[VHFcontesting] Newbie on 6

[roger at k4rw.net]

Hi Dwight,
Welcome to 6m. 6m is addicting and you may find yourself having so much fun
on 6m that you are on this band more than others. Got the t-shirt...HA

My two cents:
1. Watch the vhfdx maps:
http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&ML=M&Map=NA&DXC=N&HF=N&GL=
N 

2. For JT65A, the following frequencies have activity:
50.076 MHz USB
50.160 MHz USB
50.260 MHz USB
50.276 MHz USB
50.290 MHz USB
I think 50.290 & 50.276 are ones I see spots for more often. 

3. FSK441 and other digital modes for meteor scatter are best observed on
Ping Jockey site (as others have mentioned)

4. SSB & CW Meteor Scatter is very active "daily" here (TX, FL, TN, LA, AL,
MS, OH, MI, PA, IN, etc) on 50.145. Lots of activity on this frequency 7-8am
Eastern.

5. Scan the beacon frequencies often when you are at the rig.

6. As far as station improvements go, the name of the game is "hearing" the
other stations. Noise is a BIG deterrent to hearing weak signals. Antenna
gain becomes secondary if the antenna is picking up lots of noise. Be active
in searching for noise sources around your home/station. You may have a
noise problem on 6m but it never bothers you on HF. This is typical because
on 6m (and vhf in general), you are listening for and trying to work
stations that my not even move the S-meter. If you have noise that is strong
enough to register on the S-meter, you will miss a lot of good dx on 6m.
I've found annoying noise generators just by selectively unplugging stuff
around the house and listening on 6m. 

7. DX....  You're in a good area to hear JA's and Pacific Islands. Watch for
the spots on the vhfdx maps.

Again, welcome to 6m and get ready to have some fun. Summer E's season is
starting. I see the band is very active in EU right now.

Roger K4RW

Date: Thu, 5 May 2016 06:41:59 -0700
From: Dwight Jones <123dwight at gmail.com>
To: vhfcontesting at contesting.com
Subject: [VHFcontesting] Newbie on 6
Message-ID:
	<CABxmy-ezsKj-b1W7aMOXCH4b046Labnwrr8DuPfGTSoxTbTXXw at mail.gmail.com>
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Hello,
I have set up a modest station for 6 meters. I live in a rural area where
there are no other VHFers. (Grid CN71; Del Norte County, California)

I have a strong preference for digital modes. I know the recommended
frequencies for various modes, but suspect that some modes have more
activity than others when the band is open.
1) Could someone recommend modes that will be most likely to have activity?
2) I'm most familiar with JT65 because I use it on HF. Is this a good
choice? What is an appropriate power output on 6 meter JT65?
3) Can someone point me to a book or website that explains how to do FSK411?
4) Any other modes I should look into?
5) Does anyone do digital during the June contest? I intend to operate
portable form the highest ridge in my grid. I might resort to SSB if there
are no digital people to contact.

Thanks,
Dwight
KO6FE