K5JAW Operating Notes - 2014 Week 2 - Jan 5-11, 2014

On The Air: 
It's been another productive week on the air, despite being back at work.  I've found some time to be in the shack each evening for local and statewide nets.  Between those, I've had time to spin the dial and pick up a few contacts for my QSO365 count.  You can keep up with my monthly tally on the K5JAW 2014 Operations page, which is also available in the tabs at the top of the blog page.

17 meters has been friendly for daytime contacts.  At night, 40 meters has been more challenging.  The 40m band has experienced quiet periods each night, but then it will open for about an hour before closing down again.  Even in those narrow windows, contacts have been light on signal strength.  However, I managed one DX contact to Bosnia-Herzegovina on 40m SSB.  20m has been unusually quiet as well, but there was a ray of sunshine with an opening to Namibia late one afternoon.  I'm chalking all this up to recent solar activity disturbing the ionosphere, and hope that it will return to normal soon.

Top 5 Distances Covered this Week
V5/DJ2HD - Namibia - 8032 miles
E77DX - Bosnia & Herzegovina - 5370 miles
CU7AA - Azores Islands - 3421 miles
N6VI - California - 1604 miles
CO8LY - Cuba - 1305 miles

International
Countries worked:  Azores, Bahamas, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cuba, Mexico, Namibia

National & Regional
States Worked: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia

Local
If you're around the Mississippi Delta and in range of the N5LRL Repeater 147.285+ 107.2Hz tone, join the Delta Amateur Radio Emergency Services Net on Sunday nights at 8:00pm local time.

Around the Station:
Not a lot new at Station K5JAW this week, aside from getting a couple of hours each day for some time on-air, between work and other commitments.  I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of new DXCC stations, including Bahamas, and Namibia.

For my ongoing QSO365 effort, I'm doing pretty good, with 76 contacts logged from January 1 through January 11.  I know that pace won't hold throughout the year, but I'm pleased with the start.

One thing I've learned is to not worry about poor band conditions.  Get on and call CQ CQ CQ CQ!  Nobody will call you if you just wait.  Jump on and put some CQ's out and you will get a reply!

Active Bands at K5JAW this Week
2 meters - 12 contacts
17 meters - 11 contacts
20 meters - 2 contacts
40 meters - 14 contacts
80 meters - 6 contacts

QSL Cards Received
EA4LU - Spain
IZ5DKJ - Italy
EC8ABQ - Canary Islands
OH7UE - Finland
UR8MH - Ukraine
P43E - Aruba
PY3ED - Brazil
PJ2/DF7ZS - Curacao
WB4U - North Carolina

QSL Cards Going Out
WA2BOB
K2YNY
N1HCE
KD8MTE
KG9QP
NS0D
KC4NJX
K5JVT
KG4ZFV
N6VI
KD0WRR
W9RWB
K5VGS
K1RCR
KE7BQN
KB8FNC
WE5K
NR1D
KK4ODQ
WJ3O