KC9BQA

   9:25am Monday

   Also want readers to know that I list many different nets on all 7 nights of the week at kc9bqa.com posts dated Oct 13, 15 and 17th, 2013.   Go back in the October 2013 archives and take what you need.  Tell your ham buddies who probably are wondering where all the signals are on bands like 50, 144, 222 and 432 MHz.  

  Mondays are always a great night across a wide part of the Midwest and Mid-South.  Visit this post http://kc9bqa.com/?p=7438  to see your Monday options on 144 and 432.100 MHz.  I originally made that post on 10/13/13 and as far as I know, all the nets I mention are alive and well.

   9:15am Monday

   Want everyone to know that we’ll have a guest net control this Wed. on 144.240.  WB9LYH will be off and N9OLT EN64 Green Bay will be pinch-hitting.  Look toward Green Bay at 7pm central/8pm eastern on 144.240 Wed. night and say hello to John. 
   John does have a rotor that’s acting slow, so let’s hope the weather warms up a little by Wed. night (wishful thinking, LOL).  If N9OLT is able to turn, his antenna pattern will be the same as WB9LYH’s — take a quick look N into the U.P. of MI, then swing E, SE, S, SW, W and NW over the next 30-60 minutes, depending on how busy the net is.

   9am Monday

   -7F here currently.   Wind chills are about -30.   I know, it’s cold everywhere, enough said.   🙂  

   Before I get to the net reports, want everyone to know that the 144.240 this Wed. (Jan 29th) will be called by N9OLT John in EN64, Green Bay, WI.   Look toward Green Bay for the 144.240 net Wed. night at 7pm central/8pm eastern.  N9OLT would also like everyone to know his rotor has been moving very slow, so let’s cross our fingers that it’ll be a little warmer by Wed. evening.  

   Last Wed., regular net control WB9LYH had 16 check-ins.  Mark reported that propagation wasn’t bad.  His 16 check-ins were:  N9OLT EN64;  N8WNA and N8AIA EN82;  WB0DGF EN63;  K9CCL EN61;  N9NYA and WB9SLI EN43;  W9BBP and WA9BNZ EN40;  W1JWS EN50;  KA9DVX EN51;  KC9CLM EN52;  WB9TFH EN53;  W0HXL EN21;  WB0YNA EN22 and K0SIX EN35.   Nice turnout.  Want to say hello to W0HXL out in Omaha.  Good to “hear you”, Dick.   Happy New Year. 

   Every Monday night, K8TQK calls a great net from EM89je, south-central OH on 144.252 @8:30pm eastern.   Antenna pattern is N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW over the next hour or so.  Last Monday, K8TQK had 20 check-ins — N8AIA, N8WNA and K8JA EN82;  K8KGM, KB8GUE and W8PU EM89;  K8GDT, KD8JQ and NF8O EN91;  WB4IXQ EM86;  N1GC EM95;  W4LES, WA4NJP, W4VAS and W4IMD EM84;  KA2KQM EM74;  WB7PMP EM88;  WB0DGF EN63;  K9LQZ EM68 and KC9CLM EN52.  
   Thanks to KB8GUE for helping out, by typing the check-ins to the ON4KST.com ham chat. 

    Want everyone to remember that if you’re looking for different nets on all 7 nights of the week, visit posts I made here at kc9bqa.com dated Oct. 13, 15 and 17, 2013.  Many different nets are listed there.  Get this info to hams who might not know where or when to find signals on the air.  And don’t forget to create your own activity.  Call CQ at any time.  Don’t fall into the pattern of “just listening”.  If 20 guys are all in front of their rigs, “just listening” and nobody calls CQ, nobody will hear a thing.

    Noon Friday

    The ARRL Jan VHF Contest is 8 days away.  Scroll down the front page here at kc9bqa.com and read the Dec. 22nd post, if you need more info.   The link to my series of articles called VHF Contesting School is in that Dec. 22nd post, and you are encouraged to share that info with hams everywhere. 

    One helpful tool for jump-starting contest activity is a Google spreadsheet that W0UC Paul in EN44 has been creating for several years now.   If you live within 300 miles of WI, you are encouraged to post your plans here:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvU0R8d2qq2DdGhRWUU3bTBVNzdGQ1R2VW1yLVhCRGc&usp=sharing#gid=0   
      
    W0UC creates these spreadsheets; I am just the messenger.  Please respect Paul’s wishes and only post your plans if you are within a 300-mile circle surrounding WI.   We’re not trying to do a nationwide sign-up sheet here.  In fact, if you are in another part of the country, why not do something similar?  Create your own sign-up sheet for the VHF/UHF contests in your region.   

    Spread the word about the contest and good luck.  I will not be on.  I have long-term rotor troubles that can’t be resolved and I will be gone most of the weekend, besides.

   11am  Friday

   2 nights ago, WB9LYH called the 144.240 Wed. net from EN54cl (Central WI).  This was the first net since Dec. 18th; there was no net on Dec. 25 or Jan. 1. 
   Mark had 12 check-ins on Wed. night:  N8AIA and N8WNA EN82;  WE9K EN62;  K9CCL, W9SUS and N9JBW EN61;  KY9E and WB9TFH EN53;  KC9CLM EN52;  WB0YWW EN22;  K0SIX EN35 and KB0HNN EN25. 

