This summer I’ve decided to focus on the magic band, 6m. I recently took down my efhw vertical at home and replaced it with a vertical 6m dipole — I have a tiny garden patch and neighbours nearby, so I don’t want to be too intrusive with the wire cobwebs. Maybe not the ideal antenna, but it’s the best I can do in a HOA.

I recently acquired a Cushcraft 3el 6m yagi from LA1UW Bjørn, and brought it with me to the family cabin in Oppdal (JP42), Norway. It was placed on the cabin roof using a tripod and height-wise it was maybe 7-8 meters above terra firma.

The 6 meter band had a few openings, but I only managed to secure a handful contacts, all on on FT8. I also tried a 6m SSB sked with LB0VG, just 100 km away, albeit the attempt was unsuccessful. To this day I still have zero – none – SSB contact on 6 meters! A shame for someone who primarily considers themselves an SSB operator.

In about a weeks time I’ll head north to Herøy (JP66, IOTA EU-062) in Nordland, and will stay there for approximately three weeks. Hopefully I’ll be able to attend the RSGB IOTA contest again. This is obviously a contest on the HF bands, but as the post title implies, I will also operate 6m outside the contest hours.

Fingers crossed for smashing condx and maybe the first SSB contact on 6 meters..?