How to work 6 meter DX

[novakor]

http://www.ham-radio.com/n6ca/50MHz/6mtrdx.html

http://www.qsl.net/n2ffl/6meter.htm

 

[davegrantsr]

'How to work 6 meter DX'-are you a CBer??? LISTEN to your CB, but forget channel 6. when you hear relatively short E skip, say under 500 miles, start listening for E skip on 6m. when E skip on CB is under 300 miles, pretty much a guarantee of E skip on 6m. as for sunspot-aided propagation on 6m, listen for 1500 mile-plus, non-E skip DX on 27.555, or even the 'regular' SSB freqs like 27.365-405. when the CB signals POUND at those distances, you may very well get long distance F-layer propagated DX on 6 meters. that's a generalized 'basics lesson'. 6-10-11 meters experience the same type of propagation, whatever effects HF AS WELL AS what effects VHF, is possible on these 3 bands. if you check cluster spots, ducting forecasts, aurora predictions, and sunspot reports, you'll be able to come up with some sort of propagated signal on those 3 bands more often then you think! 'they' say to 'listen'-FORGET THAT! if ANY of the 'predictors' show even the slightest possibility of propagation, get out there & call 'CQ' on a 'calling freq', with regularity. i can't count how many contacts i've made on those 3 bands where the 1st thing said was 'WOW i thought the band was dead!'. cali to hawaii ducts aren't the only ones there! east coast to bermuda, even the canaries happens! not 8000 mile F layer, but a 1500 mile contact by way of duct is FUN too!

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I prefer to actually listen to 6m for signs of band openings rather than to 10/11m. I find it is MUCH more reliable.I just tune the beacon band and if I hear ANY CW beacons I hit 50.110 or 50.125 and call CQ.

 

[davegrantsr]

100% true, QRN. i was just looking to add ways to find 6 meter skip to novakor's findings. considering there are so many new CB-converts-to-ham, they actually KNOW how to find skip, and probably didn't even know it! how many 40 year extras have you heard say 'i NEVER thought 6 or 10 would be open this time of year' or whatever, even the oldtimers are in the dark sometimes! in my locale, however, 6 & 10m SSB activity is dependant on skip, otherwise, it's dead. for whatever reasons, i almost always have a CB turned on when driving, or in the shack. if i'm talking DX on the lower ham bands, of course the CB is probably off, but when even 20m is quiet, & i'm working on some project, i'll have 20m & 27.025 monitored-for signs of propagation.

 

[SR385]

My 10m secret is to loop my voice keyer on 28.400 while I'm sitting around surfing the web. I do this on the WARC bands too when they sound 'dead' and it's amazing what 20 over 9 signals I've 'dug up' on 'dead' bands.

 

[novakor]

All good ways to listen for E skip and my help is directed toward any new hams or for that matter new and old. Since i find myself listening to CB less and less.... what i do is use a old 16 channel bearcat scanner for local 2 meter repeaters,park my ft-100D on 50.125MHz and use my ic-761 to surf the HF bands. If i spot any band activity on 10 or 11 i also check to see if 6m is open. In addition to the above method i also check here:http://maps.dxers.info/gmap/?b=6m

See you on the magic band

73