Ham Radio Operator - M0YKS

A nice surprise just now as I worked across the Atlantic into Eastport in Maine USA on 28.400 Mhz better known as the magic 10 Meter band. I worked Ray-W2RE with his massive antenna array with a 5/9 signal exchange both ways during a nice pile up at around 22:12 utc, which is most unusual on that band at most times of day h.i. I also heard K6JO and gave him a shout but struggled to make a proper exchange as I lost his signal which was only 5/1 at best. Nether the less a nice late night DX catch on a most unpredictable band.

The DX machine will be getting packed and ready for another adventure up north. The holiday times are here again and we will be planning on hitting the road and operating the Ham mobile station from Scotland on 40m, 20m & 17 m as well as the 2 meter band. Keep an ear out for MM0YKS/M or P.

I usually switch my transceiver on around about 6.00 UTC most work days as I eat and prepare for work. Today was extra special as I heard a 5/5 signal coming in on the 20m band over the north pole from the north Pacific area. The station was KH7XS who was working on a split frequency and operating by numbers. I was quick to act and fired up my valve amplifier as I new it would need a few minutes to warm up first. So with a mouth full of wheat, oats, raisins and bran I waited for number zero to be called. With one call I was straight through with a 5/6 to 5/5 signal report with my FT-1000, Russian amp and cushcraft 3 element yagi. A great start to my working day for sure and 127 DXCC logged so far under M0YKS.  A short video made just after my qso.

After finishing off a week at work I started my weekend by firing up my ham radio station where I heard K6YRA coming in loud on 14.193 Mhz. K6YRA - Al was on the west coast of N. America in California and I was hearing him with a signal strength of 7-9db and Q5 audio. As I waited for my amplifier to warm up its ceramic valves I set my antenna position to 310 degrees and listened in. After a few contacts by Al across Europe I gave one call and got straight through to K6YRA - Al who gave me a 5/9 signal report from California. Not a bad catch and a great DX qso once again in the log. Have a good weekend and watch out for some interesting openings. 73 Simon M0YKS

I managed to get a bit more done on my latest project which is the antenna mast which I will use for my Cushcraft HF beam. It's still work in progress but going well so far and easy enough as well as great fun to build. Im making it up as I go along, let's wait and see how it all pans out. Best 73 see you soon. 

I've been planning on building myself a small neat lattice tower and today I made a start. So far I have produced some guides that will hold the tubes in place as well as providing some strength to the tower. The next stage is to build it up using tube and then fully weld each joint.

Another good evening of DX on the 20 meter band as I work into North, South and central America. Once again the radio propagation is providing great conditions with some excellent signals coming in to my Ham radio station here at Baildon Moor. If you haven't already been on your radio this week I would recommend tuning around the 20m band between 1900 - 0000 utc. I have been making lots of good qso and so have lots of other radio amateurs as we all enjoy the long awaited reliable openings across the Atlantic every night this week. Dont miss out, get on the band! Best 73 and do you like my new CW key made by Bencher?