Monday 11 April 2011

10m FM..

My blog posting is a bit like buses, nothing for a while, then two at once, yesterdays opening on 6m was too good not to blog, and then the day got even better..

I use the Kenwood TS-480, as shown on my blog page, this radio has some up/down buttons for changing bands, so starting on top band, you can click up the bands, when you get to 10m mine then shows 28500 USB, then 29600 FM, then 6m, 50150 USB.

As mentioned there was a lift on 6m, and being a big fan of 10m, you can imagine these up/down arrows get a lot of use, so earlier I flicked from 10m USB and normally on the 10m FM portion hear nothing, well not today, for booming in at 5/9+ on 29600.0 was WP3UX.

I was fairly sure this was a station from Puerto Rico, as I've worked there before on 10m SSB, mindful of the way FM propagates I didn't want to waste time, but still I needed to be sure, so a flurry of fingers on the keyboard (well two actually) on QRZ.com confirmed my suspicions.

A few calls was all it took to receive a 5/9 report back, though the QSB was pretty bad, next came EC8ADS in the Canary Isl's.

Finally, and this took some working, as he had quite a pile-up, was PY2WC, from Sao Paulo, he was at times 5/9 +30dB, though again subject to heavy fading.

This is my farthest FM contact at 5735m, it took me back to a time when as a cb'er I worked into New York on the local FM calling channel.

10-4 !


The antenna array at PY2WC.


eQSL from Willem, WP3UX..


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10-meter_band
http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/ts_480/
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3 comments:

  1. Paul Stam PAØK11 April 2011 at 05:49

    Hi Paul, I was listening on 10 m FM, but I heard in the distance some flutter/QSB. My dipole is not all that good for 10 m. And unfortunately I can't come out on 6 meter. No antenna for it. You must have a hot spot there with your antennas. Very good results. 73 Paul

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  2. PE4BAS, Bas11 April 2011 at 08:56

    Hello Paul, did hear a station in Brasil wit 5/9 on FM at 29.600 couple of days ago. Did you know Willem was a CB operator here in the Netherlands years ago....what a coïncidence. 73, Bas

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  3. Paul M0PCZ11 April 2011 at 12:58

    Hi Paul, if you can, put up a vertical for 10m, as you'll get a lower angle of radiation for the DX, and Bas, I didn't know that, but saw from his qrz.com page that he was Dutch.

    The ZS6BKW is some antenna, it is a little deaf on 10m compared to the vertical, but still very useable.

    73 Paul.

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