Here's one for you guys in the Northeast/Eastern USA-When do you find
are the best times to work into Asia and Oceania from the NE? I've
been back on HF about 6 months and have heard nothing from
VU/AP/YA/YB/P2 and very few VK/ZL/JA, etc, only few on 30 and 20.

Tnx-Ken N2ZN

On 15 Jun 2004 14:18:42 -0700, (Ken Boasi) wrote:

Here's one for you guys in the Northeast/Eastern USA-When do you find
are the best times to work into Asia and Oceania from the NE? I've
been back on HF about 6 months and have heard nothing from
VU/AP/YA/YB/P2 and very few VK/ZL/JA, etc, only few on 30 and 20.

Tnx-Ken N2ZN

Best time will be about 13 years from now at the peak of the
next cycle, I think :-)

I'm in the SE, where I never hear VU/AP/YB, but I do hear
VK/ZL and JA (not many) on 20 meters, early in the morning
local time. Also worked a few JA/VK/ZL on 40, before the
sun came up in the WPX contest.

73, Jim KH2D

On 15 Jun 2004 14:18:42 -0700, (Ken Boasi) wrote:

Here's one for you guys in the Northeast/Eastern USA-When do you find
are the best times to work into Asia and Oceania from the NE? I've
been back on HF about 6 months and have heard nothing from
VU/AP/YA/YB/P2 and very few VK/ZL/JA, etc, only few on 30 and 20.

Tnx-Ken N2ZN

Best time will be about 13 years from now at the peak of the
next cycle, I think :-)

I'm in the SE, where I never hear VU/AP/YB, but I do hear
VK/ZL and JA (not many) on 20 meters, early in the morning
local time. Also worked a few JA/VK/ZL on 40, before the
sun came up in the WPX contest.

73, Jim KH2D

said :

On 15 Jun 2004 14:18:42 -0700, (Ken Boasi) wrote:

Here's one for you guys in the Northeast/Eastern USA-When do you find
are the best times to work into Asia and Oceania from the NE? I've
been back on HF about 6 months and have heard nothing from
VU/AP/YA/YB/P2 and very few VK/ZL/JA, etc, only few on 30 and 20.

Tnx-Ken N2ZN

Best time will be about 13 years from now at the peak of the
next cycle, I think :-)

Well, yes, but not quite that long. 13 years from now will be worse
than we're in at the present -- if ol' sol keeps to 11 years, more or
less. Things should start to get interesting again in about '08 to '09
and be nearing peak in '12 - '13 or so. At my age, time goes by so
fast, that's almost nothing grin.

How does that saying go?
Time flies like an arrow...
Fruit flies like an orange.

As for VK/ZL, if 20's in decent shape (relatively speaking) you can
maybe pop a couple of them, as well as the south pacific, around 10pm
till 1am Eastern, but you'll need some decent aluminum and a bit of
wattage to do it. This week looks to be pretty bad, but last week I
was hearing plenty of ZLs around 11pm-midnight here in New York City..

Failing that, yeah, early morning isn't bad. Wait till the fall
equinox and things should improve a little. Summer's always the worst
time, of course.

Don't forget, too, that as the cycle goes further down, look for 40
and 80 to spring to life during the late fall/winter/early spring
months. I've heard many a ZL on 40 in the wee hours at S9+ on phone,
but (sadly) few of them listen up for us 'merkins. Last year was my
first for 80, and with only a low dipole and 100W (later 600W), I
managed to snare about 83 countries on that band.

I heard a VU on 20 around 5-6pm a few weeks back, and I'm pretty sure
he was legit, and YI has been spotted numerous times around the same
hours. Never heard a YA ever, and no APs heard here since 2002. No
YB/YCs either. There are numerous spots from the northeast of VR2s
around sunrise, but I've never heard a one of them :-(. Mind you, I
don't favour a north-south route to begin with so if you have some
aluminum and height you might fare better.


73 de Peter, W2IRT
(ex-AB2NZ, VE3THX)

Please reply to Double-you Two Eye Are Tee at Arrl.net

said :

On 15 Jun 2004 14:18:42 -0700, (Ken Boasi) wrote:

Here's one for you guys in the Northeast/Eastern USA-When do you find
are the best times to work into Asia and Oceania from the NE? I've
been back on HF about 6 months and have heard nothing from
VU/AP/YA/YB/P2 and very few VK/ZL/JA, etc, only few on 30 and 20.

