FT8 on 80 at ZL dawn

Mornin' all.  As usual I'm up before dawn, keen to see whether 80 and 40m are open for the greyline.

For over a year now I've been DXing on FT8 mostly, using a second widescreen monitor dedicated to the FT8 software (JTDX in my case) and Logger32's bandmaps.  While I'm busy working on the other screen, I can keep an eye out for new DXCCs on each band and mode, new grids, FOC members, old friends and other interesting stations.

Right now at 6:30am (1830z), 80m is looking quite lively with about thirty FT8 signals on the waterfall and a stack of mostly European DX stations listed on Logger32's UDP bandmap.  They are stations I have decoded - not just DXcluster spots from other DXers.  On both 80 and 40, I'm using an 80m long square wire loop suspended in the clear between two handy tall fir trees.

With the amp on, I'm running about 200 watts out ... which evidently isn't enough at this moment to break through the EU QRM at the other end. None of the handful of EU stations I've called so far have responded, as is often the way. As the dawn approaches, the conditions generally improve and for a short while the greyline path opens sufficiently for DX QSOs.  Hopefully.  

As I write this, I'm CQing with nil response, like a fisherman casting into a promising part of the river ... oh, hang on, my first bite of the day: JA2LWA.  Good morning! He's -6 dB with me, and gives me -14 (so much for my 200 watts!). Now another strong JA gives me a fairly weak report. Evidently 80m propagation is not brilliant today although PSKreporter shows I am being received across the dark areas of the globe (the blobs with times) all the way to the Far Side:

So, I'll try 40m instead and gradually migrate up towards 17 or 15m during the day, then back down to LF at dusk - my regular daily DX routine.

73

Gary  ZL2iFB