KC9BQA

7am Friday —

This was another good week for the nets.  WB9LYH took 23 check-ins on Wed. night and K8TQK had 16 back on Monday.

Before we go into the actual net report, I have 3 things.
1)   144.240 net next Wed. is *OFF* due to holiday plans. 

  2)  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and their families and loved ones.

3)  If you’re new to kc9bqa.com, or if you haven’t visited in a while, I want you to be aware of posts dated Oct. 13, 15 and 17, 2013.  In those posts I have net and activity night info for all 7 nights of the week.  This includes scheduled activity on bands like 50, 144, 222 and 432 MHz, surrounding the Midwest and Great Lakes.  Get this info into the hands of hams who might not know where/when/how to find signals on the airwaves.

On Wed. night, WB9LYH reported that he had snow and great propagation.  Mark’s 23 check-ins were:  WA8YLZ and WB0DGF EN63 (MI side);  N8WNA EN82;  N8DJB EN81;  K8GDT EN91;  AB9QH EN62;  K9CCL EN61;  KC9CLM/m and W9CL EN52;  W1JWS EN50;  KC9GMF EN53;  WA9BNZ and W9BBP EN40;  KA9DVX EN51;  WB0YWW, W0WOI, WB0YNA and KG0SJ EN22;  AD0CZ EN34;  K0SIX EN35;  KB0HNN EN25;  W0ANH EN47 and VE3KRP EN58.   Look at that check-in list.  From Central WI, WB9LYH worked as far as northeast OH, well down into central IL, out to western IA and north into Thunder Bay, ONT.  That’s what you can do on 2m SSB, with good antennas.
Also want to welcome 2 new check-ins.  Looks like AD0CZ and KB0HNN are new to this net.   Always good to have more signals on from MN.  I wish I had a list of all the hams who have checked in at least once (we started in June of 2008, our Wed. night net history is here:  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=5363)  I’d guess we’re in the 500 range by now.

On Mon. night, K8TQK’s 16 check-ins to his 144.252 net (called at 8:30pm eastern from EM89je, or south-central OH) were:  N8AIA and N8WNA EN82;  VE3CRU FN03;  W2UAD FN13;  K8GDT and NF8O EN91;  AC3L/M FN00;  KB3TNZ FN10;  W4LES and W4IMD EM84;  WD4NMV EM85;  N4TLL EM87;  KY4MRG EM77;  KI4ROF EM55;  KB8GUE EM89; and WB8ART EM79.

For those of you in WI or IL, know that many of us can hear K8TQK, even though he’s 300+ miles away.  Like WB9LYH, K8TQK has long yagis and good power from a great QTH.   I can hear K8TQK 95% of the time on a 390-mile path, and I know WB9LYH can usually check in from the 460-470 mile range.  A guy with a more modest station is KC9CLM in EN52, and Dave can work K8TQK from time to time.   What you need is a horizontally-polarized yagi up safely in the clear, (longer the better), decent feedline and at least 50-100w of output power.  That’s how you start working 200-300 miles consistently, any old time on 2m SSB/CW.
K8TQK looks NW with his OH net about 8-8:20pm on Monday nights.  He’s the nicest guy you’ll meet on the air and he enjoys knowing how far he can get out.  So tune into 144.252 (yes, .252, that’s not a misprint) and see how conditions are.

11am Thur.

WB9LYH had a light turnout last night with the 144.240 SSB long-range net from WI.   He reported up and down propagation but the peaks were quite good.

Mark’s 8 check-ins last night were:  N9OLT EN64;  N8WNA and K8JA EN82;  WB0DGF EN63 (MI side);  K9CCL and KC9AZ EN61;  WD9CPY EN54 and WB0YWW EN22.

K8TQK calls another long-range net on Monday night, on 144.252 MHz, from EM89je, south-central OH.  Start time is 8:30pm eastern, 52 weeks a year.  I still do Bob’s net reports as a courtesy because from 2010-2012, we networked together on Wed. nights.
K8TQK had 17 check-ins on Monday:  N8WNA EN82;  W2UAD FN13;  VE3CRU FN03;  AC3L/M and WD8CHR EN90;  KB3TNZ FN10;  W4KKX EM88;  N4TLL EM87;  W4LES, W4VAS and WA4NJP EM84;  KY4MRG EM77;  KI4ROF EM55;  W8PU and KB8GUE EM89;  W8BYA EN70 and N9JBW EN61.

Remember that K8TQK’s antenna pattern is N to start, then NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW over the next 45-60 minutes.  You can also follow along at the www.on4kst.com ham chat room.  VHF’ers across the USA and Canada are enjoying this free, no BS chat.  It’s most active in the mornings, evenings and weekends.  I’m specifically referring to the IARU Region 2 Chat for 144-432 MHz.  There are other great chats for different bands, too.    Go here:  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1072 for more info.

Early Thur. morning

Last night WB9LYH had 11 check-ins to the 144.240 long-range net from EN54.   They were:  N9OLT EN64;  K8RS EN72;  N8WNA EN82;  K9CCL and N9JBW EN61;  N9YK EN71;  AB9QH EN62;  KC9CLM EN52;  WA9BNZ EN40;  W0WOI EN22 and a new check-in, K9LUK from EN53.   Good to hear from Watertown, WI, especially from a fellow who goes by “Lucky”.
I logged into the ON4KST.com ham chat room to see who K8TQK worked with his 144.252 net from EM89je on Monday night and I see that Bob was a little under the weather and couldn’t call the net this week.   Look for K8TQK on 144.252 Monday nights at 8:30pm eastern time.  His QTH is south-central OH, and his signal gets out a very long ways.  Bob’s antenna pattern is first N, then NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW over the next hour or so.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ALL YOUR NET OR ACTIVITY NIGHT OPTIONS ON BANDS LIKE 50, 144, 222 and 432 MHz, please visit posts I made at kc9bqa.com dated Oct. 13th, 15th and 17th, 2013.  Those posts cover everything I know about in the Midwest/Great Lakes, 7 nights a week.   Get this info to hams everywhere.  It helps so much to know when and where to find actual signals on the bands.