Thanks

Mark 2w0jmk

Good to hear T70 A is around again.
I've been working today since 0800 so no radio but did work TF3ML last night and the band seems to be open to TF3 again now (0138 local)

I might have some time tomorrow.

6M, and 4M have been buzzing for several days now.

Cheers

Tony

KP4EIT 50.165 - A new DXCC for me on 6M

PJ6D 50.106mhz
He is 539 here, not a great signal but I only have a 4m yagi on which to listen with (and it's very poor on 50mhz) also it's the first signal outside of Europe I have ever heard on 6m
Now where did I put that wire dipole.................

Thought I'd pop this up.
4M, YO5PBG
Yahoo!!!!!
A first I think/hope.
Now on 70.210 CW.

Cheers

Tony

i am self spotting im on 144.300 now @ 18.04 beaming north from west brom , any body there ?

more fun jabbing a fork in my head

Sorry.
Did I miss something?
Why did you spot yourself on a page for DX?

You picked a time when most VHF people were tied up with the 4M Trophy contest and complained after less than an hour.
Even after the contest I was on 4M with OZ2M/P.

At 100km you're local to me so, unless you were asking for a test, I'd probably tune past.

I just put out a CQ call (1900 GMT), on 2M, and got an immediate reply from G6YLB, in Aylesbury, about 200km away.
Not very far but his antenna was only at 10ft, followed by M0RDW, so there are people out there.

I wonder what sort of antenna you are using?

Cheers

Tony

why did i spot my self , it saves time just calling cq , its a bit like why have antenna array like yours , it just gives you a chance .

worked a GD8 , Which i thought wasn't to bad with only a 4 ele yagi and 50 watts , but he may have been doing all the work with his array of yagis

I heard you chatting to a guy in stoke but at the time i was busy chatting to my grandson .

the comment i made about the fork was a little tongue and cheek you know humour , having a laugh .
and as for complaining after an hour , I'm a very busy guy haven't got all day to sit on my fat sucker ( Bottom ) playing radio like some people .
Dazza

The hint's in the title Dazza.
DX SPOTS.
Self spotting, particularly on clusters, is frowned upon and, generally, will not generate a response.
The GD8, guess, would be Richard, GD8EXI.
He has a single 18 element, and a masthead preamp, with 400W output.
Always a reliable signal on 2M, 70 and 23cm.

I'm also busy, so my office is in my shack so I can work and keep an eye on the bands at the same time.

The DX aspects of the higher bands are something that requires gaining an understanding of what is going on so as to take advantage of conditions.
Often bands will seem to be quiet due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Many of us are jumping between 6M, 4M, 2M, 70cm and 23cm, depending on conditions and what bit of kit we are working on.
Usually monitoring beacons and general band conditions to try and get a hint of something happening.
When it does you will find 2M, or whichever band, is, magically, full of stations.

Cheers

Tony

Distance wise what's classed as DX on 2m or is it a movable feast depending on band conditions, who's calling and what that station usually hears.
On HF it's different continents and some operators stick to that regardless, for instance a 5b ignoring a UK op answering his DX (over 3,000km away) but working Middle East a few hundred miles away fits the definition.

Location is the thing.
I'm blocked virtually all the way from North to South through West so EI is difficult for me.
Stations 50km to the East of me have no problem.
The only thing that makes EI special for them is if the square has a low population on the band.
The same applies with IO72, which has very little land and few amateurs.
I wouldn't regard them as DX so much as rare.
The far North of Scotland, 500km plus from here, is DX because of distance and lack of population.
As far as I'm concerned nowhere else, in the UK, qualifies as DX although IN79 is rare, because of the small bit of land.

So, if you want to put a figure on it, I suppose over 500km probably qualifies although there are stations around that distance that can be worked regularly.

Cheers

Tony

i always self spot on ten meters works wonders i work loads of DX , Its my way of letting people know im calling , no harm done the world wont end

as for dx on 2 meters one man dx is another man just round the corner , im working with 50 watts and a four ele yagi so anything over 100 miles to me is pretty cool at the moment , but take your self with all your antennas and power and preamps and masts and bits and bobs you would be a tad upset at 100 miles .

its all about different opinions on what is , and what isn't , so for me i put my spot in the perfect place. you may disagree with that but thats your opinion, mines a little different .


Dazza

I'll leave others to comment on 10M as it's not somewhere I go very often.

Spotting is a way of indicating there is a path so self spotting just forces the meaningful spots off the page.
Much in the way that multiple spots, on HF, do.
VHF, as Paul points out (on the DX Cluster thread), is different as the software that monitors them, provided they are correctly formatted, produces MUF information so multiple spots can be helpful.

I've only got one 12 element antenna, on 2M.
The difference in gain between a 4 Element and 12 element is only around 4dB.
My power output is 80W so not a huge advantage over you.

Spotting yourself, on here in particular, has little point as you are unlikely to be DX to anyone who reads this list.

If you want to check things, or carry out tests, it's simpler to do what others do and send a PM.
I'm not denying that, when you first get on a band, any contact can be exciting.
It doesn't make it DX.

I'm just playing around with 13cm so a 200km contact, with my 500mW, is great but it's not DX, as far as I'm concerned.
It's just a buzz that I can manage it.

Cheers

Tony

I do 10m and never self spot, don't find any need for it, worked 186 countries on 10m in the last 12 months without anouncing to the world where I am calling, I guess it's what you might call a challenge- something born out of playing VHF/UHF
Each to their own I guess, what ever works for you, as one american might brand you as a dx cluster monkey,

Just for a giggle have a look at some of the typical monkeys in the zoo as described by this yank
you can even search at the end for your favorite monkey, there is loads of UK stns listed
I have to say the yank hasn't a clue on some stuff as valuable dx info is passed on the cluster
but being north american they have no idea of european VHf dx band conditions or understanding of certain types of propagation
even so it makes entertaining reading.

http://kh2d.net/dxmonkey.cfm