[OKDXA] Heard Island next year

[John G.]

> Of course you will work Heard Is.
> I guarantee it !!! :-) :-)

I sure hope you are right!!  That will be #321 unless I work a new one 
before it.

> Your Cushcraft MA5B will give 1-more S unit, so by all means >use it.

Right now it is in the shed in the back yard.  Dont have a big enough rotor 
for it yet.  I don't really relish the idea of having to climb up on the 
roof again to put it up and move the VHF antennas around.  That is where it 
will be going, up on a tripod on the roof of the house, about 25 feet above 
the ground.

> My beam is 20 feet off the ground.  It's on a 52 foot crank up.
> But it does just fine at 20 feet, so I don't crank it up.
> Yes it will work better up higher but it does just fine where it's >at.

That is interesting.  I had always thought that beams needed to be around 
1/2 wavelength above ground to really start playing.  My setup would be high 
enough on 15 and 10, but not really on 20. Sounds like you do ok below 1/2 
wavelength, though.

>  Forget 160-80-40-30 meters
I am happy if I get on the other side of the Red River on 160 with my poor 
setup.  I did get Clipperton and Ducie on 160, though.  I actually do pretty 
good on 30m.  That was the only band I worked ZL9HR on, and the band I heard 
BS7H and FT5XO the best on. Also got 3Y0X and VK9W there for one of the 
first QSOs with either.  Didn't get either the BS7 or FT5, though.  40 can 
be fun at grayline time also, but really didn't count on getting them there. 
Would sure love to have a 30m beam up at around 75 feet or so, that would be 
a blast!

>Focus on 10-12-15 and 17 meters when open..  20M will be >more competitive, 
>but doable.
That is about what I figured, and probably also have the biggest lids.  10m 
and 12m could be interesting.  That might be bands that EU won't have 
propagation when we do.  The JAs will be big competition, though.

>  4.   Finding where in the pileup he's working is a help.
>        And then going up or down a little from that is another tip.

I have found that to be an effective technique myself.  If you listen 
enough, many times you can figure out the patttern they are using for 
finding callers.  It would be nice to have a rig with dual receive, maybe 
the funds were be there by that time.

> 5.   CW will give you an advantage over SSB.
Most definitely, and it is my favorite mode.  I tolerate SSB, that is the 
best I can say for it.

> 6.  Plan on spending hours at a time--- if necessary.
Sure hope the schedule permits it. Maybe I will send the family on a cruise 
HI HI

> Solar cycle effect is going to be poor like now.

Hard to say. Some are predicting that it will be a solar peak around that 
time.  I don't think anyone knows for sure what it wiill be like next 
January, but probably better than it was for VK0IR in 1997.  If conditions 
aren't that good, then it will definitely favor the N/S paths like from 
Heard to JA.


Let's just hope for the best.  I guess I don't want to work them all, then 
the bands would get boring, knowing you aren't going to find a new one to 
work HI HI.  Not sure that will ever be a problem for me.

73 John AF5CC