I'm new to six. I was told that 52.525 is the call channel to listen to
but hear through the grapevine that it's not a "national" thing. Also no
"band plan" seems to give where to listen for SSB and such. Then I also
hear through the grapevine that there is no real "Band Plan".
SO, what frequencies does everyone use most???
--
Treat all stressful situations like a dog does.
If you can't eat it or play with it,
just pee on it and walk away
> Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
> I'm new to six. I was told that 52.525 is the call channel to listen to
> but hear through the grapevine that it's not a "national" thing. Also no
> "band plan" seems to give where to listen for SSB and such. Then I also
> hear through the grapevine that there is no real "Band Plan".
> SO, what frequencies does everyone use most???
If you want to listen for SSB DX, then 50.110 may be a good place to start.
73
Ken
M1SLH
Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
> I'm new to six. I was told that 52.525 is the call channel to listen to
> but hear through the grapevine that it's not a "national" thing. Also no
> "band plan" seems to give where to listen for SSB and such. Then I also
> hear through the grapevine that there is no real "Band Plan".
>
> SO, what frequencies does everyone use most???
>
>
Well, band plans are all pretty much by "gentlemans agreement" anyhow,
aside from the old CW/digital parts vs. the voice parts of the band which
are legislated by the FCC. You have the right frequency for FM, but that
will not be the most active frequency unless you have a lot of neighbors
who are doing the same thing you are. There are some repeaters on 6M,
but they're few and far between.
If you really want to hear some DX activity on 6M, my suggestion is to get
a radio that will do SSB. Mind you, the number of contacts is directly in
relationship to the season (late spring/early summer is prime-time for 6M).
So you're riding the "tail end" of this year's big band openings. You'll
witness
another flurry of activity in September. Its also no coincidence that a
large
number of contacts are made during special VHF contests. All this activity
centers around 50.125MHz for stateside, and 50.110MHz for DX.
FYI, those two frequencies are not for ragchewing. If you're overheard
carrying on a long conversation on either of those two frequencies, you'll
quickly get a bad reputation as a "lid" (and I'm sure you've heard that
derogatory term used before, right?). So if you make contact, please QSY
to another frequency as quickly as possible if you want to carry on a
conversation.
Also, some stations will throw out a CQ and tell you the frequency they're
listening to for you to go back to them, so although you'll hear them
call CQ
on 50.125MHz, they won't be listening for you to contact them there. You
have to pay attention to the frequency they give out on the air. In some
cases
you may need to learn how to work SPLIT, but in other cases, the station
will throw out a call, then quickly dial over to the announced frequency
and
be able to both transmit and listen there.
There are also digital modes used on 6M, and they have their own
frequencies
of interest, like WSJT, which is a sideband mode.
Not sure what rig you have, but if it doesn't do SSB, you're really
missing out on
a lot of contacts!
Oh, one last thing- while you will make a few contacts on a dipole, you
really
want a high-gain (5 elements or more) Yagi or quad and rotator to get
the most
enjoyment out of 6M SSB, and you want to get your antenna up as high as
affordable (50 or more feet, with 85+ feet being optimum). You'll make
contacts
with it lower, but you'll be missing a LOT more contacts that you won't
be able to
hear!
VHF/SSB is a whole 'nuther world!
73, -Web
Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
> I'm new to six. I was told that 52.525 is the call channel to listen to
> but hear through the grapevine that it's not a "national" thing. Also no
> "band plan" seems to give where to listen for SSB and such. Then I also
> hear through the grapevine that there is no real "Band Plan".
>
> SO, what frequencies does everyone use most???
>
Web Williams wrote:
> Hi Billie,
>
> Well, band plans are all pretty much by "gentlemans agreement" anyhow,
> aside from the old CW/digital parts vs. the voice parts of the band which
> are legislated by the FCC. You have the right frequency for FM, but that
> will not be the most active frequency unless you have a lot of neighbors
> who are doing the same thing you are. There are some repeaters on 6M,
> but they're few and far between.
>
We supposedly have three here locally but none seem to be in operation.
Can't "kerchunk" any of them. [ politely of course ]
> If you really want to hear some DX activity on 6M, my suggestion is to get
> a radio that will do SSB. Mind you, the number of contacts is directly in
> relationship to the season (late spring/early summer is prime-time for 6M).
> So you're riding the "tail end" of this year's big band openings. You'll
> witness
> another flurry of activity in September. Its also no coincidence that a
> large
> number of contacts are made during special VHF contests. All this activity
> centers around 50.125MHz for stateside, and 50.110MHz for DX.
