6:30am Saturday
We’ve had beautiful ice fog the past few mornings. Looks like this morning’s the same. This kind of weather often means enhanced band conditions on the VHF/UHF frequencies. The basic mechanism is a temperature inversion, meaning warmer air slightly above the earth’s surface, with colder air near ground level. These inversions tend to be strongest during the nighttime into the morning hours. It would probably pay to get on the air this morning and see if the VHF/UHF signals are stronger than normal.
I’m posting this morning to get caught up with net reports.
First, an announcement. As already posted here at kc9bqa.com, the 144.240 Wed. night net will have N9XKH as a guest net control for both Dec. 9 and 16. N9XKH is in EN52il (WI/ILL state line, south of Madison, WI) Dennis has helped out several times the past few years. He’s got a nice signal but doesn’t have a lot of spare time to get on the air. So when he is able to call a net, N9XKH really appreciates lots of stations checking in and giving him signal reports. Help spread the word about this change for the 144.240 net on Wed. Dec. 9th and 16th.
Net will have the same start time — 8pm central and 9pm eastern — and same basic antenna pattern. Start out looking NE into MI, then look E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and N over the next 45-60 minutes, depending on how much activity there is.
144.240 Wed. Net Reports —
WB9LYH did not call a net on Wed., Nov. 25th. This was a Thanksgiving break.
On Wed., Dec. 2nd, WB9LYH was back and reported there was some propagation around the Midwest, with some strong signals. Mark’s 12 check-ins were: N9YK EN71; KD9BGY, N9JBW, K9ILU and K9CCL EN61; KC9OVD and N9RXM EN41; K0TPP EM48; WA9BNZ and W9BBP EN40; KB9PSE EN52 and N0IRS EM29.
144.252 Mon. Net Reports —
Back on Mon., Nov. 23rd, K8TQK had 15 check-ins to the 144.240 net: N8WNA and N8AIA EN82; VE3ZV EN92; WB8AUK and WM8I EN80; W9BN, WA4NJP and W4IMD EM84; N8GCP EM88; KI4ROF EM55; N9RXM EN41; WB8ART EM79; KB8GUE and KC8VPQ EM89 and KB8TDA EN70.
Then on Mon., Nov. 30th, K8TQK had 20 check-ins: N8WNA EN82; VE3ZV EN92; AC3L/M FN00; WA3EOQ FM09; K3GNC FN20; KC8QDQ and KB8GUE EM89; N8XA and WB8LNG EM79; W0LD FM05; W4LES, W9BN, W4VAS, WA4NJP and W4IMD EM84; KC4AAW EM85 and KA2KQM EM74; WB9SWQ and KC9WOI EN40 and N9RXM EN41.
As mentioned many times before, the 144.252 net is called every Monday at 8:30pm eastern. K8TQK is net control, located in EM89je, south-central OH, near Chillicothe. All licensed amateurs are welcome. The net is informal and the goal is to increase activity on 2m SSB. DX is always encouraged to give it a try, as K8TQK has a whopping signal from a hilltop QTH.
K8TQK’s antenna pattern is to start out looking N, then NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW over the next 45-60 minutes. Depends on how busy the net is.