On the air again...

Wow...this summer went fast, which is not real good news...but now that Fall is here and the sun is disappearing earlier and earlier, I have a little more time to play radio.  

So tonight I dragged out the K1 and connected it to the attic dipole (1/2 wave 40m) to see what I could hear.  It was about 22:00 UTC and I started out on 20m.  Called CQ a few times and checked the Reverse Beacon Network. I was being heard in a few spots but the signal was very week.  

I headed on down to 40m, and called CQ a few times on 7051 Khz  RBN had me all over the place with a great signal strength, but I wasn't getting any takers.  Finally I heard Jim KD8YQX from Warren Michigan answer my CQ and we traded SKCC numbers and some station information.  Jim has a great first and is good armchair copy, first QSO I've had in a month or so too. 

When we got done I headed up to 7058 Khz to see if there were ANY FISTS members out and about...I almost NEVER hear FISTS operating on the 7058 FISTS freq anymore.  Used to have to wait in line to work some FISTS ops but not any longer.  I tossed out a few CQ's and was answered by Tom N2KPJ from Clayton NY at 23:28Z.  Tom is a SKCC member also so we traded info and I realized that we had worked each other exactly seven months ago tonight!  

Just about the time I got finished with Tom, I heard a call from the past...like way back there....it was Lloyd K3ESE calling me from over in Maryland.  I met Lloyd maybe 16 or 17 years ago, we hung out with the Flying Pigs  QRP Club International at Four Days in May back in 2001 or 2002.  I haven't had a QSO with LLoyd in forever.  His signal was 559 here at the beginning but things were changing fast.  I lost him totally at the end of the QSO.  Sorry Lloyd.  Glad to see you're still out there on the radio.  

That's it for tonight.  I failed to get a better antenna permanently installed this summer...this is like the 18th summer in a row...maybe next year! 

73 de KB9BVN

BTW - I heard VP6D Ducie Island on 7015 Khz this morning at about 4:30AM EDT...they were working the world! I did not make contact.