[VHFcontesting] 222 MHz Activity Night

[David Olean]

This week has been a busy one for me and it did not involve ham radio. I 
worked on so many home fix-it and paint projects that the XYL says  that 
I have built up several days of good vibes from her!  I am not fooled 
however, one false move on my part and it is the dog house again as fast 
as you can say whoops!  But that is another story!

Tuesday evening is the traditional 222 Activity evening. If you have any 
222 MHz gear, you should spark it up on Tuesday with the intent of 
making a contact and see if it still works. Next weekend is the 222 & Up 
contest, so this is a good time to fine tune your setup and try it out 
with real SSB and CW contacts. The Northeast usually starts hopping at 
2300 UT. I hope to be on a bit before that if I can.  Now that we are in 
August, there is a very good possibility of making an MS contact in the 
evening using MSK144 or FSK441.  The meteors tend to ramp up quite well 
for a week before the traditional Perseids peak.

I am doing tower work for a friend on Tuesday so I hope I can stay awake 
and try a meteor sked after 0100 UT or so.  The moon will be up on 
Tuesday evening as well. It sets for me at about 0240 UT so I will be 
monitoring the HB9Q 222 chat page should anyone wish to try an EME test. 
Most folks seem to monitor the ON4KST chat page (144/432 Region 2)  for 
tropo etc,  so log into that if you want to set something up with a 
distant station. There is digital FT8 activity as well if you are so 
inclined. A QSO is a QSO!

The Hepburn map shows some slight action in New England for Tuesday, but 
better "blobs" for VE3, Ohio, and down thru Kentucky and Tennessee. It 
looks like something could happen anywhere if you pay attention to 
things. I checked the beacons this evening and things seemed good in 
some directions, and not so good in others.  We are overdue for some 
tropo.  Take advantage of these summer months.

CU on 222.

Dave K1WHS