Hi northern hemisphere EU
Please send more signals downunder on 20m SSB, 14.300 MHz and above. Too much QRM below 14.290 MHz
Best time is 06:30 UTC to 08:30 UTC.
Last two days have been a bonanza, we want more!
73
Andrew, VK1NAM
In reply to VK1NAM:
Best time is 06:30 UTC to 08:30 UTC.
Do you think that propagation happens because both ends of the contact are in daylight, or because at the moment that’s not far off grey-line time, or something else?
73, Rick M0LEP
In reply to M0LEP:
Rick
I’m going with both. The grey-line is a product of the transition from one light setting to the other. Back in December the grey-line extended to 09:30 UTC.
The issue is working out the optimal time window between VK and EU. I think we have worked it out. 
It wont last, at the end of daylight savings we will be looking for the UK/EU activators to take the lead.
73
Andrew, VK1NAM
In reply to VK1NAM:
The issue is working out the optimal time window between VK and EU. I think we have worked it out.
If grey-line is playing a significant part then it won’t last either, but it’ll be worth looking for similar terminator paths at other times of the year…
When DST ends down under and starts over here the time difference will be two hours less. That should make the EU early mornings later, and the AU late evenings earlier. Your sunsets will presumably be more than an hour earlier, though…
73, Rick M0LEP
P.S. Where does the QRM below 14.290MHz that you mentioned come from?
Below 14.290 we have a lot of BY stations chatting. From 14.275 up. And above 14.320 there are lot of EUs chatting.
At the mo on 20m before my sunset (08:00z ish) EU longpath comes pounding in. A couple of hours before sunset (06:00z ish) 12m is OK but there is lot of FM CBers from SE Asia. Then 12m comes good again late in the evening here (11:00z) with less FM crud and starts to close down about an hour or two after.
Working the US ones is killer at this time of year thou. Most of their activations are very (like really very) early in the morning for us so most of the higher bands are closed. So it’s just after sunrise for us.
Matt.
Edit:
I just worked HB9BCB on 12m at 11:40z and he is coming in 559. But I have notice I am having trouble working more eastern stations. EA, G, HB and DL come in relativity good. But SV, OK, SP, S5 have either been not heard or a real struggle.
In reply to VK1NAM:
To activate in your suggested time slot we have to commence the ascent of at least the higher hills in the dark at the coldest time of day, allowing for the fact that an ascent by headtorch is slower than by daylight it means leaving the car at about 0400. If you reverse it to the evening grey line it means you going up and us coming down in the dark. I imagine most grey line S2S’s will be from the lower hills!
I’ve tried chasing in that time slot but my neighbours seem to be Breakfast TV addicts and have a noisy plasma TV!
Last two days have been a bonanza, we want more!
It should last for several days yet, the SFI is slowly climbing as the active sunspot 1990 rotates across the solar disk.
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to VK2DAG:
Edit:
I just worked HB9BCB on 12m at 11:40z and he is coming in 559. But I
have notice I am having trouble working more eastern stations. EA, G,
HB and DL come in relativity good. But SV, OK, SP, S5 have either
been not heard or a real struggle.
One wonders what part antenna choice plays in all of this, Matt. I suspect most of the activators are working with dipoles, maybe the vertical is a sounder proposition.
73 Mike
2E0YYY
Can’t say Mike. Just worked (12:25z) F/HB9BIN on 12m and he was only 229. Doesn’t help all the EUs that jump in at the end calling me, trying to take over the SOTA guys freq (who I tell to QSY in clear terms…).
M1EYP, EA2CW, GM1INK, DF2GN and you all run verticals I think. So maybe there is something in using verticals on 12m.
Matt.
In reply to VK2DAG:
Steve G1INK is a dipole user. Or was a dipole user. Klaus is keen to try many different antennas so you need to check with him for the activation which antenna he had in use.
Both Tom and me use 1/4GP antennas for 12m normally but Tom has a new EFHW but I’m not sure how many times he’s been QRV with it. Of all the HF antennas I have tried on summits, all except the 1/4GP show some local environment effect. The dipoles for 60/40/30m are less bothered but you can see some changes. The L vertical can be picky about its elavated radial. But the 1/4GP doesn’t care, it seems oblivious to where and how I set it up.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to VK1NAM:
Packed tent, sleepingbag, kx3 and beer, will be at la/st-010 tomorrow morning, 10w cw and ssb, all for you VK’s!
In reply to LA5XTA:
The antenna wouldnt tune on 20m with the kx3, it normally works with no problems with the kx1 (yeah, i know, the kx1 tuner can tune a 2" nail for 20m…)
Guess i have to have a look at the length of the wire…
In reply to VK1NAM
Saturday morning here just worked Klaus DF2GN/P DM/BW-228 on 30m cw using my Delta Loop then later on 40m cw using my Windom antenna. 30m was an easy contact but it took a while to bust his EU pile up on 40m. His signal was 539 good copy on both bands . Its worth checking the bands before sun up if you are out of bed. Now waiting for KX0R to come up on 15m .
