[NLRS] Morning tropo

[Bill Davis Jr]

 First ... no big QSO list ......

  Started my morning listening to the "Morning group" on 3.930Mhz about 7:50am. The group starts up at 8am but two guys were on early, the first words to each other, "the guys on 2m SSB must be having a great morning" .... OH CRAP! What am I doing listening to 75m. 

  Quickly checked the FM rig ... yep Duluth repeater and Hibbing repeaters loud and FQ off the back of the little cheap yagi 2m 3elem 2m FM antenna pointed NW. 2 is up in that direction!

  I did have the 2m SoftRock panadapter on, (guess what antenna, yep EME antenna again). Quickly went down to 144.200 called some (on correct antenna as well as a couple on EME yagi) nil ... Logged onto the  ON4KST 144/432 chat and saw that some guys were on.... Worked KA0KYZ EN33 S-7 144.200 with my antenna on Chicago, the direction of the APRS enhancement. Worked Vince K0SIX 5-9+ (direct heading) 144.200 then QSY `144.210. 

  Gary time .... (W0GHZ) worked on 10Ghz sigs 15db above the noise. Slightly better than "normal", but we have been skunked for a couple weeks on 10Ghz except for snow scatter and an occasional QSO. Last night I discovered my dish may have been a couple deg more easterly than it should be ... maybe "left over" from snow scatter QSO. Gary had a keyer problem that took a bit of time and I was fussing with the dish heading... maybe close to 10min later we go to 902.... 1296 wasn't on, I was distracted ... 

  I call Gary and standby ..... B O O M ..... Gary is 65db above the noise!! I may have heard him louder, but I doubt it! HUGE signal. 5-9+10 on FM. We go to 1296 (always weaker there) and he is 60db above the noise , or more on the K3 SoftRock panadapter. LOUD LOUD LOUD. We try 432 ... 5-9+10 then 2m. 2 wasn't much above normal.

  We sign I do some more calling on Called W9ZIH on the phone, no answer, Called Steve N4PZ on the phone no answer, Called Barry VE4MA .. out of the shack, back in 20-30m. I fire up the 8877 and call toward KC and Chicago on 144.200 CW and nil ..... Barry calls. The RRV had tropo last night. checks on 432 and 1296 showed signals but nothing special. While I was trying to optimize heading on 1296, for a while I was hearing Barry peaking straight West 270deg vrs the normal heading 321deg ... it lasted a couple min and was gone. Nice 20db above the noise steady sig, where direct was just above the noise with lots of QSB. Aircraft scatter???

  So didn't work anyone out of the usual, BUT the signals from Vince and Gary were far from usual!

  11:13am Duluth repeater still above normal but no longer FQ. Now 49deg and sunny ... WOW

73  Bill  K0AWU  EN37ed