50 and 70 MHz opens to allow cross-band transatlantic contact

On Monday, June 25, there was a big opening to Europe on 6 meters (50 MHz), also known as the 'magic band'.

In most areas, the opening started in the local US mid-morning, lasting until dark.

According to QST column author of 'The World Above 50 MHz' Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, "Many areas of the country that do not normally work Europe, including the Midwestern states, West Texas and Colorado, worked stations in Europe.

"At one point near the end of the opening, stations on the East Coast of the US were working stations in Hawaii on the Big Island."

In this opening, Mike Smith, VE9AA, in New Brunswick was on 50 MHz when he worked Nigel Coleman, G7CNF, on CW cross-band; Coleman was on the 70 MHz band (4 meters) in England.

Zimmerman said, "Though a few cross-band contacts were made via F2 propagation during the sunspot maximum period in the 1970s, this is believed to be the first 50/70 transatlantic cross-band contact ever made on multi-hop sporadic-E propagation."

RSGB VHF/UHF Manager David Butler, G4ASR, concurred:
"It certainly isn't the first United Kingdom-North America 4 meter/6 meter cross-band QSO, but it probably is the first via multi-hop sporadic-E."

In North America, 70 MHz is channel 4 on television sets.

Watch a YouTube video of the contact posted by VE9AA at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVlVWPJWcPo
and G7CNF's version with some audio enhancements at
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X0wel14KAD0

Source: ARRL newsletter