[OKDXA] VK0EK

[Jeff Martin]

  Well, I have heard them a few times but they sure have been weak. Sound
more like 100 watts and verticals than KW's and yagis or vertical arrays...
Have them in the log on 30 and 40. On 30 they were just a whisper. Last
night on 40 they had fair signals for 2-3 hours. They often moved their
transmit frequency a bit to avoid the idiots, but with listening weren't too
hard to find. After I got them on 40, I listened and heard them on 80. I
could hear them, but too weak to call. I have a low inverted V on 80. Since
their daylight hours and our daylight hours are almost opposite it makes it
difficult for propagation. I am surprised only 11% of their QSO's so far are
on 20 meters. 20 is always the money band. I think we might have prop on 20
short path in the evenings and long path in the mornings our time. 30 and 40
long path in the mornings is also a possibility. 

  Just for grins, I went back in my log to see when I had worked VK0IR. It
has been publicized that they were the last DXpedition to Heard, in 1997. I
found the following log entries:

VK0IR   17Jan97   0034Z    14SSB

VK0IR   18Jan97   1910Z     21CW

VK0IR   25Jan97  0237Z     14CW

  I don't remember where we were in the sunspot cycle back then, but looks
like 20 meters in the evening was a good time... 

  I figured VK0IR was probably my QSO for a new one, but upon further log
checking I found I had also worked VK0CW and VK0HI.

VK0CW   2Feb83   0059Z    14CW

VK0HI    2Feb83   0226Z    14SSB

  So, I also worked them in the evening on 20 meters... Interesting... Wow,
1983, I really am an old timer... Anybody else work them or the Jim Smith
expedition in 83?

  Good Luck to everyone. Hope you get them in the log. This is a hard one...

 

73,

 

Jeff - K5WE