ROAR Nets Report for 21st and 23rd August 2016
 
0530z - 0600z Anzo Net on 7,110
From Bill VK4ZD
I was unable to attend this net as was helping my son-in-law celebrate his 40th birthday
 
From Phil VK2MCB
Peter VK3KCD and I had a good QSO with good conditions encountered
 
0600z - 0700z Europe - Anzo Net on 14,295.2 Long Path
From Bill VK4ZD
I extended this net by 30 minutes to try and get propagation to the UK but to no avail.
Klaus HB9CQS was 57 and gave me 54
John ZL2JPM was 56
Phil VK2MCB and I exchanged 55 reports
Peter VK3KCD was 57 and gave me 59
Jean-Pierre F1CFA was 33 and gave me 51
Miika OH2BAD was 22
Pertti EA7GSU was 55 and gave me 53-5 building to 57
Henk VK2GWK was 57
Doug ZL1BFS was 57-9+10 and gave me 55-7
Brian G3LUW was 44-55and gave me 33
John G3OKT was 11
Alain F4GHB was 44 and gave me 45
No other stations were heard although I understand that Nick G4HCK, John G3OKT and Malcolm PA3AHC were on frequency
 
From Phil VK4ZD
At last things are looking up in regard to propagation.
OH2BAD Miika was 55 and gave me a 53
HB9CQS was 59+ and gave me 57
ZL2MPM John was 57
VK4ZD Bill was 57
VK3KCD Peter was 43 which is all we can expect given our proximity
F1CFA Jean Pierre was 55 and copied me the same
EA7GSU Pertti was 55 and gave me 57
VK2GWK Henk came on at 0625Z for a short time and was a solid 59
I did copy G3OKT John towards the end of the net about a 31 but was unable to exchange reports
 
From John G3OKT
Solar figures at 0305z were SFI 78 A 4 K 0 sunspots 12 (falling)
HB9CQS was in QSO with VK2MCB at 0602z; Klaus was initially 1.1 here and there was no sign of Phil. Klaus gave me 3.3 and came up to 2/5.1 at 0613z, when I then heard a whisper of Phil!
VK3KCD was heard here to give ZL2JPM 4.3 at 0616z. Peter was 3.1 here - first time heard for months!
VK2MCB was 1.1 here at 0618 with slow QSB.
EA7GSU was called by VK2GWK at 0625 – Pertti got 5.5/6 from Henk.
HB9CQS came up to 5.3 here at 0623 but then went back down to 2.1.
VK2GWK was heard to give Klaus 5.7. Henk was 4.1 here at 0624 – but also the best VK signal heard for weeks!
F1CFA was mentioned by Henk at 0626. Jean Pierre got 5.5, but was never heard here.
OH2BAD was 5.9+10dB here. Miika said he had heard Phil at 0600 but had lost copy by 0637. Miika gave VK4ZD 4.1, gave HB9CQS 5.9 dropping to 5.7 by 0640, and heard PA3AHC, G3OKT and EA7GSU.
EA7GSU exchanged 5.9 b/w with Miika at 0640. Pertti was 5.6-7 here. Pertti gave F1CFA 4.1.
PA3AHC was ”a voice in the noise” here at 0641 but Malcolm got 5.9+10dB from Miika. Malcolm was still “no copy” here at 0705z when he got 5.5 from Pertti (cf earlier nearly 5.9)
VK2MCB was called by Klaus at 0644. Very weak for Klaus; Phil was only a whisper in the noise here. Miika gave me 5.9+10dB while Klaus worked Phil (we doubled!)
EA7GSU was 5.1 here at 0652; Pertti heard the voice of VK4ZD at 0654 but I had no copy of Bill here. Incidentally, Woodpecker appeared at S9 here compared to S4 earlier.
HB9CQS said Bill was very weak but that Phil was back to 5.5.
G4HCK was referred to by OH2BAD at 0700z. Nick was only 1.1 here, but gave Pertti 5.6 and got 5.8. Pertti heard me at 5.8/9.
F1CFA was only 1.1 here at 0705z but Jean Pierre got 5.9 from Pertti.
HB9CQS was still only 5.1 here at 0710 but got 5.8/9 from Pertti. Klaus said Pertti had been 5.9 briefly earlier but had then gone down again.
OH2BAD was still 5.9+10dB here at 0710z while “Europe was more or less open”.
EA7GSU summarized the European stations on net for Bill VK4ZD at 0715. Bill was 5.7 at best with Pertti 15 mins earlier, but nothing was heard here of Bill as the net closed at 0717z – by now in heavy QRM from nearby strong European stations.
 
From Nick G4HCK
Late on Parade today so only made the end of the net. 0H2BAD, HB9CQS and EA7GSU were the only members of the net I could hear, all quite strong. As they said when I was at school ‘must try harder’ and I will try and get on the net a little earlier next week.
 
