[Elecraft] 6M

[Bill W5WVO]

Julius,

Welcome to 6M! I love this band.

A couple of things you should know in terms of operating that tend to be 
diffrent on 6M than HF:

1) Except during times of extraordinary activity (contest weekend during 
widespread sporadic-E opening), peole on 6M tend to "channelize" on 5 kHz 
increments, starting at 50125 and moving on up the band as high as 50300 or 
above. There is plenty of room, no need to squash everybody all together.  :-)

2) During weak-signal conditions, SSB and CW are used interchangeably, as 
needed, to complete QSOs anywhere in the band. This is seldom done on HF. Most 
transceivers today have a menu option to automatically offset the VFO by the 
frequency of your CW sidetone when switching from SSB to CW. This allows 
continuous CW copy whether in SSB or CW mode without retuning. Turn this 
option ON for 6M.

3) On 6M, it's all about GRID SQUARES. You give your QTH as your grid square 
(always in standard phonetics) before you give anything else; it's the one 
thing that is need to complete a legal QSO. You can go on to other exchanges 
(propagation conditions permitting) once this has been validated. The 
principle ARRL award here is VUCC for working/confirming 100 grid squares. 
This is easy on 6M; endorsements start to get harder once you get up above 400 
grids or so. (I personally think VUCC on 6M should be raised to 250 grids or 
so.) WAS on 6M is a real accomplishment if done entirely without the aid of F2 
propagation, which occurs on 6M only during the year or two at the peak of the 
solar cycle. I've worked 49 states without F2 -- still need Alaska.

Bill W5WVO
Registered and certified 6M nut
DM65 / New Mexico


Robie Elms wrote:
> Julius,
>
> 50.125 mHZ - national calling frequency.   Stations monitor this
> frequency to facilitate making contacts.  Usually I call CQ here and
> move off this frequency to complete the contact.  This is the
> frequency to monitor to determine if the band is "open".  Most
> activity on this frequency is SSB.
> 50.100 and below are restriced to CW only.  Most activity is
> concentrated between 50.090 and 50.100.
>
> You will find beacon stations below about 50.080 mHz.  They transmit
> continuously and give their call sign and grid locator.  This
> provides a means to determine if the band is open and if so, in what
> direction.
> 50.100 - 50.110 mHz is the "DX window" .  This segment is generally
> reserved for dx contacts.  Usually I listen in this segment for DX
> stations calling cq and answer them.  I do not call cq in this
> segment.  CW and SSB are used here.
>
> The best tool to determine activity, band openings etc. is the dx
> cluster. I use it constantly and always provide spots when I work a
> station.  This will ensure that others know of band openings!
>
> This information is in line with the ARRL band plan for 6 meters. You can 
> find it on the ARRL website.
>
>
> I hope this helps!
>
> Robie - AJ4F grid EL29lm
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "J F" <phriendly1 at yahoo.com>
> To: <Elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 6:56 AM
> Subject: [Elecraft] 6M
>
>
>> Having never ever been on 6 meters, would some kind
>> soul advise me where the best to look for CW stations
>> (and SSB I guess) this weekend might be? Thinking I
>> should get my feet wet before the K3 arrives...
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Julius
>> n2wn
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