   Expect WB9LYH to call the 144.240 net @7pm central/8pm eastern on Jan. 15 and Jan. 22.   All licensed hams are welcome, the net is informal, the goal is to increase activity on SSB portions of 2 meters. 

    Let’s get up to date with K8TQK’s 144.252 net, called every Monday from EM89je, south-central OH, @8:30pm eastern. 
   On Dec. 23rd, Bob had 27 check-ins:  N8AIA and N8WNA EN82;  N8HMG, KD8FHY, KD8JQ, NF8O and K8GDT EN91;  N8XQM EN80;  W2UAD FN13;  AC3L/M FN00;  KC8QDQ, WT8E and W8WG EM89;  W4LES, WA4NJP, W4IMD, W4VAS and W4TMW EM84;  N4TLL EM87;  KB9RDS and WZ8I EM79;  N9EGT EN70;  N1GC EM95;  KI4ECU EM97;  KG9QT and KC9WSS EN61 and WB9LYH EN54.    
   On Dec. 30th, K8TQK had an even more robust turnout.  There were 34 check-ins by my count.  This may be an all-time high for K8TQK’s net. 
   The 34 check-ins to the 144.252 net on Mon., Dec. 30th were:  N8WNA EN82;  VE3YCU FN02;  W2UAD FN13;  KV8T EN91;  W9KXI FN12;  KB3TNZ FN10;  AC3L/M FN00;  WT8E, W8WG, KC8QDQ, W8PU and KB8GUE EM89;  WB4IXU EM86;  N1GC EM95;  N4TLL EM87;  N4PPG EM76;  KY4MRG EM77;  WA4NJP and W4IMD EM84;  KI4ECU EM97;  KB9RDS, N8XA and WB8ART EM79;  WA4REE EM65;  KI4ROF EM55;  K9SLQ, N9EGT, K9MRI, KC9WSS and KG9QT EN70;  WB9DGF and KC0ECE EN63;  W2RCA FN02 and WD8CHR EN90. 
    The next time someone tells you that either 1) There’s nobody on 2m SSB or 2) That you can’t get out any farther on SSB than you can on FM, show them these net reports from K8TQK.  From south-central OH (admittedly with a very good station from a great QTH), Bob worked as far north as southern ONT, as far south as the Carolinas and GA, as far west as southwest TN and as far NW as western MI. 

    K8TQK could not call the 144.252 net on Jan. 6th because his rotor was frozen. 

    
   If you’re wondering how I obtain K8TQK’s list of check-ins, it’s by using the “chat review” feature at the www.on4kst.com real-time VHF/UHF chat.  This free, no BS ham chat is available for all licensed US/VE/XE hams.  There are many different “rooms” for different ham bands, and the one I lobbied ON4KST to create in March of 2010 is called “IARU Region 2 Chat for 144-432 MHz”   By now, over 4000 VHF’ers have registered for the chat and it’s busy every morning, evening and weekend.  In fact, there’s usually someone active during the daytime, too. 
    For more info about the ON4KST.com ham chat, visit this post:  http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1072

   7:45am Wed.

   Happy New Year to everyone.   

   Would not be surprised if the bands are somewhat enhanced tonight.  More about that below. 

   After a 2-week holiday break, WB9LYH will be *ON* tonight with the first 144.240 long-range net of 2014.  Start time is 7pm central/8pm eastern and Mark’s QTH is near WI Rapids, in the middle of WI, grid EN54cl.  WB9LYH has a pair of 17B2 yagis and 500 watts from a ridgetop, so his signal gets out a very long way.  DX is always welcome to the Wed. 144.240 net and we encourage everyone to spread the word in a 500-mile circle. 

   WB9LYH’s antenna pattern is first NE into the U.P. of MI.  Then he’s soon looking E and SE into MI/OH/VE-3.  Then it’s SSE into IN; S, into WI and ILL; SW into MO, IA, KS and NE, W into MN and the Dakotas and finally NW and N into N MN and Canada again.   This has been the pattern for years.  If you’d like to know our Wed. net history, it’s here:   http://kc9bqa.com/?p=5363 

   The 144.240 Wed. net is informal and all licensed amateurs are welcome to listen along and say hello when they’re comfortable.  The purpose is to promote more on-air activity on 2m SSB. 

   Would not be surprised if the bands are a little bit enhanced at times tonight.  Warmer air is trying to move in above the frigid air at ground level.  Warmer air aloft over colder air near the surface is conducive to band enhancement.  Start 2014 off right by supporting more on-air activity on bands like 50, 144, 222 and 432 MHz.  Help us get the word spread to guys who have all-mode capability on V/UHF, and let them know where and when they can find signals. 

    Remember that it’s not just about us on Wed. nights.  I have detailed posts at kc9bqa.com dated Oct. 13th, 15th and 17th, 2013.  Those posts outline nets and activity all 7 nights of the week, in a wide area surrounding the Midwest and Great Lakes.  There’s far more activity than casual operators realize.  It’s important to steer hams to where and when the activity takes place.  Nobody wants to listen to a dead band.