No, actually, I don’t think so. I am on a campaign to try and stamp out “the bands are really dead” and “woe is me” from the amateur lexicon.
If you worked Field Day at all, the bands were in the same shape then as they are today. Yet the bands were humming! There were contacts to be had at every frequency!
What on earth was going on? Hams were on the air, that’s what!
My belief is that too many hams are switching on their rigs, tuning around trying to hear someone, giving up, and then proclaiming that “the bands are dead.” I propose that instead of doing that, pick a band that would have propagation during that time of the day, and sit on one frequency calling CQ for at least twenty minutes. Chances are, someone will tune by, see your signal on their panadapter or hear the chirp as they tune past, and come back to talk to you.
Recent studies show that the more hams on the air at a particular time, the more energized the ionosphere. Tuning around and listening doesn’t energize the ionosphere or anything else for that matter. But TRANSMITTING. Well, that’s the ticket.
So get out there every chance you get. Even if no one hears you right now, try it again tomorrow or even later today. Put some RF into the sky! The bands might be more challenging right now, but they are far from dead.
See you on the air.
Kevin N5KRG
