[CQ-Contest] IARU HF Championship

[XV4Y (Yan)]

Hi Rick,

I don't want to interfere with your plans, but just for your information, 80m has been quite surprising to me.
I am running a standalone 80m beacons with 1W to a low above ground OCF Dipole.

I have received regular and reliable spots from all Australia and Tasmania, starting 1h before my sunset.
That's not surprising since it is a north->south propagation.
The same stations like VK7DIK are also spotting NA stations.

However, two evenings NN6RF also spotted me several time around 11.30z but not yesterday.
It is surprising because for me we don't have common darkness...

No spots from EU stations or JAs even we have common darkness, but perhaps my antenna is not good to JA and EU is a tougher path with people there using smaller antennas.

All in all that does not mean you will be able to score plenty of QSOs to NA or SEA.
I, for one, don't plan to go on 80m. I will perhaps do some 40m at sunset if the other bands are empty.

WSPR is a great tool and running it for one day you can then dig the statistics and learn the opening hours to one direction.
These are "best case" opening hours as in practice you will not have a CW QSO with 100w while WSPR can decode 1W transmissions. 

73,
Yan.
---
Yannick DEVOS - XV4Y
http://xv4y.radioclub.asia/
http://varc.radioclub.asia/

> New Zealand will be operating two sites for the upcoming IARU HF Contest:
> 
> CW: ZL6HQ (op: Frank ZL2BR)
> SSB: ZL6HQ (op: Rick ZL2HAM)
> Exchange: NZART
> 
> I will be active on 80 through 15 on SSB. If condx for the contest are
> similar to what they've been lately, 10 will be closed, and 80 will only be
> useful for a few local QSOs (ZL and maybe eastern VK if I'm lucky) -- so
> most activity will probably be on 20 and 40, with a little on 15 as condx
> allow. I tend to operate toward the lower end of the bands when I can.
> 
> 73, Rick ZL2HAM (ZL1G/ZM1G)