Topband: The band is looking up!

[daraymond at iowatelecom.net]

For us in the northern hemisphere, the band is quieting down and looking up!  On Sunday of this week I got the station here back to normal on 160m.   During summer months I had been using my alternate antenna which is a 1/4 wave sloping vertical with elevated radials.  For lightning protection during the summer months I had grounded the elements in the TX array, grounded the elements in the 8 circle array, and removed its electronics.  After Sunday afternoon’s antenna work, I got on Monday morning and put out a few CQs.  KH6DX promptly answered with an S9 signal followed by AL7TC, VK3IO, and ZL2RX.  I got back on again this morning and found VK2WF.  However, the real surprise this morning came when DU7ET answered my CQ.  It was a struggle for me to copy Robert but with some patience, we had a solid QSO.   For those of you that have been dormant during the summer months, it’s time to get on!

73. . . Dave, W0FLS
in Iowa