73 de Ian vk5cz …
In reply to VK5CZ:
Hello Ian,
If activators from VK land can alert at least 24 hours ahead their intentions it would help a great deal from a UK chaser point of view - spread the word 8)
Night night
Mike G6TUH
In reply to G6TUH:
g day mike I was not on a summit I was in my shack at 5am but yes I do put my activations up a while before I go out. middle of grape harvest here so no summits for a while .73 take care de Ian vk5cz …
In reply to VK5CZ:
Hi Ian,
I was listening this morning & could hear VK on 20m SSB before I had to depart for work. 20m is noisy for me & I couldn’t have worked any of the SSB activators so I waited as long as I could for Andrew VK1DA to appear on 20m CW. Wouldn’t you know it, When I checked the spots from work I had missed him by about 10 minutes. Doh!
Very pleased to hear you worked Klaus on 30m. I had a quick contact with him after he QSY’d from 160m, on which I was incredibly pleased to work him after just arriving home from work. 30m has been quite good between G & VK for a few weeks & I often hear VK’s calling, often in the middle of UK daytime. I haven’t checked the alerts, but Klaus often activates DM/BW-228 in both the evening & following morning so it may be worthwhile listening for him tomorrow morning (evening VK time)between 0700z - 0900z.
He certainly likes experimenting with large antennas & for me to work him easily 559 both ways on Top Band using my 80m loop he must have something special up there tonight
Good luck & best 73,
Mark G0VOF
In reply to G0VOF:
In reply to VK5CZ:
Hi Ian,
I was listening this morning & could hear VK on 20m SSB before I had
to depart for work. 20m is noisy for me & I couldn’t have worked any
of the SSB activators so I waited as long as I could for Andrew VK1DA
to appear on 20m CW. Wouldn’t you know it, When I checked the spots
from work I had missed him by about 10 minutes. Doh!
Hi Mark,
There seems to be a small window to work VK on the 20m band in the morning. At 0735z I couldn’t buy a VK contact this morning and then it was just like someone hit a switch. Kinda reminiscent of the 6m band when it opens.
73 Mike
2E0YYY
In reply to G0VOF:
Hi Mark, nothing special up here tonight 
just my inv.L antenna for low band operation. 30m vertical and 20m slooped down to the ground. like a extd. gp on 160m, feeded with a few meters from 300ohm line and a lc-coupler. 2 radials 40m long, 2x 20m, 4x10m each. the only thing you need i a high tree in the activation zone i´m not sure how long i do the effort for 160m, not many chasers have antennas for that band, and often i call cq,cq,cq… but if my antenna working on 160m, i will give a chance to work me on top band.
@g6tuh mike, a big thank you for the nice audio files again ! good to hear my tests with hf-clipping…seems its fine for work 40m ssb at evenings
@vk5cz: hi Ian, thanks for my first sota contact on 40m to VK ! great job, a big thank you. now we have 80m band to go 30 and 40m seems ok this night, after you i was called by JG3LGO and had a nice ragchew with om ichi. but he was on a 3el yagi up 25m and much more power as i had a bit noisy later by A23 K3…
Hi all, the next weeks,months i haven´t the same freetime to do sota as last year.but i will do my best 
i enjoy building antennas in the field and sometimes i have to make a split in working higher bands and also my very liked dx work down from 30m to 80m. sooo much chasers around in the world to work. years before it was easier tó make a good activation job. so i have to find a split in working EU in CW and SSB and also NA es our friends in VK. so sometimes i use antennas that are better for higher bands, then again for lower bands. but i wonder, the inv.L was good enough to work W6UB s2s on a TN summit in 24mhz, nice one ! the 28mhz activity yesterday was also very nice.
so if i work mainly on low bands, i look for a spot to work NA on higher bands, the same if i look for dx on higher bands with shorter antennas. often 14mhz in ssb and cw is very good to work eu chasers and the very many uk chasers.
one thing that i want to say mainly for 40m ! please respect if i call CQ DX ! mostly after many eu chasers worked before. the range 7000-7010 is for dx contacts only, if i remember right. for sure, after dx i come back to another qrg to call eu again…often you hear me also portable df2gn/p, but then at gma. due to my limited freetime i go often for gma because the summits are more close to my qth and i don´t spent much time for driving and the pile ups are not so big and done in a few minutes,most times…
back to the topic: the next 2 weeks i haven´t time at morning hours, but i will look again for VK chasers in abt. 3 weeks with my new moxxon or loops, high up…main band then 20m ssb and cw. in the evening hours then on 30 amd 40m. but it was very early then in vk i think. there are only 4 summits there i can do night activations on that i have a safe walk back to the car park.so not many new summits to chase at evenings.
greetings to all !
Klaus DF2GN/p
In reply to DF2GN:
Hi Klaus,
Thanks for the Top Band QSO, you were very strong to me so the antenna was working very well
I could also hear the VK’s calling you this morning on 20m SSB with some hitting S9 on my meter despite only having a low 80m loop here. You certainly seemed to have caught the right time for EU - VK this morning!
Thanks again & best 73,
Mark G0VOF
In reply to VK2DAG:
M1EYP, EA2CW, GM1INK, DF2GN and you all run verticals I think.
Matt, all of the QSOs btwen us have been made with an inv. V dipole on my side. Other case is Marcial’s who used an 1/4 GP on 24 and on last times a 1 lambda delta loop well high from the ground.
Hope this info be valuable for sota-qrp-acti-dxers… (must find a shorter word for it, something like “high jumpin’ goat
”)
73 de Mikel
In reply to EA2CW
I also use an inverted vee dipole for all my HF activations.