Shortwave (ham) Radio in Puna

[G. Leis]

quote:

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Originally posted by Damon

I really don't know much about "Ducts" or HAM Radio, but I did read this article the other day.

...The best known such duct is the Hawaiian duct which links the West Coast of the US, especially California with the Big Island of Hawaii....

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Wow, that's a long frickin' hop! 2 meters is a VHF FM band that's used mainly for local communication.

The Big Island to West Coast skip works because there's nothing in between to dampen the signal (mountains, e.g.). I haven't fired up my rig since mella & moved to California, but when we lived in Oregon I'd get on it sometimes at night in the winter and talk to guys in Hawaii as loud & clear as if they were in the same room. Alaska the same.

Other people listening in from back East & the Midwest could hear my side of the conversation but not the Hawaii end. Since collecting contacts from ham stations from different parts of the world is a big deal to a lot of operators, this frustrated the hell out of 'em.

It evens out though, confirming contacts with the Caribbean and Africa is tough for West Coast yakkers.

aloha,
Gene

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