2M SSB Calling/Listening frequencies... ?

[VK2XV]

So far, being newly returned to 144MHz SSB, I have observed that the morning AE operations seem to be on 144.200 with some QSY for longer contacts. After the roughly 8:00am - 9:00am AE activity do operators switch off completely, or continue to monitor 144.200, or switch to monitoring 144.100 during the rest of the day ? What about evening operation ? Are there any 2M SSB nets in the Sydney area ?

It would be useful to know where to call/listen to maximise the likelihood of making contacts.

Steve VK2XV/VK2ZTO

[VK3ZAZ]

I imagine after 0900 people head off to work.


50 people on VK logger every day
zero on air.
WSPR shows band is open all time
you could listen all day 144.1 and hear zip..
boring..

2 cents

[VK1JA]

G'day Steve,

Sometimes I catch the AE window during the week and on the weekend, lots contact available during the 8-9am peak!

In the evening if I've got the radio on I tend to monitor 144.200 pointing towards Melb due to a nice birdie on 144.100 in my area

[VK3BJM]

Hi Steve.

The 2 m SSB calling frequency is 144.100 MHz.

144.200 MHz (the national secondary calling frequency) has been used by Aircraft Enhancement enthusiasts for the last 20 - 25 years - perhaps longer. Traditionally the activity takes place between 8 and 9 am Eastern time each day, after which time some of us go to work, or pretend to go to work, or QSY back to 144.100 MHz. There's no hard fast rule about the times, though - certainly last Sunday morning I stayed in the shack on 144.200 until nearly 10 am, due to the unusual tropo conditions to my NE.

Tropo? Well, the AEP activity window doesn't care much about what the actual propagation mode is. Sometimes we'll have a meteor burn come along in the middle, and none of us southerners would miss a chance for a fast exchange with VK4OX, or anyone else who is quick on the draw. In my case, the tropo was enhancing the reception of my ADS-B receiver, to the point I was picking up flights from Brisbane to Melbourne out at 450 nm (833 km) - somewhere between Narrabri and Boggabri. Normally on that bearing I see them appear at 24- to 250 nm. I hoped the tropo extension, or whatever it was that was happening, would help with an AEP contact to Wayne VK2XN or Brent VK2PB (or both!) in Narrabri. On this occasion, no cigar. But it was very interesting, and encouraging to see.

And of course, if everyone just listens, no one will hear anything.

73,
Barry
VK3BJM

[VK2XV]

Thanks guys.

I had looked up the bandplan and noted .100 and .200 as primary and secondary calling frequencies respectively. I also noted .300 listed as 'SSB chat frequency'. Never heard any chat there...

Of course a bandplan is one thing, current activity can be another.

I guess with the most activity observed here being on .200 during 8:00am - 9:00am local, I have regarded .200 as the place to call/listen outside those times. This, from what you guys say, may not be the case. Perhaps I should revert to .100 outside the AEP times.

Although I have had my licence since 1967, it has been quite a while since I operated on VHF/UHF with any sort of regularity (~1980) and there are some conventions I am not sure about. In the old days a 'CQ' was a general call to anyone, but I am not so sure these days. Following the example of other ops on .200 I have been calling "CQ - beaming XYZ". I thought the beam heading was just a general piece of info - but perhaps it is code for 'I am calling CQ for AEP contacts along the heading XYZ (and so if you are close or not in that direction don't come back to me). Quite a few times I have called 'CQ beaming XYZ' and got no response, but 10 or so seconds later another station close by and very strong does a 'CQ - beaming ABC'. The initial impression is that I am 'persona-non-grata' , but perhaps I am not across some convention.

Maybe I should confine general (i.e., non-AEP) CQs to .100 ?

Comments would be appreciated.

Steve VK2XV/VK2ZTO

[VK3YE]

In the old days a 'CQ' was a general call to anyone, but I am not so sure these days.

Still the case today.

Following the example of other ops on .200 I have been calling "CQ - beaming XYZ". I thought the beam heading was just a general piece of info - but perhaps it is code for 'I am calling CQ for AEP contacts along the heading XYZ (and so if you are close or not in that direction don't come back to me). Quite a few times I have called 'CQ beaming XYZ' and got no response, but 10 or so seconds later another station close by and very strong does a 'CQ - beaming ABC'. The initial impression is that I am 'persona-non-grata' , but perhaps I am not across some convention.

Not convention, just habit.

This reflects the fleeting characteristics of the propagation mode (brief contacts when possible) and the DX oriented interests of most VHFers. The terse operating style gives everyone a chance to enjoy the propagation and make that long distance contact. Definitely an opportunity to cherish and appreciate. When the going's good it makes sense to exploit it as the conditions won't be the same in 10 min. That includes allowing others following to make the contact. While brevity can come across as terseness, it has its place when conditions are enhanced.

The above assumes the general ethos of VHF/UHF SSB is to spend $$$, time and expertise to build a station to work DX. One 30 second 1000km VHF contact over a difficult path is considered of much more interest than a 30 minute QSO with someone across town. The proliferation of brief DX contacts and the lack of longer contacts (even if local) is why average band occupancy is low and the chance of random contacts is reduces. It also means precious few extended technical conversations on the air and a boring experience for listeners.

The DX inclination is perhaps even more extreme on six metres. On that band some seem to spend more time debating matters of little moment on VK Logger than contributing to on-air activity. It might be mischievous (but not necessarily entirely untrue) to conclude that there are such things as distance filters fitted to some transceivers that prohibit reception of stations less than several thousand kilometres distant. Even if a local signal does sneak through, being heard to converse with locals might even be perceived to endanger one's standing as a top DXer as it lowers one's average distance (not that anyone else much cares). There is also a 'scarcity culture' based on our tenuous access to 50 MHz for many years in eastern Australia that makes DX contacts the only worthy and proper use for a previously narrow 50 MHz segment.

