For the last couple of days I've noticed that the only band I'm hearing signals is coming from 80m. During the day I could hear some 40m and a bit of 20m; however during the evening and into the wee hours, it seems like 80m is the only action I'm seeing activity. For the last couple of days, we've been getting a lot rain and thunderstorms in the Atlanta area. I wonder if this has anything to do with it.
On a side note just Sunday, prior to the storms, I even saw 10m open up. There were 2 QSO's (conversations) going on in the SSB portion, which is pretty cool. As a new ham, this is the first time hearing anything on 10m. Only band left from 160m to 70cm that I haven't heard now is 6m and 220Mhz.
Observing this recent phenomen has forced me to really evaluate ingenious ways to fit an 80m antenna in an attic that has 36' x 24' dimensions. My initial thinking was a G5RV JR with the ends dropping down and accepting the fact that I would limit my operating to 10m to 40m. However, I tend to be up into the late hours (around midnight) due to work and other priorities, so having a band that's open this late would be nice.
Well, I have much to learn about propagation and antenna designs. More to come.
73 de KJ4YFU
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