6 Meters: Waiting for the Big One

6 meters is not for every DXer. The bulk of the openings are sporadic E and it really is sporadic, even during the peak season. Openings can occur when it's inconvenient, such as meal times, while you are at work or you are simply busy with life. HF openings are far more predictable, so much more that you can schedule your operating time and expect to meet with success.

It doesn't help that sporadic E peaks during the warmest months and mostly when the sun is shining, and in this climate you want to get out and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts. Turning on an amp in July can make the shack uncomfortable even with air conditioning. Monitoring the band or the spotting networks is surprisingly difficult on an ongoing basis. You're bound to be distracted or forget, and that's when that fantastic 5 minute once a year opening occurs.

When the band opens you are there or you lose out: you snooze, you lose. For the difficult long DX paths there may be just one of those each year, or every 2 or 3 years. Being tied to the shack for 2 to 3 months of the year when the big one might occur can be exciting in May but by July the shack feels like a prison. You become eager to discard the ball and chain.

Is it worth it?

In my experience it most definitely is not for most hams, including those with a love for the magic band. They will not adjust their schedules to monitor or to be active during times of known or likely openings. Even when the big one arrives they will exit the shack to honour their obligations to work, family and community. They may do it with regret but they will do it. They'll rue the loss and hope for better luck next time as they listen to the tale of what they missed from others with different priorities.

Last year I wrote of my small obsession about not missing an elusive opening to Japan. When the conditions were ripe I planted myself in front of the radio, with my evening meal. When the brief opening did arrive I was there. Others were not. Was it worth it? Perhaps I should have waited a year, because on July 11 this happened:

Every signal is a Japanese station. You don't see the other side of the QSOs because I am transmitting on the 00/30 intervals. During the 1 hour opening I worked 30 stations: that's a high rate for FT8! I heard South Korea but failed to work that country. Earlier in the day I worked 60 European stations. That was my best DX day ever on 6 meters.

Almost certainly it won't happen again this year, or next. This is rare and the rarity is what the magic is all about. Eventually the openings will return, hopefully when it's convenient and not when I have to rearrange my life to be there. Does waiting another year or two matter? There is no simple answer.

In contrast to that success this is what usually happens when you do choose to stay glued to the radio:

This was a fantastic opening to Europe -- for others. Notice the absence of signals in the 00/30 intervals, other than a few North American stations focused on domestic activity. Waiting for the band to open was fruitless. Patience is rarely rewarded.

The big guns on the band go one further: regular and intense sessions of calling CQ DX into a dead band to hunt for elusive patches of ionization. Sometimes someone will hear and respond and a QSO may ensue. Other times a "flag" will be raised on PSK Reporter from an unattended station on the other side of the world or just a few thousand kilometers away. The vast majority of the time the result is nothing at all. Rinse and repeat.

Yet it can be intriguing. One night I left my FT8 station running with the antenna pointed over the pole. Polar openings are not uncommon during sporadic E season since the Arctic is in constant sunlight. Some Europeans were decoded during the hour surrounding sunrise. I slept through it. A couple of other nights I nothing was received. One morning while I was calling CQ towards Europe I raised a flag in California a full hour before sunrise, off the back of the yagi. You just never know.

I sometimes wonder if FT8 and tools like PSK Reporter are fuelling our 6 meter addiction with these enticing lures. I wonder if it adds much to our QSO and country totals.

FT8 and constant monitoring and CQing is exposing the existence of unexpected clouds of E-layer ionization. For the scientifically inclined the data is fascinating. But only rarely does it put contacts in the log. Waiting for a momentary pulse of ionization and a similarly diligent ham at the other end of the path can deliver dividends. Is the constant vigilance worth it? Is it enthusiasm, dedication or stupidity?

With my modest station I get frustrated since so many of the DX openings are marginal. Despite having 6 elements up 24 meters my 200 watts often fails to make the grade. I am plagued by partial QSOs or not being heard at all. The wait for the big one is longer the smaller your station. Do you accept the longer wait or do you scale up your antenna and power? How far will you go, and how far will you push your family's tolerance?

I saw a new technique for "having it all" recently. During that astounding July 11 opening to Europe a ham of my acquaintance was full time SO2R in the IARU Radiosport contest. Yet there he was working Europe on 6 meters at the same time. Is that SO3R? Call it a curse or a blessing that this is possible with FT8. Watching him work stations brought a knowing smile to my face.

I was in the contest part time but it was enough for me to do one or the other and not both at the same time. When the MUF dropped below 50 MHz I had fun on CW working hundreds of Europeans on 10 and 15 meters which were also open at the time. As the MUF rose I would return to chasing DX on 6 meters.

Now that it's mid-July the season is growing old and the frequency of openings is tapering. I am fatigued enough that I am looking forward to the end of the sporadic E season. Rare openings do occur throughout the year and the true addicts will keep going. I won't.

If 6 meters is not your passion it is likely that some other aspect of amateur radio is. In that way some of what you've read here may strike a cord. The intensity of your involvement is your choice. As the saying goes: time to do a thing is never given; it must be taken. How much time you take to pursue your passion is up to you.

In a few weeks I will sum up my 6 meter season, the same as I've done the previous few years. It has already been quite successful. With a little luck, and obsession, more rare DX will yet find its way into my log. Last year the biggest European opening was in early August, so perhaps another big one is just around the corner. I can only hope, watch and wait.