2m Opening Last Night

Was on 2m around 10pm last night, heard a number of repeater ID's not usually heard at this QTH. The band was open apparently. We had a warm day and the night cooled down to 61F here. Good for tropo enhancement.

Some of the normally weak NOAA channels were coming in strong. Was listening to 162.550, which until it went dark, was KWO-35 from NYC, and the signal was strong with reports from the NJ/MD/VA shore. Not sure where that station was transmitting from.

APRS signals from New England were heard too. Caught the one from W1AW. APRS on 144.390 was abuzz with signals.

Tonight might be another good one for 2m.

Try APRS reception ( I use MultiPSK) during an opening, a good DX indicator.

Coastal Fog here in New England has enhanced much of the bands [even into UHF/T-Band], This am, the map VHF Propagation Map looks very promissing from Northern NE to north of Miami and west into Texas - and I am stuck at work :roll:

spongella said:

Was on 2m around 10pm last night, heard a number of repeater ID's not usually heard at this QTH. The band was open apparently. We had a warm day and the night cooled down to 61F here. Good for tropo enhancement.

Some of the normally weak NOAA channels were coming in strong. Was listening to 162.550, which until it went dark, was KWO-35 from NYC, and the signal was strong with reports from the NJ/MD/VA shore. Not sure where that station was transmitting from.

APRS signals from New England were heard too. Caught the one from W1AW. APRS on 144.390 was abuzz with signals.

Tonight might be another good one for 2m.

Try APRS reception ( I use MultiPSK) during an opening, a good DX indicator.

Click to expand...

We are catching hell with interference on the 900 MHz system at work this morning.

KG5YWM said:

We are catching hell with interference on the 900 MHz system at work this morning.

Click to expand...

I'm in Topeka Ks. and before we went digital we would get interference from Wichita's 800 meg system during band enhancements.

2 meters can be a very exciting band! I am just getting back on the band, but was very active many years ago. IMO working New Mexico or Wyoming from the east coast on VHF is just as much fun as working the other side of the world on HF.

Can’t wait to get back QRV!

Bill K4FX


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First year I was licensed, thought I was listening to a local 2 meter repeater, near Chicago, 147.315.

Heard one person talking about living in Madison for awhile now, realized it was not the local repeater. Took the HT outside to transmit, couldn't key up the repeater.

Thought the PL was likely different, looked up the repeater. Entered the correct 123.0 PL. And was using an HT to talk on a Baraboo Wisconsin repeater, from Chicago, using an HT. Approx 180 miles.

Lasted about 45 mins. After that, there was still a lot of activity on .52, 146.550, 146.580.

My first experience with tropo-ducting.

I noticed something listening to 3m radio last night... that would be the VHF-FM broadcast band. Surprisingly one station about 70-odd miles away that I can barely pick up with this one radio (as multiplex; even mono is very weak) came in unexpectedly, so indeed there must be something in the air!

Will have to check the scanner on bona fide 2m ham radio band to see if there's more activity than the average scan night...

2 metres can be full of surprises, No ?
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My father, years ago, regaled us lesser hams with tales of some phenomenal 2 metre openings. I have nevr taken 2 as seriously as he did, but done enuff to sometimes make FM topo skip contacts of my own of several hundred miles --to know of what he spoke.
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If he were here (he is 'here'- sounds like I have him SK... sorry Dad ) he probably say of my tropo DX'ing something like this:
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"That's nothing, Lauri- the real adventure in terrestrial VHF DX'ing is on sideband.... we used to operate really long distances on SSB..... 144.200 MHz was for calling ...... +/- that could be very active...."
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I wouldn't know much about that.... but he has told me of 2 metre sideband tropo contacts from Maryland that could extent from Florida to Maine !
High power wasn't necesary- 100 watts to a multi-element beam at modest height was all that was required.
Some day I will have to ask him if this SSB stuff is still that popular on 2.
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One thing as a kid I remember were the times when "we" - I'll include myself here as I was in the 'shack' when when they occurred- would work the Midwest on 2 metre E-skip. Maryland to Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota- states one after another +/- 5-600 miles either side of the Mississippi River.
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I can't recall any such openings to match the likes of that, since....
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Lauri
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LOVE those 2 meter band openings! I keep an ELK portable beam on hand, just for such occasions!!