I'm promoting a 6 meter FM activity day this Sunday on 5.25.25, since the calling frequency is 52.525 MHz. Get it? Five Two Five Two Five! It's nothing fancy and there's no exchange or start/end time. I'm just trying to encourage others to get on 6 meters and have some fun, monitor and throw out their call. I know myself and many others will be out for POTA and SOTA activations on 6m too. Below is a quick video I made to raise awareness of it. And here's some of the eyeball QSOs I had at Hamvention about it with some insight from other POTA activators and 6m enthusiasts. Opening or no opening, I think this could be a good time and a great way to generate some more interest and activity for the magic band, especially as we get into the summer months. I hope to get you in the log and appreciate your efforts in sharing this with hams in your area too. 73, Mike N2MAK
THANK GOD.....SOME FOLKS REALLY WANT TO TALK ON 6 METERS!!!!.....LOVE THIS...I WILL BE ON FM ALSO.....FT8 HAS TAKEN OVER A GREAT BAND THAT I USED TO LOVE!!!!
Been on 6M - both FM and SSB - for 50+ years now. Used everything from modified commercial FM gear (GE TPL, LHT/HHT Motracs, Mocoms, Micors, Maratracs, etc), Swan 250C, Drake C Line with the TC-6 converter. By far, my most favorite band. Worked VK4BRG SSB, and many others from FN31 back in the 90's, and still love every minute of activity. Check out my qrz page for details. BTW, what is FT8? 73 Cliff K1IFF
I recently moved the shack to the other end of the house. The Yagi is in the attic. This gives me an excuse to move it. I have a tower but that is off in the future.
Actually, licensed Novices do not have privileges on 6 meters. And there are still a handful of them…at least in theory. I hope to try it out. It will depend on the weather because I’ll have to deploy the BuddiHex. 73 & Good Luck!
HELL YES!!!! WB2VUO and I will be monitoring and calling CQ. (In separate places....I actually work Sundays...but I'll be in CLOSE proximity of Wilson Tuscarora State Park.) Hopefully our local ham friends will hear us and work us. 73 de KB2HSH
The video asked for antenna ideas. Many of us might have 5/8 wave verticals for 2 Meters. They make a dandy 1/4 wave for 6 Meters. 73.
I've been mixing the VHF contests with SOTA and POTA for a few years and noticed that there's a lot of digital activity. I'm fine with FT8, but there's something special about voice modes for me (I like AM a lot do even do it for POTA). I did the September VHF Contest strictly on FM, 6m-23cm, and had a lot of fun and was surprised how far I got out with some simple setups.
Do it! I'll be out for POTA in the later morning and/or early afternoon. But after, I'm setting up the Yagi at the house for 6m on the deck.
I'm a newer ham and tend to forget about the novice licenses, so thanks for mentioning that. I'm so jealous of the Buddihex!
I'll definitely have a vertical and horizontal antenna setup on Sunday. While I want to play primarily on FM, if there's opening or activity down below, I'm gonna try and get those contacts. Ultimately, I'm just trying to leverage a unique date and frequency to generate interest and activity on a band that many of us would like to see get more attention.
