11 meter is very quiet?

[CherokeeSoccer]

Yes, DXing is the same as "shooting skip. NO you do not need a beam or 1Kw to make long distance contacts, they help but not mandatory. When conditions are right I make good contacts with 30 watts on an Inverted V wire dipole on a condo balcony. I can't compete with the world wide needlebenders but I don't care or want to. To me the fun is in talking 2000+ miles on relatively low power and a simple but efficient setup. But that's me. If your ground plane is set up well and radiates efficiently you will make some DX contacts.
Monitor 27.385 LSB and you will hear when conditions are right. Lately for me (in the Midwest) the band is open mid-morning to mid afternoon but it can happen anytime. When things get really busy operators will move to the adjacent quieter frequencies to make contacts. Going above 27.405 if possible for you will open up more opportunities. I use a local SDR waterfall display to show me what frequencies possible contacts are on across the band. 27.415 to 27.605 can be great sometimes and much quieter. There should be a SDR in or near KC you can use. Since I'm lowish power it sometimes takes a while to be heard (sometimes not at all) but I keep trying. Having a QSO with a station in another country or on the opposite end of ours is a blast.
Hope this helps and have fun.

73

Thanks for all the useful information! You lost me with the SDR waterfall display but I will research that.

 

[Crawdad]

Thanks for all the useful information! You lost me with the SDR waterfall display but I will research that.

CherokeeSoccer,
My pleasure, hope the info helps. Congrats on making your first DX contacts. SDR's are Software Defined Radio (whatever that means) receivers that you can access online and tune from 0 to 30 MHz. They have a waterfall and spectrum display that shows active signals (even your own). They're very handy. You have one near you in KC, KS.,KD4HSO. HTTP://KIWISDR.COM/PUBLIC will take you to a world wide list/map of receivers.
Have fun.
73

 

[CherokeeSoccer]

CherokeeSoccer,
My pleasure, hope the info helps. Congrats on making your first DX contacts. SDR's are Software Defined Radio (whatever that means) receivers that you can access online and tune from 0 to 30 MHz. They have a waterfall and spectrum display that shows active signals (even your own). They're very handy. You have one near you in KC, KS.,KD4HSO. HTTP://KIWISDR.COM/PUBLIC will take you to a world wide list/map of receivers.
Have fun.
73

Woa! I just checked out that sdr site. I sure have a lot to learn before I will understand what it all means but it looks like a great tool. Thanks again for all the info! I can use all the help I can get. lol

 

[Christopher17]

Christpher17...I keep a record of DX stations I talk to. Got you “703 Elevation Texas” logged in on 11-4-2020 3.85 LSB.

I got 556, Ralph, Kentucky, and north Carolina scratched out for that day ?

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Tons of conditions today, 38lsb was smoking. I heard stations in Montana, western Canada, California, Nevada, Texas, Mexico and Bahamas. I heard a Nevada station returning to San Palo Brazil too. Things have kind of died down now, hopefully it will pick up this evening.

 

[S&W357]

I got 556, Ralph, Kentucky, and north Carolina scratched out for that day ?

Ralph is right

556 is right

Kentucky is wrong

North Carolina is right

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Here is a list of the 11m free band usage as well as some other countries cb bands. Its good to know where to listen when looking for DX. I have no idea how current the information is.

http://www.bellscb.com/cb_radio_hobby/freebandfreqs.htm

 

[S&W357]

Flavors of the day...Wisconsin, Idaho, Arizona, California, & Calgary Alberta Canada.

I've never connected with or heard anyone in North Dakota.

 

[RT431]

Looks like I'm missing all the fun. Been busy haven't had time to turn a radio on.
I'll try to sneak out to the truck sometime today.

 

[ForestRunner98]

Flavors of the day...Wisconsin, Idaho, Arizona, California, & Calgary Alberta Canada.

I've never connected with or heard anyone in North Dakota.

I must have been lucky..the same day I had contact with Saskatchewan the next contact was North Dakota.

 

[Slowmover]

I must have been lucky..the same day I had contact with Saskatchewan the next contact was North Dakota.

Same guy.

Wind kinda blows them around up there.

.

 

[S&W357]

I must have been lucky..the same day I had contact with Saskatchewan the next contact was North Dakota.

I've made to 47 of the 48 Continental States and most of the Canadian Provinces but not North Dakota.

Next time you talk to ND ask them to shout out for NC-556

 

[ForestRunner98]

I've made to 47 of the 48 Continental States and most of the Canadian Provinces but not North Dakota.

Next time you talk to ND ask them to shout out for NC-556

View attachment 41790

That’s awesome! I working on my list.

Ah ok!! I made that ND contact on Sunday. Maybe that station only DX’s on the weekend. That’s the only time I can play too. Darn work!

 

[RT431]

I turned my radio on this morning, and nothing but static.

 

[ForestRunner98]

Just local, Spanish speaking, truckers hauling dirt away at a nearby construction zone.