During the last few days we have had TEP openings to JA and openings to Southern VK occurring at the same time which is quite normal for this time of the year.
Unfortunately most of the VKs, which are quite weak, are calling on 50.110 and are being wiped out by the louder JA's.
I am not being picky about the band plan, but if you guys down there want to work Nth QLD please call on 50.2 and we will hear you. I routinely listen on 50.110, 50.2, and 52.1.
It was a s funny as a cage of monkeys yesterday. The JAs were into Townsville and our beacon was being heard in VK2 and VK5. I heard some weak VKs calling CQ on .110 and assumed that they were chasing the JAs so I ignored them, but they weren't hearing JA and were looking for contacts in Townsville. A well known VK2 6m op emailed me to tell me that I was being a snob Meanwhile 50.2 and 52.1 were QRM free
I really do like working VKs and I hope that VKs like to work me, but I need to hear them.
I think that the main problem is that VKs further south just don't realise how strong the TEP propagation is up here. All of the JA during the recent openings were S9+ and pointing the beam south does not make a lot of difference. Trying to hear fluttery E sigs is almost hopeless. The few stns I worked after they called on 50.2 were easy to hear. I did not hear any on 52.1 after several calls.
Obsessive compulsive disorder that occurs every 11 years. That must be something new to medical science
This is not really a serious post. What happened last Thursday afternoon was extremely funny. In the end I gave up trying to work anyone because of the chaos. I think we have lost the art of listening, not just in AR, but in society generally.
btw guys in the contests i tend to listen to 52.100 and 52.150 i've worked plenty of people up there contest or just openings worked all the states in vk ja and zl all above 52 in the past 12 months. If the band is open drag me out of the hf room i have 4 elements @ 40' so it works ok.also given a little time i can set up jt65 for 52.276.
Yep, did that several times and some did move to .2, but not all ops use the logger. We had mixed TEP and sporadic E today too but the word must have got around because the VKs spread out more and the JAs were also being heard further south.
I think you see the problem of calling CQ on 50.110 from your point of view.
Have a look at it from the point of view from us guys down south.
Everybody is listening on 50.110 so no amount of calling by us on any other frequency is pointless and it would be nice for us to have a 6m DX contact occasionally. Even with a VK4.
The 6m openings down south don't even compare to the number what you have up there in VK4.
50.200 is a dodo unless you know someone is listening or calling there.
It is amazing how many people just listen.
So it would be nice if VK4's would call towards JA vice just listening for them to call, and then replying. If we don't know you are there we will be clobbering your Rx.
From my point of view, it is ok to call on 50.110 anytime provided the frequency is not in use and it is not done every 2 minutes. (or 5)
Its the old story, call or answer a call on 50.110 and move off it.
Of course we down south on a small city block are very jealous of your VK4 DX locations so please give us a fair go and send some of the DX down here.
I think you see the problem of calling CQ on 50.110 from your point of view.
Hi Bob
I think you have this the wrong way around. It was the southern VK's problem not my problem. They were hearing our beacon and were calling north on 50.110 expecting a reply from this area but the JA's were blasting in here and simply wiping the the VK sigs out.
I was not being pedantic about call frequencies, just pointing out that if you guys really want to work into northern VK4 avoid 50.110 calling when TEP and Es are both occurring together. It does not happen very often.
having lived most of my life in northern vk4 i understand your problem. you can have tropo,E's and F2 all at the same time and the noise from north of vk including pirates, 49.750 etc can
cause a headache to hear anything on 50.110 below s9+ - especially with the dog piles from our enthusiastic friends including multiple modes (phone cw and rtty) bleeding all over 50.110.
And it wont matter how good your radio is or how big your antenna. It makes it worse. 49.750 at +60/9 is a challenge in itself.
A suggestion, perhaps some audio recordings would help people to understand what you hear.
Apart from that, those that want a taste of what it is like, listen to 27.005 or 27.025 when the AM carriers are S9+ and the voices are just noise blended together.
Try to copy that weak station.
Sometimes when the signals are so strong, you just have to turn it all off.
Meanwhile 50.2 and 52.1 were QRM free 
