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Guide to 6 Meter DXing — Getting Started on the Magic Band

Jim Wilson - 14
Guide to 6 Meter DXing — Magic Band Key Points Here are the AI-generated key points for this article: DXing on 6 meters, the Magic Band. The Magic of 6 Meters and Propagation Modes: 6 meters within 50-54 MHz offers various propagation modes like Sporadic E, F2 layer, meteor scatter,...

Guide to VHF Contesting

Jim Wilson - 1
Learn all about VHF Contesting, including tips, tricks, and how to have a blast over a contest weekend.

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QRP

September VHF Contest 2025 — Butt-in-Chair

The September VHF Contest is usually slow, with few or no six-meter openings. That’s what happened this year, although I did manage to boost...
Meteor Scatter

Meteor Scatter QSOs and Space Debris — 6 Key Factors That Say “No Way”

Can our meteor scatter QSOs use space debris or junk? I considered this proposition further and arrived at six key factors for consideration. What are...
QRP

CQ VHF Digital Contest 2025 — Working from Home

For the last several VHF contests, I’ve operated single operator portable or hilltopper from EM01 near Hico, TX. I actually “worked from home” for...
Rover

VHF Texas Panhandler Once More in DM85

I set up at my daughter's place, the Rillo Ranch, in DM85xk. From July 3 to July 5, I managed to log 235 VHF...
QRP

ARRL June VHF 2025 Edition — Single Op Portable — Fun in the Sun, Not in the Rain

The ARRL June VHF contest typically offers numerous QSOs, with seasonal Sporadic E propagation facilitating long-distance QSOs on 6 meters. That’s what I experienced...
Amateur Radio

Fiberglass Push-Up Mast Revisited — Portable and Home Stations

I recently decided to purchase another fiberglass push-up mast to make it easier to take my show on the road. The current 25-foot mast...
Antennas

New 6 and 2 meter Dual Band Yagi

The past few days have been dedicated to building and setting up an Antennas-Amplifiers Dual Band 6m2m14DX-2C. I was searching for something that would...
Radio Contesting

January VHF Single Op Portable – Freezing Temps, Cold & Cruel Propagation

The temperatures were in the 20s with some wind, and six meters was even colder—as is often the case during the January VHF contest....
Antennas

K5ND Operations — 2024 Recap

I’ve typically posted an annual report on website traffic. This year, when developing a new presentation on VHF Operations, I built some maps and...
Amateur Radio

Website Traffic 2024 — Top Blog Posts

It’s time, once more, to review website traffic and determine the top blog posts. The total page views from January 1 to December 30, 2024: ...
VHF-UHF

Ham Radio Bit and Pieces

Life goes on at K5ND. Sometimes, there’s nothing at all on 6 meters and even less on 2 meters. However, at least the 6-meter band occasionally opens up. And during this part of the sunspot cycle, we’re starting to see some incredible propagation via the ionosphere’s F2 layer. So, here’s my update on what's happening here.
Radio Contesting

ARRL 2024 September VHF Contest — Single Operator Portable

My first attempt with VHF QRP operation was this past July’s CQ VHF Contest in the Hilltopper category. That was great fun, so I...

© Jim Wilson - K5ND - PathForeWord