Tnx-Ken N2ZN

Best time will be about 13 years from now at the peak of the
next cycle, I think :-)

Well, yes, but not quite that long. 13 years from now will be worse
than we're in at the present -- if ol' sol keeps to 11 years, more or
less. Things should start to get interesting again in about '08 to '09
and be nearing peak in '12 - '13 or so. At my age, time goes by so
fast, that's almost nothing grin.

How does that saying go?
Time flies like an arrow...
Fruit flies like an orange.

As for VK/ZL, if 20's in decent shape (relatively speaking) you can
maybe pop a couple of them, as well as the south pacific, around 10pm
till 1am Eastern, but you'll need some decent aluminum and a bit of
wattage to do it. This week looks to be pretty bad, but last week I
was hearing plenty of ZLs around 11pm-midnight here in New York City..

Failing that, yeah, early morning isn't bad. Wait till the fall
equinox and things should improve a little. Summer's always the worst
time, of course.

Don't forget, too, that as the cycle goes further down, look for 40
and 80 to spring to life during the late fall/winter/early spring
months. I've heard many a ZL on 40 in the wee hours at S9+ on phone,
but (sadly) few of them listen up for us 'merkins. Last year was my
first for 80, and with only a low dipole and 100W (later 600W), I
managed to snare about 83 countries on that band.

I heard a VU on 20 around 5-6pm a few weeks back, and I'm pretty sure
he was legit, and YI has been spotted numerous times around the same
hours. Never heard a YA ever, and no APs heard here since 2002. No
YB/YCs either. There are numerous spots from the northeast of VR2s
around sunrise, but I've never heard a one of them :-(. Mind you, I
don't favour a north-south route to begin with so if you have some
aluminum and height you might fare better.


73 de Peter, W2IRT
(ex-AB2NZ, VE3THX)

Please reply to Double-you Two Eye Are Tee at Arrl.net

Best chance, early morning and GREY line.

Ken Boasi wrote:
Here's one for you guys in the Northeast/Eastern USA-When do you find
are the best times to work into Asia and Oceania from the NE? I've
been back on HF about 6 months and have heard nothing from
VU/AP/YA/YB/P2 and very few VK/ZL/JA, etc, only few on 30 and 20.

Tnx-Ken N2ZN

Best chance, early morning and GREY line.

Ken Boasi wrote:
Here's one for you guys in the Northeast/Eastern USA-When do you find
are the best times to work into Asia and Oceania from the NE? I've
been back on HF about 6 months and have heard nothing from
VU/AP/YA/YB/P2 and very few VK/ZL/JA, etc, only few on 30 and 20.

Tnx-Ken N2ZN

Hmm...another 11 years? C'mon, I was looking for instant
gratification! But, getting back to the subject at hand, I have had a
bit of luck in the WPX a few weeks ago, as Jim said (and nice to work
you there, also, Jim), and worked ZL around 2 AM on 20. Just looking
to finish WAZ, really, and missing about 9 of them or so-some really
easy ones, too, like zone 2. I guess what Peter is hearing is going
to be what I can hear, if you're in NYC, I'm further out on LI. This
past winter was good-30 and 40 were great pretty much every night
around here-worked my only VK on 30 meters; not bad even for my
pisweaker 100w/dipole station. Heard FO/ON4AXU last week, and was
getting set to work him, but at the moment of truth, the phone rang
and I had to take it....krappppp.....

I guess I'm going to have to start getting up early to go hunting-but
I can barely get my carcass out of bed for work in the mornings...even
earlier for DX might kill me. Oh well, there's always county
hunting..

