[Elecraft] K1, calling CQ, 2x QRP QSO.

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Sandy, W6TVW wrote:

A lot of people nowadays don't understand HF propagation.  One MUST 
remember that the propagation programs are not necessarily correct!

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Absolutely!! The predictions are like weather forecasting. Today we have a
100% chance of rain in Northwest Oregon based on the most advanced data
analysis in the world. We are told that we may be having the wettest January
since Lewis and Clark trekked through here in 1805.

Yet, outside my office window I see blue skies and the sun is shining!

Keith's "mojo" is his interest and willingness to listen and call on a
'dead' band, aided of course by a good rig! I commend you for that Keith. I
hope I can be on the other end of one of those QSO's one day. To me, your
choices are at the heart of Ham Radio as I most enjoy it. 

Antenna modeling software, propagation analysis and all the rest are, at
best, a sort of "virtual reality". As compelling as the graphics may be,
they may not depict reality at all. 

At least back in the days when analysis was done crunching numbers with our
only output huge arrays of digits on fan-fold paper we weren't seduced by
fancy graphics into believing that the results were anything more real than
a bunch of predictions based on a bunch of assumptions about what might be
true.

Ron AC7AC