[OKDXA] Heard Island next year

[Gary McCrorey]

    Should be able to get them if they are there long enough.   I got them 
in Alaska on 40m and 80m cw. Only bands I heard them on there and only mode. 
But was very glad to get them.   Both bands in about 10 minutes.
    So will be looking for them from here also, good luck and go get them. 
You never know how propagation will be.   Just get on and have fun.
73 Gary  wq5r

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John G." <af5cc at fidmail.com>
To: "Oklahoma - DX news and information" <okdxa at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2013 9:37 PM
Subject: Re: [OKDXA] Heard Island next year


>
>
>> 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
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