too them to #1 in state one year) They did not do bad.

 

[DonTom]

Club I belong to does not do a major FD (one I used to belong to did (Too them to #1 in state one year) They did not do bad.

What bands did they use on FD?

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

One of my back home buddys goes to Maine for FD every year, he said they did well.

Perhaps the condx were a lot better on the east coast than on the west coast. I wonder if they worked anybody on the west coast. I will assume not.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[John From Detroit]

What bands did they use on FD?

-Don- Reno, NV

I don't know but I know we operated 3A so likely all of them at one time or another.

I was not there for FD as I had other things to do that weekend.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

AA6CV was 25A this year. I'm guessing they worked into somewhere.

I found a log online for N3IC. 3% of their contacts from MD were CA. No idea how that compares to other stations/bands/times but it's coast to coast and not zero.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

 

[JoelP]

I got through all three certification levels one year ago but have yet to find a ham radio activity that has grabbed my interest and have only had a few QSOs over the past year. We have a ham club where I live where I have access to some amazing radios and antennas but see very few people using it. Most of our members are aging out.

Joel
AK6ON
San Jose, CA