MF/LF OPERATING: Life Below the AM Broadcast Band
Plus, A Big Coil Means Big Signals On 2200 Meters for W7IUV
The 2020/2021 medium-wave and long-wave season began rather innocuously. Early autumn propagation appeared to be similar to previous seasons from the start, but with a new release of Joe Taylor’s WSJTx, including FST4 and FST4W, along with respective variants, shortly after the start of the new season, the landscape changed once again. It would not be incorrect to call it a “rocky start” as many stations struggled to make the transition to the new software package due to hardware limitations while others “dug in,” resisting yet another change and choosing to continue to use legacy modes like JT9. CW made a strong showing from the start, however, resulting in many stations with triple-digit QSO totals by the end of the season and one station approaching 1,000 CW QSOs by the start of summer 2021.
One thing that stood out for the 2020/2021 season, however, was that there were still seven states that had no active operators seeking two-way contacts on 630 meters. A massive effort in late spring by Arliss Thompson, W7XU, resulted in activations of Arkansas and Louisiana, the details of which were presented in my July) notification process. Seasonal noise was building and time was running short, so on Saturday, May 15, 2021, Ed and Nick Hauser, KTØW, headed to North Dakota with a trailer-mounted tower and other equipment but Murphy had other ideas in mind during the course of the short-lived trip. It seems the brakes on the trailer became locked due to a shorted control wire, resulting in the destruction of two tires in addition to some minor trailer damage. Limping back home, they were fortunate to find a tire store on the way that was open on Saturday until noon. It was 11:45 a.m. when they arrived. With two new tires and a disconnected brake control wire, they returned home to regroup before the next attempt.
