Opening on 144 MHz - Thurs 14th Feb 2019

After several days of dire conditions on 28 MHz, I noticed a post on Facebook about a lift on 2 metres. I decided it was time for a change so I monitored 144 MHz instead for the day.

The level of activity was certainly a marked change to 28 MHz! All of those signals were heard with a simple Slim Jim vertical half-wave in the attic of my house.

It should be noted that this was a Thursday, not the weekend. I was suprised that there were so many stations on the band.

I don't have any evidence but I suspect that a LOT of guys are now using FT8 on 144 MHz with vertical aerials. I don't believe that everyone shown above is using a beam or is horizontally polarised. I suspect a lot of people are just using simple verticals and a few watts to get the most out of the band.