Hello, Just wondering if anyone here was around and opperated MS in the 60's.. I did and had consistant contacts on CW and now and then on SSB.. My old opperating freq. was 50.016 CW.. Those in the North sent the first 2 and 1/2 min. and those in the South sent the second 2 and 1/2 or maybe the other way around..its been awhile.. From up here West of Seattle I made consistant contacts into Los Angeles and San Diego every weekend.. W7CNK and K7BBO were the "top guns" up here then, I was a "newbie" Running a Drake 2B receiver with a Parks convertor, and old Heathkit HX-30 into a homebrew 4-250A Amp to a Hygain 6 el... We didn't have computers back then, just alot of patience and a good ear, and clock with a sweep hand matching WWV.. Just thought I'd interject a little nostalgia for others, I'm not bragging,even though it was a real challenge back then... My call then was WA7BTG which kinda made my wrist tired sending it.. We included full calls, a signal report, and a r.r.r.r. for verification.. I must add though it helped having foreknowledge of what frequency each person was transmitting on, back then we used one particular freq., even though it didn't belong to us exclusively, we used to stick to them, now people are telling me all of those below 50.010 are reserved for beacons, perhaps they could still be shared durring off peak times.. Best that I can recall, CW is allowed on 50 to 50.4 MCs.. not mhz you guys.. as long as your not interfering with someone else you are allowed to transmit anywhere in this range on CW... Anyone done scatter here without the aid of a "puter" ? ... don't get mad, just asking.. Best of 73's, Kim K7DGI Belfair Wa
Hi Filks, I was around in the 60s but really got into MS and troppo in the 70s. I worked W7N in WA on MS good signals both way. Also worked WA6HXM in Palos Verdes Penninsula for Lodi CA. We dodn't use numbers in those days. This tread got me to looking at my old QSL cards and brought back a lot of fond memories! 73, Jim, W4NFT was WB6NFT back in the old days.
Hello Kim. Yeah, I did - but not on six meters. Two meters was the game then - and now, for me. On six scatter is a lot easier, but generally not necessary as all one has to do is wait for some e-skip and he will work a lot more. And of course one can run scatter on six meter SSB most any day. But I got my WAS on six without any scatter work. HSMS has opened up a whole new way though, making it even easier and making DX contacts possible most any time without having a big station or waiting for an opening. Ran a lot of scatter on two meters on CW and later on SSB. Even did the tape recorder thing to try high speed CW for MS. That did not work out too well as it was hard to find anyone else who wanted to try it back in the seventies. I'll always remember making my first Georgia contact with K4GL on MS CW. There was so much Doppler shift on the meteor bursts that I had to keep one hand on the tuning knob of the old NC300 to keep him in the passband during the burns. But boy was he loud! I managed to work 36 states on 2 back then. But when I moved from Western NY (now FN02) out here to SNJ (FM29) in 1982 I had to start all over again. Of course meteor scatter was a big part of my plan, but it was all SSB by then. With the help of the meteor scatter net on 75 meter SSB, I was soon back up to my original states total. I think there was a whole lot more activity by big stations back then than at most any time before or since. Then I put up 4 Yagis, got on moonbounce and completed my WAS and WAC. But meteor scatter has always been one of my favorite modes and first HSCW and now HSMS with WSJT has made it possible to do it a lot more. Back when I moved there was a new thing called "grid squares". With the help of meteor scatter I managed to work my first 100 grids on 2 meters in just over 3 months, earning me VUCC certificate #35. A fantastic opening in the September contest that year was a great help too. Now I'm at about 420 grids and still having lots of fun on 2. My latest thing now is counting countries on 2. But I doubt I will ever make DXCC. Currently at 46 - but just maybe if I keep at it... I enjoy working the higher bands, 432, 1296, and 10 GHz as well, but 2 meters is my favorite and I guess it always will be. Thanks for starting me on that trip down memory lane. 73, Russ K2TXB
Kim -- Thanks for your reminder about the good old days! I first became a meteor-scatter fanatic in 1957 or 1958. I was in high school then -- my call was K2ITP, and my brother was K2ITQ. Together we built a 6-meter rig with a 4-400A in the final, with close to a KW input on CW or plate modulated AM phone. Rx was a home brew converter into an ARC-5 receiver, and our antenna was a 5 element yagi. Our key was a home made "bug" using a hacksaw blade end as the vibrating spring, loaded at the free end with about a dozen tightly would turns of solder. We ran Saturday morning CW skeds with W4IKK in Tennessee and W4RMU in Florida. We used 30 second transmissions, and found that we could work essentially any time we tried, within 15-30 minutes. In 1959 I went off to college, and didn't make another meteor scatter QSO until 2001. I still get a thrill when I hear an unexpectedly good ping from a station 1000 miles away, on a dead band! -- 73, Joe, K1JT
Ran meteor skeds the old fashioned way for many many years, solely on two meters, so it was even tuffer than 6....bursts were much shorter. It was an awful lot of fun. Ran weekly with K1WHS on Sat and Sun mornings and we had about a 90% success rate. My first MS contact was with K0MQS (1st WAS on 144) also ran a lot with W2UK another call from the past. I still get the same thrill with WSJT when I hear that burst come thru. Jim K4KAE
Good Morning Gang: Thanks for the great discussion. I didn't quite make the 60's. I got involved from Arkansas as K5MWH in the early 70's. K2TXB and others can probably find me in their logs. I worked 47 states and was in line for one of the 1st 10 WAS on 2 mtrs, but packed it in and moved to Oklahoma further my career. One of the most exciting events was working WA6LET off of the moon. Also made the 1st Ark to NV contact with Al, K7ICW. Mostly CW in those days(all 2 mtrs). I still enjoy MS but it isn't as much fin as it was then. (primarily because can no longer stay awake for those wee hour skeds, some of which I slept through until a big burst came along, woke me up, & scared the hell outta me at the same time. Great discussion. 73, Mike, W5UC
Joe Taylor wrote: > Subject: Re: [wsjtgroup] Scatter in the 60's > > ...We ran Saturday morning CW skeds with W4IKK in Tennessee and > W4RMU in Florida. We used 30 second transmissions, and found > that we could work essentially any time we tried, within > 15-30 minutes. Joe, I wonder if that was Paul Wilson, W4HHK, you are speaking of? If so, he was one of the very early pioneers of meteor scatter communications and having worked with him is really great. I wish I had known him. I only ever worked him once, on 13 CM EME, from K2UYH. Here is a picture of him and his dish from the front cover of QST, March 1968. Maybe it won't come through on the list, so I will send this message to you directly as well. 73, Russ K2TXB
Russ -- I knew about Paul Wilson, of course. He was indeed a pioneer in many VHF/UHF areas -- but as far as I know not especially on 6 meters. W4IKK lived on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and had a big signal on 6 in those days. He was a good mentor to my brother and me; after our weekly skeds we nearly always exchanged letters in which we discussed the results of the Saturday morning sked, planned station improvements, etc. -- Joe, K1JT
Good to see that picture. My elmer K4ZJ (now a sk, someone in GA has his call) took me by to see that dish when I was maybe 18 or 19 (late 70’s). We were in Memphis for another reason which I forget. But unfortunately Paul was not home at the time and I did not get to see the goodies inside. HHK’s station is/was about 60 miles from here. 73 Chuck AF4O