W6IWI, Tucson AZ

We moved from Arvada CO to Tucson AZ in 2021. An archive of the Colorado station is here. This page describes the current station in AZ. Both the page and the station are under construction.




Favorite band, image from the cover of a recent CRHS Journal, an old Schlitz magazine ad, Solar-Terrestrial Data showing conditions for HF and VHF bands and the MUF for Boulder CO, something about FT8, the W6IWI QSL card, view of W6IWI Mobile. The Optimal Working Frequency is about 0.85 times the Maximum Usable Frequency.

Search W6IWI:

The call letters W6IWI were first used by Kauko Hallikainen in the 1930s (1933 license, 1937 ARRL membership). See the 1934, 1936, 1937, and 1938 Amateur Radio Callbook. The 1930s QSL card was similar to that shown above (I may still have one of the originals somewhere). By 1952, the call had been reassigned to Carson Donaldson in Inglewood CA. He held it through 1977. I acquired the call in 2016. Prior to that, I held the call WA6FDN, and prior to that, WN6FDN. The WA6FDN license was first granted in 1969, with WN6FDN in 1968. WA6FDN shows up in the Summer 1969 Callbook. In December 1969, I took the exam for the First Class Radiotelephone License with Radar Endorsement at the FCC office in San Francisco. That license was later replaced by the FCC with the General Radiotelephone Operator's License. NL7XM offers a great service. He has over 100 years of Radio Amateur Callbooks and will find the first appearance of your callsign in the Callbook. For a reasonable cost, he'll provide certified copies of these pages verifying that the callsign was held by the particular person on this date. This is what he sent me for WN6FDN and WA6FDN.

WN6FDN started with a Heathkit DX-60 transmitter and a National NC-300 receiver running CW on HF. WA6FDN used a Viking Ranger transmitter running AM, CW, and RTTY on HF. RTTY used a Teletype model 15 printer (also see a slow motion video of a model 15 in operationg), and a model 14 typing reperf and transmitter distributor. W6IWI now uses an SEA 245 with a Dentron Clipperton-L amplifier running RTTY, CW and SSB into a Zero Five 30 Foot Flagpole Antenna. VHF and UHF FM are covered with a Baofeng UV-5R and a Wouxun KG-UV-6X. The Wouxun KG-UV-6X normally drives an outside vertical antenna at home. Mobile info is here.

HF Station Details

Click in a box in the block diagram for more details. . Your browser does not support the HTML5 canvas tag. ;

Maximum Usable Frequency (15.88 MHz at 07 Jun 2023 1000 GMT)

Now and then the MUF data feed is lost. When that happens, the chart below says "Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'length')".
The graph below plots the Boulder CO MUF and OWF over time (times are local at the browser). Data courtesy of Paul N0NBH. The MUF is the maximum frequency that can be used over a 3,000 km path centered on Boulder CO. The optimal working frequency is 0.85 times the MUF.

The graph shows the MUF and OWF for the past two days. Drag right to see previous values. Use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out. Right click to get back to the original view.

W6IWI HF Activity

The table below shows recent contacts logged on qrz.com.

RBN Report

The table below is generated by a PHP script that pulls JSON data from the Reverse Beacon Network, parses it, calculates distance and bearing based on latitude and longitude, then shows data for the last 250 spots. Frequency changes greater than 1 kHz or time changes greater than 1 hour are shown in bold. The Rx links link to the QRZ page for the station. The SNR links link to a graph of signal to noise ratio versus time for that receiver and band (data limited to 250 spots total from RBN)

The background color is green if the distance is greater than 3,000 miles. The Relative Distance column has a * for every 200 miles.


RBN Data for W6IWI, lat/long 32.233624, -110.870743 as reported by RBN.

