It is worth bodging coax after all

Just a few days since my last post. I now have my replacement plastic block for my "Dual" antenna. Goran suggested that I contact Nevada who hold stocks of spare parts in the UK for him. Two days later and the part had arrived from Nevada at no cost to me. Pretty good service that.

I had explained last time that I had bodged the thing up again, just to keep 6m working during the peak season.

Bas, PE4BAS, commented that the path to Japan on 6m did indeed open regularly, but only for a short time.  This cheered me on, and I had an idea that I might be able to work North America again too if I found the right time. Mike, GM3PPE encouraged me too by noting my efforts to reach the USA.

So with new-found vigour, I decided to try my patched up, stuck together, lash up to see what could be done.

50MHz contacts from GM4FVM, 5 to 8 July 2020.

Bas was right. 28 QSOs, 25 squares, 10 countries and best DX was JG1TSG in QM05 at 9285km. Nine of the QSOs were to the USA and Canada, and nine more to Japan. Japan of course is a new country for me on 6m, and almost every contact there and in the US was to a new square.

Whilst the opening to North America was a longer affair, the one to Japan lasted just 11 minutes with one part-finished QSO completed an hour later. Both involved pile ups with people calling me mid QSO, and with several never completed attempts at contacts mixed in.

This result is not really my doing. I just happened to be around for the few minutes when the band opened. I was good fun though, and I claim full credit for good operating which is, of course, the key to my success. And my modesty as well.

So I have broken my duck with Japan on 6m, and I did it with a lashed together length of coax held up by tie-wraps and joined and patched along the way. The rig was the £300 second hand Icom IC-7100. Nothing but the best for me on 50MHz.

Thanks to everyone for the various messages of encouragement for this and all my other exploits.

The new coax is here now and all I need to get it installed is a spell of good weather ...

73
Jim
GM4FVM