I always login to the Reverse Beacon Network before I get on the air, the HW8 doesn't have a digital readout, so I use the RBN to see where exactly my signals are being heard. It's a fantastic tool for that. Well today the solar conditions were quite a bit different than they have been lately. SSN:49 SFI:84 A:32 K:3 Sunspots! Look at that HIGH A index....man...that's really going to have things stirred up for a day or two.
I was weird. It was like all signals to the west, were being gobbled up by the sun starved atmosphere...tried for a month to work MD, tonight I worked MD and NC and all I heard was east coast stations and no Delaware, New Hampshire, or Maine.
Fist contact tonight was Dan K2YWE in MD, he was running 200w into a Loop antenna and I was copying him while surfing the QSB waves like a North Shore Surf Pro. He had a great signal that was up and down, very good fist and made for some fine copy here in the hinterlands. Thanks for the QSO Dan!
Next up was Allan W4EAB, and he's a SKCC member. We traded RST and numbers, and had a quick QSO. The band was starting to sound muffled here and I noticed the A index was starting to show and upward trend. I don't honestly know if that had anything to do with it or not. Allan learned CW the hard way...as a radioman in the United States Coast Guard in the 1958-1959 time frame. He even helped restart the Coast Guard base station in San Juan Puerto Rico KP4CGB. How exciting that must have been! Thanks for your service Allan and I hope to work you again. Great fist!
Mail call! Got these beauties today!
Thanks for the cards guys!
I found out about a cool event that has been going on all year. Scott N3FJP has an Annual Worked All States/Counties event going on right now. He has three categories, QRP (that's me), LOW, and HIGH power. You can upload your 2017 contacts in a ADIF file and join in on the fun. It's free! Just sign up at the website and you'll be on your way.
That's it for today, best 73 de KB9BVN
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