0800z - 0908z UK 80-metre Net on 3,694
From John G3OKT who was net controller.
An excellent net today of 9 stations and good band conditions.
G3LUW was 5.9+20dB here after early morning restoration of his antenna following a storm warning; Brian gave Vernon 5.9+ and Derek 5.9.
G3SZF was 5.9; Bob gave all 5.9 particularly G7OAI/P at 5.9+10dB
G3JJR was 5.9; John gave Vernon 5.9QSB and G0SQH 5.7
G2FUU was 5.9+10; Tommy gave G3OKT 5.9+20, G3LUW 5.9+10, G3JJR 5.9, and G3SZF 5.9++
G7OAI/P gave G3OKT 5.9+40dB, G3LUW and G3SZF 5.9+10, and both G3JJR and G2FUU S7. John was 5.9+10dB here.
G0SQH was 5.9 with G3LUW and also here. Bob said Derek was 5.7/8 QSB.
G0EGW and G3OKT exchanged 5.9+19dB b/w; Vernon gave G3LUW 5.7, G3SZF 5.5, G3JJR 5.9, G2FUU 5.5 to 5.8, and exchanged 5.9 b/w with G7OAI/P and G3JJR.
G4LXD and G3OKT exchanged 5.9+20dB b/w. Bill was 5.9 with Tommy, gave G3LUW 5.7, G3SZF 5.5, G0EGW 5.8, G0SQH 5.7 and G3JJR 4.5.
Vernon had received nothing from Bruce G0PCF about paying subs. I will follow this up.
We had a full and interesting discussion until I closed the net at 0908z. Tommy said he would check the frequency at 6pm local time for any callers.
G7OAI/P agreed to stay on frequency with G3JJR to check out John’s best audio setting.
Neither G7OAI nor G3SZF can attend the net next Sunday. Tommy will be net control.
I was then called by Giles G0NXA near Gloucester who asked after John and Diana Betts (G4HMG and G4MVV). I had to break the sad news that they had both recently died.
The net closed at 0908z
 
1200z – 1300z TransAtlantic Net on 14,287/8 or at 1500z on Sunday on 14287kHz or 14.310MHz
 
1700z – 1730z RIBI evening 80-metre Net on 3,693 MHz
 
2000z - 2030z N.AM Transcontinental Net on 14,287/8 or 14.310
by email from EA7GSU to ZL1BFS re a later sched on 14.2952MHz :-
“I heard your CW with 319 and I also heard you talking but that was only 21.
I started beaming N and continued turning the beam slowly towards 240 degrees where your sigs were strongest.
It was good opening to W/VE signals being 57 to 59 plus but it wasn’t long enough to carry your sigs over the pole.
Thanks for trying and cu another time.”
 
From ZL1BFS to EA7GSU
Sked 21 August 2016 at 2200z (10:00am on 22/8/2016 local time)
I think there might have been a “difference” in the noise characteristics when you were speaking, but unable to resolve any voice characteristics.
I did hear your CW extremely weakly. I recognised both callsigns (because I knew what I was looking for?) but signals were so weak that I copied some characters, but only parts of other characters, so was not able to resolve any words. I sent you RST 229 - against a standing noise level of S4. I was transmitting 200W on CW, and 1000w PEP on SSB.
Phil VK2MCB was 57 on SSB when he was beaming Long Path, but only 44 when beaming Short Path.
 
0700z – 0730z Tuesday 23rd August 2016 NZ 80-m net on 3,693
 
0600z - 0630z Tuesday 23rd August 2016 EUR net on 14,295.2 / 7,136 +/-
From Bill VK4ZD
Coco YO9BC was 58 and gave me 56 about 10 minutes before net time
John G3OKT was 55 and gave me 43
Klaus HB9CQS was 56 and gave me 57
Pertti EA7GSU appeared suddenly about halfway into the net. He started
off at 56, building to 57 and ultimately 58. He gave me 57 building to 59+
Phil VK2MCB was 43 and gave me 53
Brian G3LUW and I exchanged 56 reports
Jean-Pierre F1CFA was 11 to me
It was great to finally hear the UK again
I went QRT at 0645z
 
From Phil VK2MCB
Heavy QRM from a California based station on 14295 contacting a ZL made it hard for me as they were very strong here.
HB9CQS Klaus was 57
YO9BC Coco was 59
EA7GSU Pertti was 55
Malcolm was copied 31 at 0628, Brian 43 about the same time and Jean Pierre 45 also.
Pity about the QRM because without it, I suspect it would have been quite a good net for me.
I did copy G3OKT very weakly.
 
From John G3OKT
Solar figures were SFI 80 A 5 K 2 sunspots 33 (rising)
Woodpecker was only S1 on 14.295 at 0557, but was up to S9+20dB at 0613z!
Excellent net with return of Bill VK4ZD hitting 5.7 here at 0627, and 5.9 with EA7GSU at 0638 as the net closed. Bill gave me peaking 5.5.
VK4ZD was a wavy 3.1 here at 0555z – great to hear each other again!
YO9BC gave Bill 5.6 and got 5.8. Coco was 5.6 here and then disappeared. Coco returned around 0615z giving EA7GSU 5.9+15dB in exchange for 5.9 with fast QSB, gave PA3AHC 5.5, gave HB9CQS 3.1, and gave VK2MCB 5.5/7.
HB9CQS heard Bill at 5.6/7 when Klaus was 5.7 and gave me 5.9.
EA7GSU was 5.7 and gave me 5.7 QSB but had no copy of Phil.
VK4ZD got 3.1 or less from Pertti at 0610z, but was S7 at 0627 and gave Pertti 5.6.
VK2MCB was readable by HB9CQS but Phil was weak here at 4.1. At 0625z Phil gave Klaus 5.5 and Coco 5.9.
PA3AHC was heard by Pertti but I had no copy of Malcolm here. VK4ZD called Malcolm at 0628 and had a response according to Pertti, but Bill and I had no copy.
VK4ZD was peaking 5.6 with 3-second QSB at 0632. Bill gave Phil 4.3.
G3LUW was 5.9 b/w with Pertti and 5.6 b/w with VK4ZD but Bill was down to 2.1 here as the net closed at 0640z. Pertti gave Bill 5.9 at 0638!
That’s all for now,
73s from John G3OKT
26th August 2016