‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  
AROUND 1740Z AND WAS GONE QUICKLY.  I WATCHED IT ON AND OFF, AND AT 2115Z,
IT POPPED BACK IN TO EU EVEN STRONGER THAN THE EARLIER OPENING.  MOSTLY
WESTERN EU.  NO UKRAINE THIS TIME.  SIGNALS STRONG.  AT 2315Z, WE WERE
STILL WORKING THEM, BUT WE NOTICED JA WAS COMING IN AT THE SAME TIME, SO WE
TURNED TO JA AND WORKED ABOUT SIX OF THEM.  THIS IS THE EARLIEST I HAVE
WORKED JA ON 6 METERS.  DREW, K3PA EM29, MANAGED TO WORK EI AND G FOR NEW
ONES ON CW.  HE SAID, IT WAS THE FIRST T

THE WORLD ABOVE 50 MHZ  JON JONES, N0JK, N0JK ARRL. ORG  THE RISE OF WSJT
THIS SUMMER HAS BROUGHT ABOUT DRAMATIC CHANGE FOR OPERATING ON 50 MHZ.
JT65 DIGITAL SIGNALS ARE BACK THIS SUMMER ON 6 METERS.  AFTER MAKING AN
APPEARANCE DURING SOME JANUARY ES OPENINGS, JT65 AND ITS RELATIVES WERE
STILL A NOVELTY ON TERRESTRIAL 50 MHZ SPORADIC E DURING APRIL AND EARLY
MAY.  I SAW SOME PEOPLE USING MSK144 ON ES, BUT SOON THEY FOUND JT65 WAS SO
MUCH BETTER.  STARTING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, JT65 EXPLODED.  THE BIG EUROPE
AND JAPAN OPENINGS FROM NORTH AMERICA THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE SHOWED A RAPID
EVOLUTION TO JT65.  BY FATHERS DAY, JT65S DOMINION OVER 6 METERS WAS NEARLY
COMPLETE.  A REPORT I RECEIVED BY GEORGE HALL, N2CG, REVEALED THIS ON
FATHERS DAY 2017, THERE WAS AN ES OPENING FROM THE US EAST COAST TO THE
CARIBBEAN AND NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA REGION THAT BEGAN AROUND 2145Z,
ACCORDING TO SPOTS ON THE DX SPOTTING WEBSITES, AND IT LASTED FOR ABOUT 2
HOURS.  LOOKING AT THE DX SPOTS BEING POSTED DURING THIS OPENING, I COUNTED
ABOUT 80 JT DIGITAL MODE SPOTS VERSUS 20 SSB AND CW MODE SPOTS.  LAST YEAR
DURING A TYPICAL 6 METER ES OPENING, THIS WAS THE EXACT OPPOSITE, WITH
ABOUT 80 SSB AND CW SPOTS VERSUS 20 JT DIGITAL MODE SPOTS BEING REPORTED.
SO, IT LOOKS LIKE THE JT DIGITAL MODES HAVE MADE A VERY STRONG AND DOMINANT
ROLE ON WORKING 6 METER DX AND IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD.  GEORGE WAS NOT THE

ONLY ONE TO OBSERVE THIS.  I FOLLOW 6 METER SPOTS CLOSELY AND HAVE NOTED
THE RAPID MIGRATION OF OPERATORS TO JT65 AWAY FROM CW AND SSB, PARTICULARLY
FOR FOREIGN DX ON SPORADIC E.  SO, YOU MAY WONDER WHY THERE HAS BEEN A
RAPID ADOPTION OF JT65.  THE BIG ADVANTAGE IS JT65S ABILITY TO PULL SIGNALS
OUT THAT ARE INAUDIBLE UP TO 10 30 DB BELOW THE NOISE.  ONE OF THE LOCAL
OPS HERE IN LAWRENCE SHOWED ME HIS JT65 STATION.  IT WAS MAGIC TO SEE THE
DECODES POP UP ON A DEAD BAND.  THIS ALLOWS SPORADIC E DX TO BE WORKED WHEN
SIGNALS ARE TOO WEAK TO HEAR.  JT65 HELPED THE LITTLE PISTOLS AND THE BIG
GUNS.  I RECEIVED REPORTS OF SOME VERY SMALL STATIONS I. E.  10 W, INDOOR
DIPOLES WORKING JAPAN, CANARY ISLANDS, AND EUROPE FROM NORTH AMERICA.  K5ND
IN GARLAND, TEXAS, WORKED JAPAN RUNNING 100 W AND A MOXON VIA JT65.  THE
BIG STATIONS PUSHED THE ENVELOPE.  SOME WORKED REALLY RARE DX FROM NORTH
AMERICA, SUCH AS TY2AC, SV9CVY, 9K2GS, VK4MA, VK8MS, E51WL, AND OTHERS.
SOME ISSUES AROSE, THOUGH.  WITH EVERYONE NOW CROWDING ON 50R276 MHZ WHEN
THE BAND WAS OPEN, INTERFERENCE WAS INEVITABLE.  IN EUROPE, IT SEEMED
STATIONS TRANSMITTED ALL SEQUENCES, MAKING CONTACTS DIFFICULT.  THE LONG
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