| Working DX |
NA Openings (and elsewhere)
If you are fortunate to be qrv during a multi-hop ES opening to NA or other
DX destinations or TEP (from EU perspective) it may be worthwhile giving JT6M a try.
In 2006 a number of Caribbean and North American stations were worked from UK (G0CHE G0GMS G4IGO
G4PCI GW3ORL GW6TEO) and from other parts of Europe, with distances of up to +8000km worked. This has
continued through 2007 and 2008. Further distances are probably workable but there is a need for stations
to be qrv and willing to give it a try.
The following information is provided to help all JT6M users interested in making DX contacts and
should be taken as guidelines only - adherence to will provide everyone with the greatest chance of
good DX qso's.
These guidelines have come about through discussions between G4IGO G4PCI WA5UFH and his WSJT group
including K1SIX, N5SIX and W5UWB (apologies if I have left anyone out). |
QRG
It is worth noting the differences in calling qrg's between NA 50.260 and EU 50.230. There needs
to be some collaboration as to which frequency to use. For Europe, 50.230 may cause a problem
with QRM to those not in the DX path but within those who are. The same could also apply to NA
with 50.260. During ES openings in Europe 50.230 sometimes gets smothered with SSB qso's making
this qrg unworkable.
Please remember, in North America, 50.260MHz is the calling not operating frequency. |
Cq'ing
In Europe the norm is to call CQ with a qrg frequency e.g. CQ 238 - meaning the caller will listen
on 50.238 for any calls and will qsy there to complete the qso when a calling station is heard. In NA the norm is to use U or D + number to indicate qsy frequency e.g.
U5 or D10 implying they will listen up 5kHz or down 10kHz and qsy to tx there when call is heard.
It is important to understand the 2 different methods so that successful qso's can be completed.
As mutual qrm is inevitable if the band is open, please use qsy frequency all the time when calling on the calling qrg('s).
An alternative is to choose a qrg and call cq there, announcing in a chat room your qrg or self-spotting on the DX cluster. |
Transmit Periods
Typically the western most station will transmit during the first 30 second period.
This means that for NA and Caribbean openings Europe will always transmit second period. Conversely
openings to east (from Europe) should imply the reverse although this has yet to be experienced
on a large scale opening. |
Reporting
It has been suggested that everyone uses the European method of reporting (this is based on IARU
region 1 MS procedure) - however this appears to be a challenge for some operators to correctly set the defaults - full details are given here
Ver.3.x.x/4.x.x and Ver.5.x.x here
As Es propagation provides strong signals at times and mostly for the duration of each over, it is perfectly acceptable to use the standard method
of reporting rather than usual MS procedure type. e.g.55 or 59 etc..
The important thing is to receive both calls and exchange reports (26 through to 59) or your grid square for a valid contact. This is entirely up
to the operator but it may be wise to follow your qso partners method if they send report first. (i.e. you are still sending calls only). |
Chat rooms
You will probably be more successful with DX qso's by using a chat room such as
ON4KST's 6m chat or
Ping-Jockey
Be aware that there are certain rules or protocols that should be followed especially not making known qso details during qso. This is frowned
upon and some operators will stop their qso immediately if they see their qso info being posted. Please don't spoil it for others. |
Propagation
With long distance ES (and F2 in future years) propagation signals can be subject to QSB - fast,
slow, deep etc. this suits JT6M very well, they may appear to be like Iono or Tropo at times with signals sometimes present but very weak. These normally will give a good
decode - other times the signal strength may rise rapidly and be S5 plus - (maybe time to grab the key or mic ?) either way if the path is there then a qso should result.
You may experience deep qsb whereby you lose the signal from your qso partner for an rx period or more. Be patient, the signal may well come back again to allow the qso
to continue/complete. |
Useful Links
Some useful links to compliment this page can be found
here. |
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