OLIVIA

[K8LEN]

I was on olivia for a while this am 30 meters, band is up/down, unfortunately no contacts, heard a w2, but couldnt bring him in for readable copy.

I was on 10137.50, where do you guys hang out??

POB/K8LEN

[grobin]

A lot of the Olivia activity on 30mtrs used to be around 10138.5 and and 10137.5 BUT most of it has migrated to just above the PSK activity lately.  Most all of my recent contacts have been on 10142.00 and above trying to dodge pactor and other ungodly crap on the band.  I've been on 30mtr in late afternoon and evenings lately and had a fair amount of luck putting out calls on or about 10143 with my 3 watt QRP SDR rig (G3020).  Talked to Tim, N4UM, on THOR mode too last night on or about that freq at 01:30 U.T.C. for 30 minutes.  He's in Florida. It's NOT as good as Olivia but does pretty well too.  Most of the NON PSK modes hang out now just above the PSKers which in a way is a bummer BUT people migrate and what can you do ...

My best contact on 30mtrs lately was WB6YTE on 10.142460 on Olivia 250/8.  I heard him put out a CQ at 01:47 U.T.C. in the evening and answered his call.  I was the high powered station on 3 watts!  Turned out he was running 1 watt.  We chatted 43 minutes and did NOT hear any other stations on the band but him.

---Gary WB8ROL

[K8LEN]

WILL try it in that area....

I wonder if you have ever tried wsjt mode...

I never tried THOR, although I noticed that many ops use data modes that I cant  switch fast enough to display or dont know what the heck it is.

Inoticed a w2ft???is on every day in the am, with different modes, but cant pull the letters off the screen, although it is a constant cq every  few minutes, who knows.

See you on 30.

PAT/K8LEN

[grobin]

Yes, I have tried JT65A.  It's a very effective mode if you are interested in working DX stations.  However, I find it boring after a while because it is not really a chat mode.  You can primarily send your call letter, grid locator, and your signal report.  You can send a teeny bit of additional information but it's not all that practical since the mode is EXTREMELY slow.  It's interesting but bores me after a day or two.

What digital program are you using?  DM780, MultiPSK, and FLDigi all three have a RSID function included that can sometimes help to identify different digital modes.  Not everyone uses it so it is not perfect - but you may want to explore that feature if the software you are using has this feature.

One last thing, put out a LOT of CQ's.  Don't spend too much time listening and waiting to find a strong signal to call.  Over 75% of all my QSO's come from calling CQ.  I use an Auto-CQ macro that sends a fairly long CQ every 60 seconds.  Last night I had my 1,570th Olivia QSO on 30mtrs - I heard NO signals on the digital segment of the band but after sending my Auto-CQ for about 10 minutes (while catching up on emails) I had a California station call me and we had a 25 minute chat.  It pays to make noise!

---Gary WB8ROL

[K8LEN]

Interesting, I have mixw  and fldigi which I use.
You are right I called cq yesterday afternoon for a while on 20 and worked 3 stations on hells  which came out of no where.. Yes more emphasis on cq instead of listening.

I use psk also but the contacts are to easy and it is hello and bye bye most of the time.  Also rtty is becoming the same..to bad.
That is why I like hells and olivia at least most of the ops  have a qso, and that is what ham radio is about, unless you are just in it for making a log of contacts or dx awards.

I will check out those programs for this rsid...

See you on 30

PAT/K8LEN..Pekin, Indiana

[VK2FAK]

Hi all....

I am a late starter to the digital world...and thought Olivia sounded good to try out...
But there seem to be very few people using it...
I hear the argument about its slow....but from what I understand it gets through when others wont...and is not really all that slow...imo..but to 100+ wpm typists I can understand.

I keep seeing plenty of the old RTTY....and a few PSK31...which by looking at the waterfall, the signals look like there way over driven....not nice clean patterns but look very furry on the edges...

Anyway.....are people still using it on a regular basis..I am not looking for a schedule as to me that defeat the idea of Ham radio....is just a broad question.

John

[grobin]

Olivia is fairly popular here in  the states.  It is not as popular as RTTY or PSK. In the last month I've had about 35 Olivia QSO's and 24 Contestia (derived from Olivia).  In the last 2 1/2 years I've had over 1,600 Olivia QSO's on all bands from 160mtrs thru 6mtrs (except for 60mtrs which doesn't allow digital ham operation in U.S.A.).

I put out a LOT of CQ's - not just a few.  IF all I did was to listen I would have a LOT less QSO's.  From my QTH the most active Olivia bands are 80mtrs (in the Fall and Winter there is a LOT of Olivia activity), 20mtrs, and 30mtrs. Conditions on 20mtrs lately have not been all that good and activity on all modes seems to be DOWN from what I was hearing and working in March which was a hot month - compared to now.

In March I even worked 5 European stations in a row on my 3 watt QRP transceiver on Olivia one afternoon on 20mtrs.  Lately 20mtrs has been really poor for my low profile 35 watt station.  Hams with towers and decent beams may be hearing more but many, if not most, of us use a lot less hi hi   

---Gary WB8ROL