W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey calls for check ins, none answer, probably due to Independence Day. QRT 19:33 PDT
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checked in W0MEC Clem; KM6RTE Scott, East Orange; and KB6PAL David, Huntington Beach. Clem MEC is at-the-ready, and calls QRZ to host. Clem reports a beautiful Independence Day, with a lot of fireworks going off. There is also a show at the local high school stadium, and they can see it fine from their QTH. He reports Net Control at s8 to s9. He reads PAL at s6, and RTE at s6 to s7. Scott RTE is a new Ham of 2 months. It is his first check-in, and he is a member of the OCARC. He is also a woodworking docent at the Orange County Fair. David PAL watched the parade in Huntington Beach. Corey YHX reads each at s6-s7, F.Q., and Full-Copy, respectively. QRT 20:45 PDT
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checked in AF6C Bob, Orange; W6ATB Greg, Orange; KJ6OML Gene, Garden Grove; KM6IZO Vijay, Irvine; W0MEC Clem, Westminster; and K6PAD Phil, in Huntington Beach. Bob AF6C talks to Greg about a DXpedition QSO before the net. He reads Net Control about 600c low. Bob tells us about the heat burning his and other’s avocado trees, at 124°F. It keeps good shade on the house despite this. The generator is all put away, and it was a cool Field Day. Bob reads all well with his 3-element beam. Greg ATB drops out before his turn, but comes back on the second go-round. Gene OML reports a nice Field Day. Vijay IZO installed the APRS app on his phone, and has a new box to interface with his HT. He asks about a recommended ground plane and a “half wave rat-tail” on the other end of his antenna for his Baofeng. Bob tells us the hand acts as a counterpoise to Vijay’s antenna. When Vijay is not holding the radio, a counterpoise may be needed. Clem MEC relays for Phil PAD; Phil tried a 3-element beam a few feet off the ground to no avail. Clem reads him at s8-s9. Phil does not read N.C. Vijay comes back regarding APRS. Corey reads each at 16dB over s9, 7dB over s9, s6.3, s6.4, s2.9, and s3.0, respectively. QRT 19:58 PDT
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checked in W0MEC Clem, Westminster; AF6C Bob, Orange; KM6IZO Vijay, Irvine; AI6ZV Terrence, Costa Mesa; W6ATB Greg, Orange; K6PAD Phil, Huntington Beach; KJ6OML Gene, Garden Grove; KK6TRC/Echolink Jeff, Huntington Beach; and KK6REB Steve, Cypress. Clem MEC reports difficult copy on 10M. He turned up his power to 50W. Bob AF6C reports good copy on all, but that Clem needs more power. He enjoyed Field Day, and it was good to see everyone out there. Bob says hello to Terrence, and hopes he makes it to the next Field Day, and a meeting soon. Vijay IZO reports a nice, clear signal from Clem and the others. He is making a Mango Wheat Ale. Terrence ZV has been running a receive loop only antenna and it helps with HF, cutting electrical noise. He was in Nashville during Field Day, and hopes we had a great time. Terrence reports 30dB over s9, 30dB over s9, 10dB over s9, s9, no report, and 60dB over s9, respectively. He says hello to Bob, and will listen to 80M. Greg is having trouble with his VOX, and a PL is on, but receives N.C. great. He is using an omni antenna at 100W, and tries his 13-element beam with Clem. Clem reports solid copy. Phil PAD acquired a Hy-Gain TH-3J 3-Element Beam for 20M, 15M, and 10M. He contacted the Cayman Islands, and Brownsville, Texas, but could read Net Control only a little on 10M. Gene OML hears everyone nice and clear. Jeff TRC flies-in and flies-out, but invites us to use the KK6TRC-R Echolink node. Steve REB has some air conditioning challenges at home and at work. Corey reads each at s6-s7, F.Q., s5, s7, F.Q., s7, F.Q., fully-readable, and s5-s6, respectively. QRT 20:52 PDT.
