How are the bands today?

[N2CHX]

...cuz I built myself an interim power supply using a car battery charger, two 120,000 uF electrolytics and a hand-wound choke, and threw an antenna up in the air. Not hearing much. Not ready to transmit yet, but getting there. Building an interface to the netbook for digital modes.

I hope my antenna has a problem because if this is how good the bands are right now, I'm almost sorry I wasted my time.

[NQ6U]

They've been quiet lately but sunspot activity has been picking up over the last few days. Keep listening, things are going to get better.

[KJ3N]

...cuz I built myself an interim power supply using a car battery charger, two 120,000 uF electrolytics and a hand-wound choke, and threw an antenna up in the air. Not hearing much.

What band(s)?

[N2CHX]

With this dipole and my Atlas 210x I can cover 80, 40, 20 and 15. The antenna doesn't seem to want to resonate well on 10, even with a tuner. Not surprising, it was designed for 30 meters. I hear a lot of noise and get a definite peak in the noise with the tuner on all the lower bands, but wow I don't think I've ever heard things this quiet before.

[KJ3N]

Well, there's a bit of a pile-up on Kahlid, A61BK on 14.278. If you're not hearing anything there, then you might have a problem.

[KJ3N]

Another note. This is typical activity on the bands during a non-major contest weekend. Although the anti-contesters like to tell you there's a contest every weekend, only the major ones generate wall-to-wall activity. Wait until next weekend, when WAE SSB (http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/contest/waedc/en/rules/) starts. It'll be a world of difference.

Also start listening to the 40m band around 5-6 pm local. The SW BC stations should start to come in rather strong between 7.2 and 7.4 Mhz.

Absorption on 75/80 will keep the noise and signals down on that band until about 30-60 minutes before local sunset. After that, tuning anywhere between 3.8 to 4.0 should reveal many signals.

Don't forget that we're still at the bottom of Cycle 24.

[KG4CGC]

10 was peeping and pooping on Friday. Literally hearing brief pieces and bits of conversation and then a period of nothing. Sporadic E?

[KJ3N]

10 was peeping and pooping on Friday. Literally hearing brief pieces and bits of conversation and then a period of nothing. Sporadic E?

It would have to be. There's not enough solar flux to get 10m to do much of anything.

[N2CHX]

I'm hearing some things on 80, 40 and 20 now. Totally dead before. It was weird.