I have placed on this page some Real Audio files containing interesting examples of Six Metre DX propagation from Sydney, Australia. .

Just click on the file name to download and play.

Six Metres - Cycle 22
Six Metres - Cycle 23

SIX METRES
Cycle 22
The current Australian six metre DX record VK2FLR to CU3/N6AMG 27 November 1991 over 19,424km (41KB). The first European six metre contact to Sydney was made by GJ4ICD on 14 October 1991 (54KB).

JA is easy to work from VK during solar maxima. But propagation is not necessariIy the only communication problem. JR6WXY on 11 November 1991 (27KB). JR8DAH from Sapporo, Japan in 1989 (74KB). The JA7ZMA beacon during an afternoon TE opening in 1989 (43KB). Ogasuwara counts as a separate country although it is part of Japan. Here is JD1BFI on 10 October 1991 (31KB).

The usual indicator of propagation to the north is the 49.750 MHz R1 video (35KB).

Other rare stations to the north were KG6UH/DU1 (35KB) and the KC6RR DXpedition (21KB). But Tim V73AT was a regular into VK2 (13KB).

Shel, NI6E/KH6 was informal net controller on 28.885 in our part of the world during Cycle 22. Here he is on six for a change (17KB) and again looking for Eu stations (41KB).
The Hawaiian beacon KH6HME as heard in Sydney on 10 November 1991 (41KB).
A rare station from the South Pacific is FO5DR in Tahiti (15KB). Raj, 3D2ER was often heard in Sydney from Fiji during Cycle 22 (9KB). A very familiar voice on six during cycle 22 operating from KH8 (35KB).

A very rare appearance of the VK0GR beacon from Casey Base on the Antarctic mainland, 12 December 1972 (39KB).

Listen to Bob WA6BYA snatch a VK6 from under a pile-up of VK2s working Mexico in March 1989 (25KB). W6 became relatively common as the cycle progressed. Here are K6STI (14KB) and K6QXY (31KB) in November 1991. Often heard in Sydney during Cycle 22 was Victor Frank's beacon K6FV (26KB).

Geoff, XE1GE was on six for Cycle18. Here he is in Cycle 22 in March 1989 (18KB). Don, V31PC from Belize working Norm VK2ZXC south of Sydney (17KB).

Night-time TEP sometimes produced exotic signals out of Asia such as VS6BI (17KB), which would often result in big JA pile-ups! (39KB) Closer to home was P29PL (9KB).

Single-hop F2 across the Australian continent: VK6JQ in Broome, Western Australia (21KB).

European stations were always difficult to work from Sydney. Some of the louder signals were YU3ZV (23KB) in November 1991 and I4CIL (17KB).
The longest European opening during cycle 22 to Sydney was in February 1992 but signals were weak. Listen to OZ4VV (35KB), ON4GG (33KB) and ON4ANT (31KB).

Cycle 23
The Central American path opened up in early April 2000 with TG9NX (15KB), ZF1DC (21KB), XE1BEF (23KB) and on most mornings the XE1KK (45KB) beacon. The best DX in this direction was Puerto Rico and PJ2/WZ8D on both SSB (17KB) and CW (25KB) from Bonaire.
Some excellent F2 openings to the north produced YB0ARA/9 (45KB), 9M2/JI1ETU (31KB), 9M2TO (70KB) (note the Malaysian TV buzz towards the end of this clip) and T88JU (19 KB). Listen also to VK4 and VK3 F2 backscatter (64KB) signals calling T88JU and the VK8RAS (54KB) beacon in Alice Springs copied on F2.
From the Pacific (among other DX) we had KH8/N0JK (23KB), V73AT and the V73SIX (56KB) beacon, plus the usual stateside openings such as K6QXY (35KB).

The southern hemisphere spring equinox favours long north-western paths out of VK. October 31 2000 produced the only European opening from Sydney this cycle, with propagation to Poland, Germany, the Czech and Slovak republics, former Yugoslavia and Italy. The opening lasted for about 90 minutes. Signals were up to 579 on CW and 55 on SSB. Eu stations worked by VK2FLR were SP6GZZ (45KB), DL7AV, DL3DXX (28KB), DL9USA (88KB), SP6ASD (77KB), OK1KT, OK1ACF, OK1ZE, SP6DNS, SP9HWY, SP6GWB (23KB), OK1VD, OM3LO, I0JX (23KB), I0WTD, IK0FTA (39KB), IK6GZM, I3LDS (28KB), S53X (28KB), IK5OEA, 9A3RE (50KB), IK4DRY (28KB), I4CIL (41KB, compare with the 1992 opening) and IK5YJY. The clips here were kindly made available by VK2QF.

And from the other end, here is a recording of the QSO (195KB) between IK0FTA and VK2FLR on 31 October 2000, as recorded by IK0FTA. Note the JA QRM on VK2FLR.
Thanks Sergio!

The big X-class flare on 30 March 2001 produced the best aurora since November 1991. Here is VK3CAT (39KB) on SSB with VK2BHO and VK3SIX, also with VK2BHO (95KB). More difficult was the VK7RAE (39KB) beacon in QE38. The roaring sound is the carrier which idents 8 seconds into the clip.

The big jump in solar activity at the end of March and the beginning of April 2001 produced some solid opening into VK2 from Central and North America and the Pacific. Among the new ones were V31RH (64KB), ZF1DC and YS1RR (41KB).
April 8 produced a solid opening to the west coast of the USA with K6QXY (46KB), W6QUV (25KB) and KB6NAN (39KB), among many others in W5 and W6. After change of day we had TI5KD (27KB) and a direct F2 path opening into Darwin with VK8MS (35KB) and the Darwin beacon, VK8VF (55KB).
Central America was back in again on April 12 with TI2ALF (37KB), TI5BX, TG9SO (60KB) and HP2CWB (25KB), and then 3D2AG/P (19KB) on Rotuma which is fairly rare, as is FW5ZL (23KB) on Wallis Island.
After change of day some solid Es linked us up with Hawaii and KH6SX (45KB), plus a vast VK pileup with WH6O (154KB). Checking the beacon sub-band during this opening produced KH6HI (55KB).
Another Pacific station on just before Easter was KH8/N5OLS (39KB).
A disappointment was the absence of China during the night-time TEP openings, even though VR2XMT (31KB) in Hong Kong was available.

Conditions for the 2002 autumn equinox were down on the previous year, but some interesting DX was available. On 12 March we had JT1CO (39KB) from Mongolia and 9M6AAC. Towards the end of March there was a run of several days with ZF1DC, TG9SO, K6MYC, P43JB (39KB) and PJ2/DL4WK (39KB) into Sydney. Early April produced the usual Central American signals. Here is XE1KK (25KB) interrupting a chat with XE1UN to snap up a VK2 on 4 April.
Probably the best day was 19 April when an intense hotspot over Darwin produced strong backscatter from VK9ML on SSB (35KB) and CW (39KB), plus loud backscatter from VK2 and VK3 (268KB) calling 9M6CT (66KB). We also had a rare appearance from two Indonesian stations, YB5QZ and YB9AY (56KB) in Denpasar, Bali.