HF Contacts - 40m

Does anyone else use this band and what are you working?

I think St Lucia would be my only station worked outside of Europe, still I really do like the band.

I use it for FT8 in the evening.
Some nights are good and some are not just like the rest i think.

I use 40 & 20 all of the time.
I really like 40 as Alan has said it's a great evening band when 20 is dying down for the day.

73 Gary.

Always have 40m on when in the shack making most of the 101d dual RX , antenna is a mono band dipole which is only 5m above the ground , great for inter G not so great for DX , saying that I have worked plenty of DX towards south/central and North America but struggle elsewhere apart from EU 


Craig

Am very much a novice to transmitting on this band. Have used random wire at low height in garden and zigzagged dipole in loft. SSB only. Both have worked ok for inter G. Nothing worked out of Europe yet, furthest to date is a 1124 mile contact into Serbia.

I use it a bit, FT8 of course and have worked all over the world.
ZL, VK, JA, NA, SA and various African countries.

Antenna is a Hustler 6BTV with 65 radials, most 4 to 5metres long with about 8 at 10metres long.

Worked this morning on FT8 for a new country.
HI3K 08:06utc FK49

VE1JS last night was new for me

Worked RN2H, Moscow area on Fri evening. Nothing compared to the distances of the last few posts, but at 1640 miles is my furthest 40m so far and showing me a bit of my signal is clearly getting out at lower angles and not all straight up

Thats not to bad for distance.

I normally get on weekend early mornings, 80/40metres to North and South America.
If not much on 80 I poke around on 40, although lately it's been a bit iffy.

Upped my furthest 40m distance to a bit further this morning. 3623 miles. SSB 10w

K3LR - USA

SangueG wrote:

Upped my furthest 40m distance to a bit further this morning. 3623 miles. SSB 10w

K3LR - USA

Well done.
Tim Duffy of DX Engineering, big multi multi station, you will see him a lot on Youtube.

SSB, 4w

PA1SVM - Netherlands

The contact itself is not that notable, but the QSO between Sven and an op from Switzerland afterwards was interesting. Sven was calling for any M7s, so I took the opportunity to go in with a lower power of 4w and got a 55 from him. The Switz op then came in after and gave him info that all M7s are limited to 10w, as are M3 and M6s but then insinuated that most of us much higher power and that Sven should maybe put a call out for QRP stations instead

Putting that to one side, Sven then told interesting info that very recently beginners level licences in his country that were originally allowed to use up to 25w on HF bands are now legally allowed to use 100w with their same licence. I haven't looked that up yet, but wonder how that came about. Noise related, as per other discussions on this forum previously, or maybe authorities just couldn't police? *wonders*

Ah, you've finally come across one of those 'Foundation' licence slurs, ahem, discussions then Neal.

You're quite right, HB3 licence holders can use up to 50W at VHF and 100W on HF with the HB9 'Full' licence limit being 1KW.
(! !)

As you know the fun of QRP operations is not only in the low power limitations but also ensuring you understand your antennas and radio systems enough to overcome the apparent noise levels on receive. "If you can't hear them, you can't work them" and no amount of 'more watts Igor!' at your end can overcome that......unless you rely on the other end also pumping as many watts as you.

Well done with that 4 watt SSB contact mate.  


Wait until you hear the SSB PEP discussions.......

Some dx caught on 40m FT8

28/8/2022
05:42utc 3D2AG RH91 Fiji new country

20/8/2022
06:32utc XI0X EK09 Mexico new country
06:16utc ZL4TT RE54

Some FT8 DX from Sunday morning 18Sept.

06:34utc W6H DM65 New Mexico
07:26utc VK1TTY QF31

Some nice FT8 contacts last night 21st Sept
Icom IC7300 Hustler 6BTV with 65 short radials.

19:05UTC HL2EIZ PM37 New country
19:14UTC RW9QA MO25 Asiatic Russia

Tonight 22nd Sept another new country
18:01UTC JT1DN/5 OO20 Mongolia

15th Oct FT8
07:00utc TO2DL FK96 New DXCC
06:55utc N5RN EM34
06:49utc ZL3AIC RE66
06:35utc KE2UK FM30
06:26utc N9FME EM59

New country on FT8 today

07:20utc TI5CDA EK70

Thought about time 40metres had another post.

Don't often get on late evening but was messing around in the shack last night and had a dabble on 40m.

Three new countries on FT8.
22:14 BG0BBB NN33
22:10 3C3CA JJ43
21:55 4K100TC LN30

Also some kind soul told me to QSY, I was trying to work D2UY, and I was blocking 3C3CA.
I was up over 2000hz and 3C3CA was near 400 or so Hz, ignored and carried on.

Well done Mike. I presume done using the vertical? My 40m dipole element is just too low for much out of Europe DX.

Brilliant contacts there on 40m Mike, well done.

I've had the messages scroll past the FT8 text window with my call sign and to QSY.....
Someone's obviously very bored!



Neal - Like you my contacts tend to be European wide but crack of dawn last week I heard Stateside booming through on SSB! Asia tends to pop for me at night time as well so I've been doing my best to get on 40m during those hours. Much depends on me not waking the household at those times though!
So it looks like it can be done on a lowish horizontal antenna. We live in hope.

SangueG wrote:

Well done Mike. I presume done using the vertical? My 40m dipole element is just too low for much out of Europe DX.

Yes the good ol Hustler 6btv with a lot of radials.

I thought my radials were mainly 5metres long but after replacing a few most are only 3 to 4 metres.
There must be something like 160metres of radials all pinned to the graveled surface here.

I do struggle with closer stations but it does pull in a fair bit of DX.

To many muppets for my liking

Good to catch you on 40 this morning Alan mate. Always a pleasure.

Keeping an eagle eye out for our Mark but haven't caught him yet.

Everything from Stateside to Continental and the UK on the band this morning on FT8!