>
From my limited understanding of 6 it seems that it depends some on the
level of sunspot activity kind of like 10.
I have an Azden FM mobile [ never been mobile ] but my primary radios
are two IC-706's [ neither a "G" *<]:o( ]. One in the house [ MK II ]
on an Antron vertical and one mobile [ plain 706 ] with an Antron
"Hamstick" mounted on an NMO on the roof of the van. Have an LDG
autotuner for both.
> FYI, those two frequencies are not for ragchewing. If you're overheard
> carrying on a long conversation on either of those two frequencies, you'll
> quickly get a bad reputation as a "lid" (and I'm sure you've heard that
> derogatory term used before, right?). So if you make contact, please QSY
> to another frequency as quickly as possible if you want to carry on a
> conversation.
> Also, some stations will throw out a CQ and tell you the frequency they're
> listening to for you to go back to them, so although you'll hear them
> call CQ
> on 50.125MHz, they won't be listening for you to contact them there. You
> have to pay attention to the frequency they give out on the air. In some
> cases
> you may need to learn how to work SPLIT, but in other cases, the station
> will throw out a call, then quickly dial over to the announced frequency
> and be able to both transmit and listen there.
>
VFO A on one and VFO B on the other in "split" mod
> There are also digital modes used on 6M, and they have their own
> frequencies of interest, like WSJT, which is a sideband mode.
>
I may in the future get into digital but not right now.
> Not sure what rig you have, but if it doesn't do SSB, you're really
> missing out on a lot of contacts!
>
> Oh, one last thing- while you will make a few contacts on a dipole, you
> really
> want a high-gain (5 elements or more) Yagi or quad and rotator to get
> the most
> enjoyment out of 6M SSB, and you want to get your antenna up as high as
> affordable (50 or more feet, with 85+ feet being optimum). You'll make
> contacts
> with it lower, but you'll be missing a LOT more contacts that you won't
> be able to
> hear!
>
May not get "the most". Just have a vertical at about 70 feet.
> VHF/SSB is a whole 'nuther world!
>
> 73, -Web
>
> Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
>
>> I'm new to six. I was told that 52.525 is the call channel to listen to
>> but hear through the grapevine that it's not a "national" thing. Also no
>> "band plan" seems to give where to listen for SSB and such. Then I also
>> hear through the grapevine that there is no real "Band Plan".
>>
>> SO, what frequencies does everyone use most???
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> www.six-six.org For 50 MHz EnthusiastsYahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
--
Treat all stressful situations like a dog does.
If you can't eat it or play with it,
just pee on it and walk away
Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
> May not get "the most". Just have a vertical at about 70 feet.
>
Far from "not getting the most", you're slitting your own throat
trying to work 6M SSB DX with a vertical. Polarization is
much more critical on the higher bands (like 6M and up). You
sound fairly knowledgeable, so I'm sure you know that the
polarization losses between opposite (horizontal vs. vertical)
are 20dB? You won't notice much difference with nearby repeaters,
but for DX, you may as well holler out the window, they'll hear
you just as well. If you can't put up a Yagi, consider a squalo
or squloop. You won't have any gain, but at least that will get
rid of your 20dB loss between you and the stations you're
trying to work. Even a quad loop is better than a vertical, and
not much harder to make out of wire and put up.
It's been said that nobody knows what polarization a signal has
when it comes back down to earth after a hop or two, but trust
me, on VHF this truism is multitudes of degrees less true.
Web Williams wrote:
> Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
>
>> May not get "the most". Just have a vertical at about 70 feet.
>>
>>
> Far from "not getting the most", you're slitting your own throat
> trying to work 6M SSB DX with a vertical. Polarization is
> much more critical on the higher bands (like 6M and up). You
> sound fairly knowledgeable, so I'm sure you know that the
> polarization losses between opposite (horizontal vs. vertical)
> are 20dB? You won't notice much difference with nearby repeaters,
> but for DX, you may as well holler out the window, they'll hear
> you just as well. If you can't put up a Yagi, consider a squalo
> or squloop. You won't have any gain, but at least that will get
> rid of your 20dB loss between you and the stations you're
> trying to work. Even a quad loop is better than a vertical, and
> not much harder to make out of wire and put up.
>
> It's been said that nobody knows what polarization a signal has
> when it comes back down to earth after a hop or two, but trust
> me, on VHF this truism is multitudes of degrees less true.
