Where is everybody?

[KF2GQ]

It has been ten years since I've been on the air. #I came back to this hobby in Feburary of 2002. #I've listened to all the frequency's that we amateur's are givin to transmit on. #10 meters, 15 meters, ect., and one question keeps coming to mind. #WHERE IS EVERYONE?http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif #Back in 1992, you couldn't go 20HZ without hearing someone. #Today?

[KC2JCA]

I'm here almost all day, almost everyday.
I have no life. Never really needed one.
Try 7.110 during the day. Or 3.720 during the evenings.
Oh, but listen for the New Jersey Slow Net around 6:30pm, don't want to get in the way of that.


73, Jim - kc2jca

[K9STH]

Lately, the band conditions have not been that good a good part of the day. I have been looking at 10 meters from time-to-time (am away from home right now and only have a 10 meter mobile plus VHF FM) and the beacons are not coming in. Therefore, the band is not open, unlike a lot of the time when everyone is listening and no one is transmitting.

Glen, K9STH

[wg7x]

I would echo Glen's comments.

The bands have been flatter than a pancake lately. I've been on vacation all this week, and the bands higher than 20 meters are completely dead. This is due to the various solar events that have been hitting us.

Hopefully, things will improve in about a month. The summer doldrums have been especially bad this year.

Hang in there!

Gary WG7X

[n4sl]

Yep, the high bands are dead as a doornail up here near Seattle (CN88)... and I've recently had time to build new 10m antennas specifically for the December 10m contest... but can't test them! It's driving me nuts (a short trip).

I also got back on the air after a long break right in the very middle of the last sunspot dip -- I thought my receiver hadn't made it through the storage!

Hang on, fall conditions will arrive and we'll all hear the CBers on 10m again.

Steve N4SL

[ka1kjz]

The bands have been pretty bad lately, but also, 2 meter activity has fallen off of late.

EVERY activity goes through lulls or low spots. Club participation is way down too. My local club used to FILL the lecture hall at the local college, now they meet at a donut shop.

It will be back... enjoy the quiet while it lasts.

[N7CPC]

Point your fifteen meter beam at Florida. Everyone has retired and moved there!

73

[WA6CAW]

FYI,

There are at least 12 amateur radio bands/frequencies above 220MHz, all the way to 300GHz. I have not heard any one on those freq's, and have not found any band plan other than the satellite linking frequencies.

Where is that 24 GHz repeater that I made?

hmmmmmmmmm.........?

[W4PHJ]

I just finished a 3200 mile trip in my motorhome while monitoring 146.52. Gave quite a few calls, but never heard any activity. Where is everyone?

[KB9YFI]

Wow. Nobody came back on .52 the whole trip? You need to check your equipment. I just drove from Madison, WI to Long Island In NY and back a few weks ago and made a number of Simplex contacts. Try to concentrate your efforts when nearest high population-density centers. I had the best results near the big cities. I had a great QSO with a guy in the Chicago area for 30 miles. The band was open and he had a good high fixed operating location. As he talked with me a huge 2-meter simplex pile-up happened and we had a great time with about 5 operators all working each other. Don't give up because you don't at first succeed. 2-meter simplex is really not hard with good equipment. Make sure you have a good antenna and mounting location on your vehicle and thing might work a bit better. Through-glass antennas, trunk locations and mag-mounts all hurt performance. Drill a hole the center of your roof and put a 5/8-wave dual-band whip up there. This gain antenna will work a lot better and help you get a copyable signal out on simplex. Heck the fact 11-meter guys can work with that crappy band means we can do just about anything with short-medium ranged communication on 2-meters if you know how to install a good gain antenna. Too many VHF-mobile installations I have seen will only work the close-in repeaters. These machines have made most 2m ops spoiled and not pushing the antenna envelope very hard.

Jim - KB9YFI

[W4CGP]

I've seen similiar results on .52, driving between Columbia, SC, and Atlanta. In the 2 months I've been a ham, I've had one QSO on simplex and heard one other party some distance away on .52, those are the only times I've ever heard any simplex activity. I hope this changes when I get a better antenna; the lack of activity around here scares me.

Jonathan

[KJ4QJ]

73s all. I have been inactive for over ten years but ordered an Icom V8000 last week to get back on 2M simplex. I am located about 30 miles east of Atlanta and will monitor 146.52. On Sunday 18 August in the AM I will be operating from atop Brasstown Bald Mountain (highest point in Georgia) running 75 watts into a 5/8 vert. I will look forward to working you at 146.52!

[kf4lne]

Lately I have noticed a large number of callsign tags on cars and a sissy-stick of a 2M antenna. real hams drill holes and arent afraid to put that 5/8 over 1/4 wave monster of a 7 db gain antenna on the roof! I wish I had one, all I have is the 5/8 on the trunk, but it works great for what I do with it. If you want to see a list of VHF/UHF active simplex freqs check out http://www.simplexlist.ath.cx

there are several states currently listed and more added as soon as the frequencies are sent to me.

[K0RGR]

Back before dirt, there were lots of remote bases operating on 146.52 . It was a crude, pre-internet linking way of using RF to communicate over long distances. Most UHF repeaters that weren't otherwise tied to 2 meters had a remote base, and this provided a way for locals to monitor .52 with their handhelds.

If your club has a UHF repeater, consider pushing for a .52 remote base.

[N7CPC]

Back when I drove trucks fer a livn' and ran I-25 in Colorado a lot I would hear simplex opps on Pike's Peak etc. They were working pileups like DX from Mars. Hope QJ has that kind of response in Ga.

73