G4 Ramblings

Band conditions have been variable yet again. Looking at the sun-spot graph I am not surprised. The spot count appeared to peak on January 13 and dipped to zero on the 19 th with another peak on 23 rd again falling to zero on 28 th . Overall the DX is coming through more often and for longer periods.

The 10mtr band has been very quiet at this location. Having seen stations being spotted by mainly southern Europeans, I have qsy'd to the band only to be confronted by silence from one end to the other. The stations nearer the equator have a definite advantage over those of us who are further north, very unfair!

15mtrs has shown some life at times, producing surprising DX on a normally quiet band. For example during January I worked ZD7FT, JY4CI, FR1AN and LO2F on SSB and J28KO and VA3DX on RTTY. It is always worth checking all bands for activity and not just sticking to two or three of the more ‘reliable' ones.

20mtrs has been the most ‘reliable' band for me this month as usual, bringing in the DX from all directions with 17mtrs coming a close second.

It was nice to see so many faces at the club lunch in the King's Arms on 24 th January. The food was delicious and in as large a quantity as required, which suited me! In between mouthfuls there was much talk, not all being about radio. Linda and I were sitting opposite a couple who were new to the club, but not the area. I am afraid that I can't remember their names. It turns out that he used to work with Brian, G4BCO sometime after I worked with him. There was much reminiscing about the ‘old times'. It was Brian who persuaded me to take the RAE in 1971 and helped me through the CW learning curve to enable me to obtain my present licence in 1974. When I first met Brian his call was G8CCO and was often seen driving his white van complete with 2mtr beam on the roof controlled by a giro compass and motor. I think that most people thought that it was a TV detector van! Brian, if you are reading this, I actually found a G8CCO QSL card in my collection the other day.

The BIG contest this month is the CQWW WPX SSB on 27 th and 28 th . The same weekend that the clocks change. Good luck!

DX countries worked during January include:-

Djibouti, Guadeloupe, Mauritius, Martinique, China, Hong Kong, India, Virgin Islands, Nigeria, Cuba, Aruba, St. Helena, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Japan, Thailand, South Africa, Morocco, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Reunion Island, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Dominican Republic, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, and South Korea.

Contests taking place during March include:-

AGCW YL-CW Party 1900Z-2100Z, Mar 2

ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB 0000Z, Mar 6 to 2400Z, Mar 7

DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest 1100Z-1700Z, Mar 7

AGCW QRP Contest 1400Z-2000Z, Mar 13

EA PSK31 Contest 1600Z, Mar 13 to 1600Z, Mar 14

SOC Marathon Sprint 1800Z-2400Z, Mar 13

10-10 Int. Mobile Contest 0001Z-2359Z, Mar 20

BARTG HF RTTY Contest 0200Z, Mar 20 to 0200Z, Mar 22

Russian DX Contest 1200Z, Mar 20 to 1200Z, Mar 21

CQ WW WPX Contest, SSB 0000Z, Mar 27 to 2400Z, Mar 28

DX to look out for during March include:-

Mar 1-Apr 30, 2010 DXCC: Juan Fernandez Callsign: XR0ZN QSL: LotW

SA-005; CW SSB RTTY

Mar 3-10, 2010 DXCC: Cocos Keeling Callsign: VK9C QSL: K8NA
By NL8F as VK9C/NL8F or VK9COF; 80-10m vertical

Mar 3-Apr 2, 2010 DXCC: Rodrigues I Callsign: 3B9 QSL: G3LZQ
By G3LZQ as 3B9/G3LZQ AF-017; low bands; QRV for RSGB Commonwealth Contest

Mar 5-24, 2010 DXCC: Gambia Callsign: C56KR QSL: OZ8KR
By OZ8KR; 80-10m; SSB; close to Atlantic Ocean; holiday style operation

Mar 5-12, 2010 DXCC: St Martin Callsign: FS QSL: LotW
By KT8X as FS/KT8X; CW SSB RTTY; QRV for ARRL DX SSB Contest

Mar 9-16, 2010 DXCC: St Lucia Callsign: J6 QSL: G3PJT
NA-108 (WLOTA LH-1336); focus on 80 + 30m; QRV for RSGB Commonwealth Contest

Mar 9-18, 2010 DXCC: Antigua Callsign: V25WY QSL: LotW, eQSL, Buro
By W4OWY & W9OP using V25OP; 160-6m; CW SSB RTTY;

Mar 10-17, 2010 DXCC: Montserrat Callsign: VP2MCC QSL: LotW, Buro
By G4FAL NA-103; 80-10m; CW; QRV for RSGB Commonwealth Contest

Mar 11-15, 2010 DXCC: Samoa Callsign: 5W QSL: Home Call
By N7OU W7YAQ from Apia; 160-10m; mainly CW, some SSB RTTY; 100w; vertical

Mar 11-24, 2010 DXCC: St Martin Callsign: TO5SM QSL: F6BFH
By F6BFH NA-105; HF; SSB & CW

Mar 11-25, 2010 DXCC: Grenada Callsign: J38 QSL: G3VCQ
By G3VCQ as J38CW and M3VCQ as J38SW NA-024 (WLOTA L-0718)

Mar 16-26, 2010 DXCC: Juan Fernandez Callsign: CE0z
By LA9SN as CE0Z/LA9SN Robinson Crusoe I; 80-10m; mainly CW

Mar 16-Apr 4, 2010 DXCC: Antigua Callsign: V21ZG QSL: DL7AFS
By DL7AFS DJ7ZG; 80-6m; RTTY PSK SSB; focus on JA + QRP stns

Mar 28-31, 2010 DXCC: Ogasawara Callsign: JD1BNN QSL: Buro

Good hunting and plenty of DX!

Antony G4CUS