60m Flyer Forum net?

[The Westmorland Flyer]

I know there's quite a few radio amateurs amongst the Flyer Forums fraternity and I wondered if there might be any interest in an occasional gathering of the cognoscenti on the newly enlarged 60m band. It seems to be something of a waffle band so although that's not really my operating style I could try to find the microphone and join in with a bunch of forumites.

Anyone up for it?

73,
John, G3WGV

[Paul_Sengupta]

Don't have an aerial big enough. (also don't think my transceiver does 60m!)

Perhaps we could do one on VHF/UHF when the ISS comes over...

[Sellbydate_Expired]

It has been so long since G3UMK was heard on the air I did not even know we had a 5Mz band.
As Paul S said, my old FT101 doesn't go there.
I could always wind new coils for my home brew '2DAF transmitter (NOT...) 'cause I could not listen anyway.
Not even got my 70cm rig any more, so we cannot play Moon bounce even.......
Have fun guys anyway.
73deG3UMK dit dah/ dit dah dit

[Keef]

5 meg band? What have I been missing? I don't think the transceiver does that, although I'm sure the doublet would load on it once I fix the break in the feeder at the top of the pole (come some dry and windless weather). 80 or 40 would be a lot less effort.

I think there's a microphone around the shack somewhere, but I've not used it in a while. CW is easier

73 de G3OIT

[Lindsayp]

Funnily enough I've just started back on the bands and was wondering about a Flyer Forum net. My QTH constrains me greatly in aerials though so I'm only able to use 40m up using a Buddipole portable antenna in the back yard. (I thought 60m was only available on a NoV?). What about using 6m, would the propagation conditions at present suit? Or 10m?
73 de G3KME

[JoeC]

Conference call?

[Paul_Sengupta]

All these G3 callsigns, the other lot of "sky gods"!

80m would be ideal if any of us had aerials big enough. Personally I've only got an inverted V on 20! Might be able to rig up a long wire across to my garage if it doesn't annoy the neighbours.

73 de G(W)1YJY.

[lobstaboy]

40m seems good for inter-G working at the moment. I'd go for that for a phone ragchew net, though like Keef I'm mostly CW (and qrp only to boot - nothing like making things hard for onesself).

de G4YIL k

ps TWF - did you perhaps mean 40m in your OP? Its recently been enlarged to include 7.1 - 7.2MHz. Well "recently" in my terms anyway...

[cloudhopper]

Sounds like a bit of fun. I'll have to fire up my K3 and see if my fishing pole vertical will tune on 60m.

BTW, lobstaboy you seem to live just down the road from me!

[Lindsayp]

All these G3 callsigns, the other lot of "sky gods"!

.

Paul, I'm only G3 using my late dad's callsign, I was licensed as G8PMA in 1978. I've not been active for many years though due to a number of QTH moves, so only very recently using HF.

[The Westmorland Flyer]

Interesting replies. I did mean 60m - it's a really rather excellent bit of spectrum for daytime NVIS intra-G working, better than 80m and requiring a rather smaller antenna as well. Recently we've had a lot more spectrum made available and it seems to be something of a waffle band, so just right for us (I suppose 80m is the same).

60m is available to any advanced (full) class licensee on simple application for an NoV. All the stuff about having to define propagation experiments and so on has now gone and anyone who wants one can get it on line immediately.

6m and 10m would be very unreliable over many paths, especially for those of us further north. At my QTH 6m only produces traffic when sporadic-E is about and on 10m the skip is far too long and the ground-wave long since expired somewhere around Lancaster. Generally 40m skip is too long for intra-G working, so that really leaves the aches and pains band (80m) or 60m as viable options IMO.

73 de the original G3WGV-type sky god. As someone once said: "accept no substitutes"!

[Paul_Sengupta]

Would 80m be best for an evening discussion? I don't know how well 60m stands up in the evenings as I've never used it!

5598kHz and 5616kHz seem to do ok for aeroplanes in the evenings, though I don't get them very well at all down in Guildford - I used to get them all the time in Wales. (Shanwick Oceanic HF frequencies)

Hmm, I have an FT-757GXii and on this page:

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/723

it says "easily converted to 60m"...might have to investigate.

[The Westmorland Flyer]

Paul,

The skip goes out quite a long way even on 80m during darkness. It's not that you can't work intra-G but the European kilowatts (DL, I, etc.) start getting too loud to ignore. The only band that works well intra-G at night is 160m, which, of course, requires quite a big antenna. During daylight hours 80m or 60m work very well but there is far less traffic on 60m. 40m can also be used during daylight hours but is not as reliable. There's a reason the Mil has a load of frequencies around 5MHz!

It seems that the 757 is fairly easy to wideband. This is a good place to start (registration required).

[Paul_Sengupta]

It seems that the 757 is fairly easy to wideband. This is a good place to start (registration required).

I've just found this, which seems a little too easy...!

[The Westmorland Flyer]

There ya go Paul, I said it was easy. Get that sorted out, apply for an NoV thingy, then chuck 50ft or so of wire out of the window and tune it against ground, et voilà!