By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor

This week, Surfin’ goes way up near the top: 600 meters.

An item on the ARRL website on Monday, October 24, intrigued me.

“A number of the WD2XSH experimental stations will be on the air on Thursday, November 3 to mark the 105th anniversary of the Berlin International Radiotelegraphic Convention. According to ARRL WD2XSH Coordinator Fritz Raab, W1FR, stations operating in the band from 495-510 kHz will call CQ on 500 kHz and then QSY to complete the QSO. Stations operating in the band from 461-478 kHz will call CQ on 474.5 kHz and then QSY. Other stations may operate beacons with special messages in the bands from 508-510 kHz and 476-478 kHz.”

I vaguely recall hams gaining experimental operating privileges on 600 meters some time ago and after reading the bulletin, I wanted to learn more. The website mentioned in the bulletin, The 500 KC Amateur Radio Experimental Group had more -- lots more.

The coolest feature on the site is the ability to watch real-time signal displays of participating stations.

The most useful information on the site are the lists of active stations participating in the experiment, but there is a wealth of other information related to the experiment on the site. You can probably find everything you want or need to know about the experiment on the website or at the links enumerated on the site. 

I plan to monitor the experiment on November 3 and hopefully submit a reception report or two.

Until next time, keep on surfin’!

Editor’s note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, likes the unusual in radio. To contact Stan, send e-mail or add comments to the WA1LOU blog.