The magic of grey line

Making loads of DX contacts on 80m is hardly a mystery. It’s all about the antenna. And for an amateur on a half acre block there is only one choice for an antenna: a quarter wave vertical.

Either in the form of a vertical wire suspended from a tree or a free standing 20m tall aluminium mast. A fishing rod / squid pole vertical would work as well, assuming it comes with mechanical integrity capable of withstanding wind gusts.

It goes without saying that a good radial system is essential, with 16 radials as a bare minimum, 32 as the optimum between price and performance.

This would get you out.

A dedicated receiving antenna is highly desirable but if you are blessed with a quiet location, at a certain time of night, on a certain path, the noise may be surprisingly low. Of course if you have room for a beverage, then you will hear better than 90% of fellow VKs.

The fun on 80m starts at sunset, with the band favouring east, closing 15-30 minutes after sunrise, favouring the path to the west. The band is highly seasonal as well.

Deserving chasers willing to put time and effort will be rewarded with hundreds of juicy DX. The main activity is on FT8 and CW. 80m is not a phone DX band except for those with directional antennas running high power.

At around 2am on Sunday I noted on VK3AMA HamSpots ‘early warning alert’ that 7O73T from Yemen has been spotted on 3570 by an Indonesian station. A quick frequency check revealed a rather massive two stream FT8 signal – too good to be true. Somehow disappointed that a local station is on the frequency rather than a juicy DX. Seconds later, I literally fell off the chair when decode started flashing “7O73T” . With just two calls, running less than 100 watts, Yemen was in the log! And as it appeared, a few moments later, the signal disappeared with a horde of callers completely covering the 3 KHz wide band. I was lucky beyond my wildest dream.

7O73T is a callsign of Dima, RA9USU on a ‘one man, one radio’; DXpedition to Socotra Island, Yemen. A seasoned Dxer and a legend.

Yes, the timing is everything, but only those who understand the magic of grey line propagation on 80m get lucky. While most will continue to complain that ‘there is nothing on 80m except unbearable noise’,  a handful of the deserving will continue to have fun on the band where DX IS.