I run 30W on PSK and 50W on RTTY, and I use a dipole.
Distance is limitless with my modest station even during this part of
the sunspot cycle.
My QTH is NY and I've qsos in all continents using these modes.

KB2AMY
Evan

wrote:

I've been inactive for years, no equipment, but my extra class license is
good. What are the best bands now for CW, maybe SSB, just friendly QSOs, a
little modest DX, with low power and wires or a vertical? I used to like 80
- 10 but would consider VHF.

I'm having pretty good luck with an end-fed 65' wire, about 12' above
ground, on 80, 40, and 20. It doesn't like to load up on 30, 17, 15,
12, or 10, but it's good enough on the old harmonically-related bands
to have got me better than 30 states in just over a year of not-very-
active pounding out "CQ" now and again.

I even got a teensy bit of DX: British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan,
Quebec, and some folks in Mexico. I can hear the hams in Central
America and the Caribbean, but they can't hear me.

We're very much in the same boat: I laid out from 1963 until Jan 2005,
when I put the wire up, bought a used Icom 751, and got back into the
game. C'mon in, the water's fine.

--
Mike Andrews, W5EGO

Tired old sysadmin