>
> 73, -Web (KR4WM)
>
I have a 10 meter wire and some extra wire. I thought about cutting the
extra wire into a 6 meter and suspending it below the 10 on spacers.
Then string the whole mess flat top between my two towers at about50 +/-
feet. That arrangement should give some pretty fair radiation East/West
but not much North/South. [ Towers are on the North and South ends of
the house ] From what a friend of mine that is an antenna guru says it
should work. A six meter signal will see resonance on the six meter wire
and radiate from there and a ten meter signal will see the ten meter
wire as resonant and radiate from there.
--
Treat all stressful situations like a dog does.
If you can't eat it or play with it,
just pee on it and walk away
Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
> I have a 10 meter wire and some extra wire. I thought about cutting the
> extra wire into a 6 meter and suspending it below the 10 on spacers.
> Then string the whole mess flat top between my two towers at about50 +/-
> feet. That arrangement should give some pretty fair radiation East/West
> but not much North/South. [ Towers are on the North and South ends of
> the house ] From what a friend of mine that is an antenna guru says it
> should work. A six meter signal will see resonance on the six meter wire
> and radiate from there and a ten meter signal will see the ten meter
> wire as resonant and radiate from there.
Yes, no doubt, it will definitely work. You won't have any gain,
but if the band is open, you'll do fine. -Web
the SSB calling frequency is 50.125
michelle
wa7pve
To: themagicband@... From: bilwalsh@... Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:29:16 -0500 Subject: [50mhz The Magic Band] Old Ham - Newby Question
I'm new to six. I was told that 52.525 is the call channel to listen to but hear through the grapevine that it's not a "national" thing. Also no "band plan" seems to give where to listen for SSB and such. Then I also hear through the grapevine that there is no real "Band Plan".
SO, what frequencies does everyone use most???
-- Treat all stressful situations like a dog does. If you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away
Insert movie times and more without leaving Hotmail®. See how.
I'm new to six. I was told that 52.525 is the call channel to listen to but hear through the grapevine that it's not a "national" thing. Also no "band plan" seems to give where to listen for SSB and such. Then I also hear through the grapevine that there is no real "Band Plan".
SO, what frequencies does everyone use most???
-- Treat all stressful situations like a dog does. If you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away
Insert movie times and more without leaving Hotmail®. See how.
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.1/2211 - Release Date: 06/30/09
11:37:00
I live in the UK and went on Vactions 2 weeks back to Spain. I took and FT 857 (90watts) and a wire loop but instead of arranging in a quad shape, I used it as a delta loop (triangle) I make it look like and up turned ice cream cone as this gives a 50Ohm feed point rather than aroudn 70Ohm. From my hotle balcony on the Spainish East coast I worked 9 North American stations with signals as high 589 using CW and 58 using SSB!
Subject: Re: [50mhz The Magic Band] Old Ham - Newby Question
Billie Erin Walsh wrote: > May not get "the most". Just have a vertical at about 70 feet. > Far from "not getting the most", you're slitting your own throat trying to work 6M SSB DX with a vertical. Polarization is much more critical on the higher bands (like 6M and up). You sound fairly knowledgeable, so I'm sure you know that the polarization losses between opposite (horizontal vs. vertical) are 20dB? You won't notice much difference with nearby repeaters, but for DX, you may as well holler out the window, they'll hear you just as well. If you can't put up a Yagi, consider a squalo or squloop. You won't have any gain, but at least that will get rid of your 20dB loss between you and the stations you're trying to work. Even a quad loop is better than a vertical, and not much harder to make out of wire and put up.
It's been said that nobody knows what polarization a signal has when it comes back down to earth after a hop or two, but trust me, on VHF this truism is multitudes of degrees less true.
73, -Web (KR4WM)
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.1/2211 - Release Date: 06/30/09
11:37:00
on friday the 26 june 2009 there was some amazing transatlantic propagation here in scotland many usa and canadians were heard on 6m but vhf tv dx is my main hobby and did manage to get audio from ckcw moncton nb on 59.750 which you can listen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bWA6Me5kS4&feature=channel_page also i did manage some weak video from an unid usa station which is i think playing the digital change over but ckcw comes up at the end. it is weak video but so near yet so far. you can see the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o7bYlOwvEI&feature=channel_page lets hope for more of this ... cheers david ... ayrshire scotland
ps a dxer in ireland got alabama new jersey and philly on fm broadcast to well over 90 mhz
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