[WIham] Long-Range 2m SSB Nets *ON* Tonight

[Todd Sprinkmann]

     If you didn't know that 200, 300, 400-mile contacts can be
made everyday on VHF and UHF, then perhaps I've piqued your
interest.   The longer contacts are made between stations that
point horizontally polarized yagi or beam antennas at one another.
A guy with at least 50-100 watts + a 9 element or longer yagi, up
30-50' and a clear horizon will make contacts in that 200 mile
range.  The higher your antennas, and the longer the yagi, the more
DX you work.  Make sure you use low-loss coax, too.   9913 or
better yet LMR-400 will keep your feedline losses low, and bring
every decibel to your ears.
    Consider passing that info along to your ham friends who have
no idea of the possibilities beyond the local repeater.

    Tonight we have:
    144.230 @ 0045Z or 6:45pm central/7:45pm eastern
    KA0KYZ Terry in EN33 -- southeast Minnesota.
    Starts out looking east, goes clockwise a full 360.

    144.240 @ 0100Z or 7pm central/8pm eastern
    KC9BQA in EN63, 40 miles north of Milwaukee.
    Starts out looking north, goes clockwise a full 360.

    144.250 @ 0130Z or 7:30pm central/8:30pm eastern
    K8TQK Bob in EM89 -- southern Ohio.
    Starts out looking north, goes clockwise a full 360.

     All 3 of these net controls make contacts in that 300-500
mile range, with flat bands.   Very grateful that they've come on
board and are helping improve VHF.

     Even if nets don't interest you, take advantage of the fact that
dozens of guys are on.   We encourage you to look around on
144.220 and below, just like we encourage our net check-ins to
do the same.   Wednesdays are becoming "can't-miss" nights to
be on 2 meters.  Last week we had 59 check-ins on these nets,
across multiple states and grid squares -- best week ever since
we started up in July of 2008.  Those stations are listed in my
Nov. 11 net report at kc9bqa.com.

     Of course, we also encourage you to visit the free, real-time
chat at www.on4kst.com.   We use the IARU Region 2 Chat for
144/432 MHz, and it's a great tool for helping you make more
on-air contacts.   7 simple instructions for signing up are at this 
link:
http://kc9bqa.com/?p=3765

      73,
      Todd   KC9BQA    EN63ao    40 N of Milwaukee
      www.kc9bqa.com   For Frequent VHF/UHF Updates
      www.wivuch.com    WI VHF/UHF County Hunters Award