VHF operators can be bright technically but are not always the most willing conversationalists, causing band activity to suffer and what we do hear to be less interesting than it might.

All this contrasts with the operating culture of the lower HF bands (SSB and even AM). Activity here is more conversational and stations commonly call CQ. While not always of a consistently high level, the conversation is more important than the distance. A good discussion with a station 50km away is equally valued to one 3000km distant.

None of the above is fixed. It is purely dictated by operating culture and how we choose to use our rigs on VHF SSB. There is nothing to stop you calling another station (even if local) and asking them to QSY for a longer QSO. Especially if the DX has gone, they're not getting other replies and you leave a long gap. Even better is if more use was made of automatic CQ callers during the long 'off' times to generate contacts from people just tuning by.

[VK2XV]

Thanks Peter. All understood.

I guess as an 'old' ham, but paradoxically 'new' to 2M SSB, I am keen to ask questions and listen to other ops' experience. I also am not a good conversationalist and when I am in 'curiosity mode' my conversation can come across as an interrogation... I am always interested in what people are running at their station - whether they are near or far. I must admit to being a little anti-social and prefer ham-related interaction to be on-air only. Not keen on clubs (but belong WIA and ARNSW). I guess I am mostly interested in the basic technical side of things. As an example - I am 90% the way through getting a 9-el antenna up on a telescoping mast. One of the things I am curious about is how important height is for my QTH (antenna about 50m away from a 70m high cliff edge). When I was playing with getting the rotator sorted I was listening to VK2TWR (about 350km away). To my surprise the signal strength varied little (I could not pick a difference) as I raised and lowered the antenna from about 4m up to 9m. It was a long contact with VK2BXT and so I had time to repeat the up and down excursions several times. It should be noted that at this QTH the antenna is receiving through trees at all points of the compass at both 4m and 9m. Therefore, the rule of thumb of higher is better for a theoretical environment might not necessarily apply for tree-shielded locations. I could imagine that perhaps at 4m it only sees the trunks while at 9m it sees all the foliage, thereby negating the height advantage. Before anyone suggests a 20m tower - it ain't going to happen here...

Anyway - back to CQ-ing. I don't want to create the impression that nobody is helpful. I have had several long and informative chats with Col (VK2BCC) which have helped me gain an understanding of the AEP side of things. I very much appreciate the time Col has spent helping me.

My current nominal aim is to make a contact with either VK2TWR, VK3EJ, VK3II or VK3DUT as I can hear them RS-51. Calls to VK3EJ have produced a response, but I am unreadable - my 50W doesn't quite cut it - hence the search for a 'real' 200W PEP linear.

Thanks for replying.

Cheers

Steve VK2XV/VK2ZTO

[VK3BJM]

... In the old days a 'CQ' was a general call to anyone, but I am not so sure these days. Following the example of other ops on .200 I have been calling "CQ - beaming XYZ". I thought the beam heading was just a general piece of info - but perhaps it is code for 'I am calling CQ for AEP contacts along the heading XYZ (and so if you are close or not in that direction don't come back to me). Quite a few times I have called 'CQ beaming XYZ' and got no response, but 10 or so seconds later another station close by and very strong does a 'CQ - beaming ABC'. The initial impression is that I am 'persona non grata' , but perhaps I am not across some convention.

Speaking personally, the inclusion of the "beaming XYZ" is more advice to anyone who may hear me from any other direction that if they are hearing me faintly, the likely reason is because my array is aimed in another direction - therefore I may only hear them faintly too. Not that there is a lack of propagation between us. Consequently, in order to get the contact going, perhaps a slightly long call may be necessary in order for me to get your callsign. Frantic checking of callbooks/loggers/cheat sheets then follows, to identify where to point the array.

Frankly, for me a new callsign in the weak signal portion of 2 m is something to be leapt upon - and I know I'm not alone in this! My location is fantastic for working Canberra, and even Gerroa on the coast, but not so good for Sydney. The general Melbourne to Sydney traffic, which crosses my beam heading to Canberra, does not do so on my heading to Sydney - at least not until it is over the horizon. The only aircraft that seem to hit the right spot are the rare flights from Sydney to Perth, when they route down to Canberra before heading west - the "hot-spot" is somewhere near Holbrook. With those flights I can work the Colins, but it is not very often that the flight conditions make that track attractive to them - they far more usually head out over the Blue Mountains.

Rob, VK3XQ, is only 85 km to my east, but that is enough to give him a usable angle, through the Melb>Syd track, into Sydney. However, he struggles a bit into Canberra - effectively, our positions are reversed.

I believe Gordon, VK3EJ, gets the benefit of flights from Adelaide to Sydney to work from Cobram into Sydney, rather than the Melb>Syd track.

Fun and games!

73,
Barry
VK3BJM

[VK2XV]

Barry,

I had a look using AirScout for both yourself and VK3XQ. For my location there is no purple patch except above 15,000m (above fl ?) for the path to you - so probably not a goer. For VK3XQ there is a purple patch a little east of Tumut - so may be a possibility for me.

All other information understood.

Thanks.

Cheers

Steve VK2XV/VK2ZTO

[VK3ZTE]

As another 'old ham' who is newish to 2m SSB, I can empathise with just about all of the above. Currently dabbling in 2m WSPR, I sometimes announce beam headings via VK Logger to encourage likely 'contacts' - if that is the right word in WSPR parlance (?) - to look in my direction.