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2M SSB - Is it worth the cost?

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BoomboxDX:
Not a ham, so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt....

I'd bag the 2M SSB idea, as even the ham forums don't talk much about DXing SSB on 2M.

Maybe put the time, effort, and money into 6 meters instead? Besides, when 6 meters is in, it seems that guys sometimes get worldwide contacts. Not so on 2M. Even 2M FM is mostly MIA in my metro. Tune across the band with a good multibander and it's hiss. In 1990 it would have been 2-3 QSOs heard at least, even well into the evening.

Matt285:
You definitely have a point there. I do have 6m capability now in all modes and most HF transceivers all cover 6M. I haven't heard much activity on 6 for quite some time now. I had a small moxon about 10 years ago and was able to work all over the place on the band.

Traveling Wave:
IZS4, I have noticed that the FT8 phenomenon has taken over 6 meters in the last few years. Last year here in WNY, May thru August usually had more FT8 signals present on 6 meters and fewer SSB phone signals. It seems to me that many more people are using FT8's weak signal capabilities than are using phone.

Matt285:
Yes. I think digital modes have gotten much more common on all the bands. I see a lot of activity on 10 & 30 meters also. I'm not a fan of digital modes myself. To each their own though. It is an effective method.

NQC:
Hey All.

I guess I'll chime in. 2M SSB was a LOT of fun. But even  "back in the day" it was  never very active compared to FM. Maybe a net or two and a bit of  other traffic  in the evenings. On    FM you had a long wait to get in on a number of frequencies

A decent 2M SSB station  could work from here in Boston to NYC most every night, without enhanced conditions.

I have been off 2 M (FM and SSB) for a LONG time now. But even FM seems pretty dead. A few years back while in NYC (!!) on a Friday night I scanned FM and found near zero.

One of the biggest factors of course , is the antenna / height and to a lesser extent , the power level.

A 2m SSB signal needs to travel unimpeded in order to go into "development". Clearing local  obstacles (immediate trees/ structures) is really desirable. Clearing  the more distant terrain is good too. The closer and higher the hills, especially in the wrong direction, can cause a radio shadow.

So  2M SSB  ,being essentially aimed 90 deg. toward the horizon requires decent clearance.6 M being  a SKY wave (at WHATEVER take off angle) still requires some height, but may be less fussy if all things are "equalized" re 2M physics vs. 6 M physics.

In flat  Florida, height   really shouldn't be as   big  an issue as it was in the hilly Northeast.   Just clearing the trees and local blockages ie large / close buildings may cut it.

My REAL concern is activity. Outside of Field day and the scheduled VHF contests  I am not sure how much would be left. Even DURING those events, I may think activity may be kind of thin.But I have been off for so long I wouldn't want to say for sure.

FWIW, 900 Mhz amateur radio  debacle  here  went from ZERO, to very active (with a number of VERY BIG mountaintop /skyscraper  repeaters) to ZERO,dead, buried in 10 months or so (!).

 Even the guys that built the repeaters bailed out.I LOVED using it ( I had   some bullet proof  Moto  HT and mobile gear, a  big  commercial fractal  panel antenna and  lots of home brew antennas) when it was active, but it didn't last :'(. Kind of an exceptionally sped up version of the 2 M band story - up, big, down , "dead".

Is it "worth it" to put up a station that may give great sanctification and fun, but for only a few days a year ? Only you can answer that. I'd HATE to discourage anyone from using any band.

I am not longer able to put antennas on my large flat apt building roof. But a few years ago I DID have a small "farm" up there .I had nothing for 2 M SSB- to me it was  not active enough to justify using the mast  space ,I put up a "more" active 6 M band  antenna instead .You may not have this problem

 I didn't invest 6 M  very heavily either. But 6 is a much better "value" , at least to me. I had a dipole and used barefoot power
of around 15 watts on peak. I had a blast, but only on 6 or 10 days a year when things were open strong enough for my tiny flea station  to be able to work.Also I used to hear a LOT  more  (and also more often) than I could actually  work.Just LISTENING on 6 was a GAS.

  6 is skywave, while 2 is tropo/scatter etc. I  got a FAR larger coverage area on 6 (ie Portugal,most of US), even if it was on  a "10 day a year"  small station."   It seemed the better way to go, at least for me at that time. Your mileage may vary.

IF I COULD (which I CAN'T) I would build  a "better"   6M station with a GOOD  antenna and decent power. I  still wouldn't go TOO nuts ( on something that may now  work TWENTY days  per year , rather than ten :))). But I would definitely go a bit bigger that what I had  before, IF  I could do it again.

I LOVED studying the propagation on 2M  and did a LOT of QRP on SSB and horizontal  FM.

And now , the " Complaint Dept."- I am a rag chewer. A quick signal report on 20, 15, 12,  10 (or 6 or 2) is GREAT. AWESOME ,I just "worked" India (or wherever) . Now what ? I really didn't get to know the person and may never "work" him again.

DX on 6 (or 2) is a REAL TREAT and a really big , fun accomplishment. But when Dx is in, no one wants to talk very long , they want to move on and fill the log. And while I really "get it" as being a lot of  fun for SOME folks (more power to 'em ! ),   I  didn't want to be  just a "log filler", even on rare dx . Especially to areas that I had already worked once or twice before ,over any period of time.

That's why I loved 40 NVIS.With  7 watts on peak and  a low dipole it was almost  like making a dependable "phone call" EVERY day / 365 per year to the same folks at 100 to 200 miles.I REALLY got to know them, which for me was much more fun than just  giving /getting   a 5/9 report.

I never was into digital QSO modes.

I liked to put up beacons at my QTH.
 

K

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