Remember the 1970's
Not many sunspots
Not much DX.
Oh really ? Perhaps it's a case of nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
Reality check. Jim Forse VK3II (was VK3ZFS) worked KH6 on 6m from Box Hill, Melbourne, in 1957. I've seen the card (drool). VIan VK3ALZ (SK) worked into XE that year. Stacks of VK2s, VK4s and VK5s worked 6m into Asia, North and Central America over Cycle 19 and again over Cycle 20. I've seen the logs (drool, slather). Many countries through Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia did not have the 6m band for their radio amateurs. It was more a matter of available amateurs on 6m.
As for sunspots . . . they were there aplenty.
![Solar Cycle 20.gif (15.72 KiB) Viewed 1824 times Solar Cycle 20 - plenty of spots (source: IPS)](./download/file.php?id=666&t=1&sid=dc794549282c26f95b914149d5eb5065)
- Solar Cycle 20 - plenty of spots (source: IPS)
So what about the mid-late 1970s? Things improved ! The minimum that led to Cycle 21 even set a few records.
![Solar Cycle 21_DX.gif (17.81 KiB) Viewed 1824 times VHF DX in the 1970s (graph source: IPS)](./download/file.php?id=667&t=1&sid=dc794549282c26f95b914149d5eb5065)
- VHF DX in the 1970s (graph source: IPS)
A: Oct 1976. # SSN = 12. 52 MHz, VK3–JA1 Afternoon TEP
B: Nov 1976. # SSN = 12. 144 MHz, YV5ZZ works LU7DJZ Evening TEP (world first)
C+D: Oct 1977. # SSN = 35. 50 MHz VK3–KL7; 144 MHz VK8–JA2 Evening TEP (Aust. first).
Couldn't have been
too shabby !
Posted in the interests of perspective.
73, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH