Finally, a chance to test the G2DAF amplifier in contest operation! A brief contact with Jan OM0AJ confirms that everything is working. A look at the SDR spectrum suggests a fairly busy band, but it seems as though stations are avoiding 3756 kHz. So I’ll start there.
3756 kHz
This frequency is mainly used by Slovak ham radio operators. Conversation topics vary—sometimes even straying from ham radio—but that usually doesn’t matter. It’s sort of like a place where friends meet to say hello and chat a bit. Amateurs from across the Morava River or from farther away often join in as well.
However, a signal called “The Pip” also appears on the 3756 kHz frequency. This signal sounds like a beep or the dripping of water. It’s the second frequency of a transmitter that operates at 5448 kHz during the day and tunes into the amateur radio band in the evening and at night.
How I Avoided the Dellinger Effect
Since I only participate in one of the two possible hours in the SSB League, my results aren’t competitive with stations that take advantage of both hours. The SSB League is an opportunity to try something new, practice contest operations, and say hello to friends. After the initial run, I offer the frequency to others and start scanning. You can rack up a large number of contacts this way, too.
Toward the end of the hour, I find an open frequency again and make a few more contacts. It looked like I might reach 100 contacts, but I stopped at 99. Martin OM4MM skillfully took over the frequency after me, knowing that I finish after one hour.
Propagation conditions during the first hour did not yet foreshadow what ham radio operators would experience during the second hour of the SSB League. The Dellinger effect prevented signal propagation to such an extent that the band fell silent.