73-Ken

(I have no idea how my original post got reposted, either, sorry)




Peter Dougherty wrote in message . ..
said :

Hmm...another 11 years? C'mon, I was looking for instant
gratification! But, getting back to the subject at hand, I have had a
bit of luck in the WPX a few weeks ago, as Jim said (and nice to work
you there, also, Jim), and worked ZL around 2 AM on 20. Just looking
to finish WAZ, really, and missing about 9 of them or so-some really
easy ones, too, like zone 2. I guess what Peter is hearing is going
to be what I can hear, if you're in NYC, I'm further out on LI. This
past winter was good-30 and 40 were great pretty much every night
around here-worked my only VK on 30 meters; not bad even for my
pisweaker 100w/dipole station. Heard FO/ON4AXU last week, and was
getting set to work him, but at the moment of truth, the phone rang
and I had to take it....krappppp.....

I guess I'm going to have to start getting up early to go hunting-but
I can barely get my carcass out of bed for work in the mornings...even
earlier for DX might kill me. Oh well, there's always county
hunting..

73-Ken

(I have no idea how my original post got reposted, either, sorry)




Peter Dougherty wrote in message . ..
said :

(Ken Boasi) said :

This
past winter was good-30 and 40 were great pretty much every night
around here-worked my only VK on 30 meters; not bad even for my
pisweaker 100w/dipole station.

That's what I was until a few months ago (now 600W and a dipole).
After I wrote that article last night I spun the VFO around 20 metre
phone, and I heard two ZLs and a VK3 between midnight and 1 am, so
they're still possible. I don't get out too well on 30, nor am I a big
CW fan, so I can't say for sure how that band is now.

Heard FO/ON4AXU last week, and was
getting set to work him, but at the moment of truth, the phone rang
and I had to take it....krappppp.....
I guess I'm going to have to start getting up early to go hunting-but
I can barely get my carcass out of bed for work in the mornings...even
earlier for DX might kill me.

I'm the same way - I've missed a LOT of good stuff by being a Night
Person, but then again, I've worked a lot of stuff on 20 at that time
that early risers would have missed, too, so it all comes out in the
end, I suppose.

A couple of months ago, right around the vernal equinox, the cat
decided I'd slept long enough and became a 17-pound annoyatron at
about 7:00 am. Feh. With bright sunshine streaming in everywhere, and
a cat in "on" mode, I gave up sleep for that morning and wandered into
the shack to twiddle the knob and see what I could find. Solar numbers
weren't great - close to where we are now - so I expected to hear some
weak VKs, etc. First CQ I caught was UA0SJ from Brastk, *easily* S9+20
to my dipole. Got him second call. Then, to my delight, Chak, JT1CO
was also CQ-CQing down the band. Flipped on Mr. Ameritron and popped
him first call! Bingo, zone 23 (though it was just to see if I could
do it, since I'd already had JT). I'd also heard EX station but I
wasn't about to try and get through the pileup, since, again, I
already have EX confirmed on 20 and he was weak to me.

All were gone within a few minutes, so I have no doubt this was grey
line propagation. During the Russian DX 'test shortly thereafter, I
got up early on purpose (ick) and was rewarded with a UA0 in zone 19
for my trouble (first on 20). About a month ago, I caught two 4S7s on
15 working stateside, but I was also at my club station with a Yagi at
120' up and 1100 Watts. They were loud enough that maybe I could have
snagged them at home. This was about 4 PM local.

Depending on which way your dipole is oriented, you may have better
luck hitting Asia than I've had. My antenna is exactly magnetically
north-south (001-181 according to my GPS). I get out the best around
40-50 degrees, with booming sigs to central and eastern Europe. Not
bad to VK/ZL short path either, and OK to the Caribbean. Asia's a
write off to me. I have to fight for JAs, and to snare the one BY, YC
and others in SE Asia, at the peak of the cycle none the less, I had
to scream my head off (or scream my fingers off). Zones 23, 24, 26 and
27 took seemingly forever to get (23 was the last one for my WAZ and
it was torture!).

Zone 2 will be easy for you. Every major contest a team of VE hams
usually goes up into northern Quebec (near Sept Isles) to work Zone 2,
so just hang around until CQWW this fall. There's an operation from
Labrador (Z2) for 3 days July 31-Aug. 1st as well. that'll be
dirt-simple on 20, 40 and maybe 80 if thunderstorms aren't nearby.

Good Luck, and start setting that alarm clock back a few minutes every
day!

73 de Peter, W2IRT
(ex-AB2NZ, VE3THX)

Please reply to Double-you Two Eye Are Tee at Arrl.net