{"id":55246,"date":"2023-01-12T11:17:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T15:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=55246"},"modified":"2023-01-12T11:17:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T15:17:33","slug":"surprise-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/surprise-surprise\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise, Surprise!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you had been monitoring 29.620 around\u00a0 1615Z on January 5, 2023, it\u2019s just barely possible that you could have heard me leap out of my chair and do the \u201cAstonishment Dance,\u201d while yelling: \u201cAre you kidding me?!! Is this even possible?!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Let me set the scene: it was a quiet day, much like any other day. My Better Half was catching up with her sister on the telephone in another room. I was in the sun room\/library\/radio shack reading a book.<\/p>\n

Two of my ham transceivers are ex-public-service units, and I decided to put the one dedicated to 70 cm on scan. In my area, 70 cm (440 MHz ham band) is generally pretty quiet, and I thought I would see if anyone was using it.<\/p>\n

After a while, the scan stops, and the transceiver locks onto 442.9500 a repeater far to the south of me. \u00a0A mellifluous French accent begins announcing a callsign: Foxtrot 3 Oscar India Japan. I drop my call on the repeater . . . KB2GOM . . . we chat. His name is Serge, he is in Rheims France.<\/p>\n

Wait a minute, this is a 440 repeater. I\u2019ve heard of extreme long distance propagation occasionally on two meters . . . but 440? This is crazy.<\/p>\n

I am officially flipping out . . . is this some sort of X-files propagation on 70cm? Better call Fox Mulder.<\/p>\n

I call my radio guru, K2RHI; he explains it is a 10 meter repeater linked to a series of other repeaters, including the 70 cm repeater my transceiver has locked onto. I settle down . . . a little . . . and continue to monitor. Then in rapid succession, I respond to the calls from hams from Texas, Northeast England and a place called Trout Creek in Delaware County. If you had been listening on 29.620, you might have heard one very excited oldster (me!) talking with those stations.<\/p>\n

So dear reader, the moral of this story is two-fold: (1) you never know what surprise radio may deliver next, and (2) when it happens, it can be a source of fun and wonderment . . . so keep listening!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM If you had been monitoring 29.620 around\u00a0 1615Z on January 5, 2023, it\u2019s just barely possible that you could have heard me leap out of my chair and do the \u201cAstonishment Dance,\u201d while yelling: \u201cAre you kidding me?!! Is this even possible?!!\u201d Let me set the scene: it was a quiet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3],"tags":[9982,10087,9323,10086],"class_list":["post-55246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","tag-10-meters","tag-70cm","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-repeaters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-en4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53576,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/a-most-unusual-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":55246,"position":0},"title":"A most unusual QSL . . . card?","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Okay, I realize this is ham related, but I thought it was fun, and I hope you do too. On a quiet Saturday morning in May, the \u201cBig Gun\u201d Motorola 1250 (which is used for running the Commuter Assistance Net) is quietly scanning through half a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Commuter-net-story-001-001-1024x716.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Commuter-net-story-001-001-1024x716.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Commuter-net-story-001-001-1024x716.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64272,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/a-huge-difference\/","url_meta":{"origin":55246,"position":1},"title":"A HUGE difference . . .","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"October 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM It was a remark from Sebastian Schl\u00fcter in response to this post \u2013 https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/some-really-inexpensive-ways-to-perhaps-improve-your-shortwave-listening -- that sparked today\u2019s post. He said: If your RFI is really high, your best weapon is a magnetic loop antenna aka small receive loop. At home, my RFI is so high\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49872,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/jock-discovers-the-joys-of-ats-tuning-with-the-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb\/","url_meta":{"origin":55246,"position":2},"title":"Jock discovers the joys of ATS tuning with the C.Crane CC Skywave SSB","author":"Thomas","date":"August 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jock Elliott (KB2GOM), who shares the following guest post: Really cool trick the CCrane Skywave SSB will do -- the \"radio butler\"? To paraphrase Ratty from Wind in the Willows: \" \u201cBelieve me, my young friend, there is nothing\u2013absolutely nothing\u2013half so much worth doing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54404,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/sometimes-the-right-tools-lead-to-agreeable-results\/","url_meta":{"origin":55246,"position":3},"title":"Sometimes the right tools lead to agreeable results","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Listening to the HF ham bands can be a lot of fun. All you need is a shortwave receiver capable of receiving single sideband (SSB) transmissions and a chart of the amateur bands. You can find downloadable PDF charts of the United States Amateur Radio Band\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/bhi-shortwave-001-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/bhi-shortwave-001-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/bhi-shortwave-001-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54905,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/in-search-of-the-unique-the-weird-the-unusual-a-reader-participation-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":55246,"position":4},"title":"In search of the unique, the weird, the unusual . . . a reader participation post","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"December 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM There is a richness in human experience, and I want to sample it. When I worked the world on the HF ham bands, I considered myself a \u201cconversation hunter.\u201d I wasn\u2019t content to simply make a contact, exchange signal reports, and move on; I wanted to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52852,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/a-practical-application-of-ham-radio-the-commuter-assistance-network\/","url_meta":{"origin":55246,"position":5},"title":"A Practical Application of Ham Radio \u2013 the Commuter Assistance Network\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"May 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Disclaimer: this isn't about shortwave; it\u2019s about 2 meter ham radio, but it\u2019s something I thoroughly\u00a0love doing in the world of radio. About 40 years ago, a Citizens Band operator named Ed Barnat started a loose-knit group called Tri-County Assistance. Its purpose was to detect problems\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Funny"","block_context":{"text":"Funny","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/funny\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55246"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55265,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55246\/revisions\/55265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}