Corey KE6YHX as net control, tries an 80M Net on 3.883MHz, at 21:00 PDT. Check-ins include AF6C Bob, KM6IZO Vijay, and W6ATB Greg. It is Bob’s first contact on 80M, using his 20M Beam at 70W. Greg ATB notes high noise on 80M. He is using an offset-fed dipole and reads N.C. at s9. Corey talks with Vijay about APRS after the Net. Corey reads each at 25dB over s9, fully readable to fading, and 15 dB over s9, respectively. QRT 21:08 PDT.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checked in W0MEC Clem, Westminster; AF6C Bob, Orange; W6JTT Sam, Garden Grove; and KM6IZO Vijay, Irvine. Clem MEC receives N.C. at s7. He is running 50W with an Elecraft KXPA-100 Amplifier. Net Control is fading to Clem on the second go-round. Net Control reads Clem steady. Bob AF6C has been printing Field Day QSL Cards. He had lunch today with Arnie N6HC, Tim, and Chip K7JA. Bob has also been scanning RFs for the web site. Net Control can’t read Sam JTT at first, but Sam JTT switched to a 40M Dipole at about 60W, and Net Control reads him about as well as Clem. Sam can barely read Net Control, so he stands by. Vijay IZO reports astronomers found two new moons much closer around Jupiter, one going the opposite (retrograde) direction named “Weirdo.” There are 69 known moons around Jupiter, 12 discovered in the past year. QRT 19:50 PDT.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checked in W0MEC Clem, W6ATB Greg, WB6IXN Bob, AF6C Bob, W6JTT Sam, KK6TRC Jeff, KM6IZO Vijay, and AI6ZV Terrence. Clem MEC has good copy on Net Control, and good signals all, except Vijay. Greg ATB reports the Perseids Meteor Shower started yesterday, and peaks August 14th. It is good for 6M and 2M Meteor Scatter propagation. He got his 6M antenna back up for that. Greg comments on CW practice to Terrence. Bob IXN is back on the Net, and listened on 10M. He says the SWR needs checking before xmt. Bob got a new refrigerator last Tuesday at 7pm. The nets ended by the time the refrigerator was up and running. He plans on getting back on 7.086MHz CW on Sundays. Bob hears all the OPs well. Bob AF6C worked Arnie N6HC on his first call to the Baker Island DXpedition on CW, and also on Phone. He comments on the recent heat wave. It damaged the top of his avocado tree at 124°F, despite watering it the day before. Bob says he will miss the 80M Net tonight. Bob IXN comments more heat is on the way. He, Greg, and Corey report similar temperatures. Sam JTT got up to Idyllwild with his son. They installed his new Siro 10M Dipole, and it is working beautifully. Sam has some equipment to post for sale in RF. Jeff TRC has Echolink up but no one is in the queue. Vijay IZO has a 20.1-inch rattail antenna on 2M and receives most of the OPs well. Vijay has an “ask-the-elmer” question, about an iPhone 8 that won’t power on. He also needs an HT adapter for his Android, and wants to know what frequencies are used for digital. Corey and Bob AF6C come back with some advice. Vijay says to Terrence ZV he has a new Mango Wheat Ale. Terrence will miss the Friday meeting, so he will try the ale next time. He started working on his CW at 30wpm character speed. Terrence reads all at 5-9. Corey YHX reads each at s7, F.Q., s8, s8, s5, s5, s5, and s7, respectively. QRT 21:13 PDT.
Corey KE6YHX as net control, tries an 80M Net on 3.883MHz, at 21:15 PDT. KM6IZO Vijay, and K6RBS Richard check in with excellent signals, but the band drops-out a little later, then gets better again. Richard comes in late, but has very strong signals the whole way with his G5RV up 45ft at 1000W. He has a fully balanced tuner and explains some occasional arcing with atmospheric static. Corey reads each at s8.9, and 24dB over s9, respectively. QRT 21:23 PDT.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checked in W0MEC Clem, KJ6OML Gene, W6JTT Sam, KM6IZO Vijay, and K6PAD Phil. Clem MEC is weak to Net Control. Gene OML is readable. Sam JTT is almost unreadable. Vijay IZO has a good signal, and is readable. He reports scientists found water on Mars. Vijay will be gone next week, so he may check-in via Echolink. Vijay relays for Phil PAD. Phil is unreadable to Net Control. The band drops out on the second go-round. Corey YHX takes no signal reports this time. QRT 19:42 PDT
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checked in W0MEC Clem, KJ6OML Gene, W6JTT Sam, WB6IXN Bob, AI6ZV Terrence, K6PAD Phil, KM6IZO Vijay, and N6TMT Tim. Clem MEC can read Vijay, and Net Control at s9+. He increases his power on the second go-round, and comes in at s6 to s9 to Net Control. Clem reads Tim, but Tim fades out. Vijay is readable, but Net Control fades out to him. Gene OML read everyone nice and clear, including Clem. Sam JTT has solid copy on all, and Net Control reads him with strong signals. He re-cabled all his antennas, and installed an excellent Siro antenna, and it is working well. Sam switches to his Discone and drops to an s4-s5 to N.C. He has some local noise on N.C.’s signal, and stands by to watch the fires. Bob IXN is Full Quieting. He isn’t sure if he can come to the September Reunion Meeting. Bob reads Sam, and asks how he fared in the fire in Idyllwild. Sam reports a bad state with the “Living-Free Animal Sanctuary.” The fire was moving up the ridge and the whole town was evacuated. There was also an arsonist caught throwing flares out of his car. Bob contacted his niece in Oregon, who lived in Garner Valley. The fires are still a ways away from there. Things are even-keel, and he and Lee suffer through the heat. All OPs are s9. Terrence ZV found a nice opening on 6M and 10M Saturday afternoon. He made some QSOs with closer states. Terrence reads all OPs well. Phil PAD only heard Clem on 10M, at an s5. Here on 2M he reads each at s8-s9, s7-s8, s8-s9, 10+, 10+, 10+, no copy, and 6+, respectively. There was an opening on 10M a couple nights ago from 0200 to 0500UTC. He was on FT-8 and contacted 15 to 20 stations across the country. The next night 10M was dead. Corey inquires, and Phil found a good list of HF beacons on the web. Vijay IZO kegged 5gal of Mango Wheat Ale, and can share. Corey reads him full-copy, but Vijay has some noise on N.C.’s signal. Tim TMT was working 6M FT-8 Sunday during a contest. Many rare states came in, but Japan was elusive. He got a new 6M/10M Hex-Beam antenna, and plans to install it in the next week. He will watch the fires because of a report that they are coming close to the Boy Scout campgrounds. Clem reminds us about the board meeting this Saturday. Corey YHX reads the check-ins at s3-s4, F.Q., s7, F.Q., s7, s7, s5, and F.Q., respectively. QRT 20:57 PDT
Corey KE6YHX as net control, tries an 80M Net on 3.883MHz, at 21:00 PDT, but hears no one. QRT 21:02 PDT.