TimeRxFreq (kHz)SNRModeSpeedRx LocationDistance and BearingRelative Distance
0419z 07 JunKM3T 7051.0 23 dB CW16 wpmAmherst, NH3617 km (2248 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0419z 07 JunG4HSO 7051.0 10 dB CW15 wpmKimpton, England8490 km (5275 miles) at 36.5 degrees**************************
0415z 07 JunW6BB 7051.0 12 dB CW14 wpmBerkeley, CA1213 km (754 miles) at 304.4 degrees***
0415z 07 JunW8WWV 7051.0 22 dB CW14 wpmChesterland, OH2802 km (1741 miles) at 60 degrees********
0415z 07 JunWA7LNW 7051.0 37 dB CW15 wpmWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
0415z 07 JunNG7M 7051.0 23 dB CW14 wpmSyracuse, UT987 km (613 miles) at 354.3 degrees***
0415z 07 JunWC2L 7051.0 15 dB CW14 wpmNiskayuna, NY3434 km (2134 miles) at 59.4 degrees**********
0415z 07 JunWZ7I 7051.0 23 dB CW14 wpmPipersville, PA3304 km (2053 miles) at 63.8 degrees**********
0415z 07 JunW1NT-2 7051.0 20 dB CW14 wpmNewton, NH3665 km (2277 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0415z 07 JunK9IMM 7051.0 29 dB CW14 wpmMount Horeb, WI2194 km (1363 miles) at 51.3 degrees******
0415z 07 JunNT6Q 7051.0 31 dB CW14 wpmEscondido, CA585 km (363 miles) at 281.2 degrees*
0415z 07 JunK6FOD 7051.0 19 dB CW14 wpmSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
0415z 07 JunKO7SS 7051.0 39 dB CW15 wpmMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
0415z 07 JunTI7W 7051.0 22 dB CW14 wpmGuanacaste, Costa Rica3566 km (2216 miles) at 126.3 degrees***********
0415z 07 JunWE9V 7051.0 24 dB CW14 wpmBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
0415z 07 JunN9CO 7051.0 32 dB CW14 wpmSycamore, IL2242 km (1393 miles) at 54.7 degrees******
0102z 07 JunWA7LNW 14083.9 13 dB RTTY45 bpsWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
0102z 07 JunNU6XB 14083.9 12 dB RTTY45 bpsBerkeley, CA1213 km (754 miles) at 304.4 degrees***
0102z 07 JunKE3BK 14083.8 12 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
0102z 07 JunK6FOD 14083.9 15 dB RTTY45 bpsSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
0102z 07 JunWC2L 14083.9 15 dB RTTY45 bpsNiskayuna, NY3434 km (2134 miles) at 59.4 degrees**********
0101z 07 JunN6TV 14083.9 19 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
0101z 07 JunK1TTT 14083.9 28 dB RTTY45 bpsPeru, MA3498 km (2174 miles) at 60.1 degrees**********
0101z 07 JunWE9V 14083.8 30 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
2239z 06 JunKE3BK 14083.8 20 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
2239z 06 JunN6TV 14083.9 9 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
2239z 06 JunK1TTT 14083.9 15 dB RTTY45 bpsPeru, MA3498 km (2174 miles) at 60.1 degrees**********
2239z 06 JunWE9V 14083.8 30 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
2239z 06 JunWA7LNW 14083.9 24 dB RTTY45 bpsWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
1722z 06 JunVE7CC 21083.9 11 dB RTTY45 bpsMaple Ridge, BC2120 km (1317 miles) at 336.1 degrees******
1722z 06 JunK9LC 21083.9 19 dB RTTY45 bpsRockford, IL2227 km (1384 miles) at 53.7 degrees******
1722z 06 JunKO7SS 21083.9 44 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1722z 06 JunKO7SS 21083.9 44 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1722z 06 JunK1TTT 21084.0 13 dB RTTY45 bpsPeru, MA3498 km (2174 miles) at 60.1 degrees**********
1722z 06 JunWZ7I 21083.9 26 dB RTTY45 bpsPipersville, PA3304 km (2053 miles) at 63.8 degrees**********
1722z 06 JunWE9V 21083.8 19 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
1717z 06 JunKO7SS 14093.9 40 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1717z 06 JunKO7SS 14093.9 40 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1717z 06 JunKE3BK 14093.9 11 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
1715z 06 JunWA7LNW 7083.9 23 dB RTTY45 bpsWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
1715z 06 JunKO7SS 7083.9 38 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1715z 06 JunKO7SS 7083.9 38 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1714z 06 JunKO7SS 3583.9 16 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1714z 06 JunKO7SS 3583.9 16 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
0414z 06 JunNT6Q 7052.0 25 dB CW13 wpmEscondido, CA585 km (363 miles) at 281.2 degrees*
0414z 06 JunKM3T-3 7052.0 20 dB CW13 wpmAmherst, NH3617 km (2248 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0414z 06 JunKO7SS 7052.0 38 dB CW13 wpmMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
0414z 06 JunW1NT-2 7052.0 24 dB CW13 wpmNewton, NH3665 km (2277 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0315z 06 JunVE7CC 7052.0 8 dB CW15 wpmMaple Ridge, BC2120 km (1317 miles) at 336.1 degrees******
0311z 06 JunKM3T 7052.0 26 dB CW15 wpmAmherst, NH3617 km (2248 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
2116z 05 JunN6TV 14083.9 17 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
1824z 05 JunVE7CC 21083.9 12 dB RTTY45 bpsMaple Ridge, BC2120 km (1317 miles) at 336.1 degrees******
1824z 05 JunKO7SS 21083.9 42 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1824z 05 JunKO7SS 21083.9 42 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1824z 05 JunWE9V 21083.8 23 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
1822z 05 JunKO7SS 14093.9 39 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1822z 05 JunKO7SS 14093.9 39 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1821z 05 JunKO7SS 7083.9 39 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1821z 05 JunKO7SS 7083.9 39 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1819z 05 JunKO7SS 3583.9 16 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
1819z 05 JunKO7SS 3583.9 16 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
0408z 05 JunW3UA 7052.0 29 dB CW15 wpmBedford, NH3632 km (2257 miles) at 59.5 degrees***********
0408z 05 JunW6BB 7052.0 14 dB CW15 wpmBerkeley, CA1213 km (754 miles) at 304.4 degrees***
0406z 05 JunK2PO/7 7052.0 29 dB CW15 wpmPortland, OR1795 km (1115 miles) at 327.8 degrees*****
0356z 05 JunN7TUG 7052.1 17 dB CW19 wpmSeattle, WA1973 km (1226 miles) at 333.9 degrees******
0347z 05 JunKM3T 7052.0 26 dB CW15 wpmAmherst, NH3617 km (2248 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0212z 05 JunNG7M 7060.0 19 dB CW15 wpmSyracuse, UT987 km (613 miles) at 354.3 degrees***
0208z 05 JunAC0C-1 7060.0 22 dB CW12 wpmLouisburg, KS1632 km (1014 miles) at 59.6 degrees*****
0208z 05 JunW1NT-2 7060.0 20 dB CW11 wpmNewton, NH3665 km (2277 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0208z 05 JunVE7CC 7060.0 20 dB CW12 wpmMaple Ridge, BC2120 km (1317 miles) at 336.1 degrees******
0208z 05 JunWE9V 7060.0 22 dB CW12 wpmBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
0208z 05 JunKO7SS 7060.0 38 dB CW12 wpmMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
0208z 05 JunWA7LNW 7060.0 34 dB CW12 wpmWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
0208z 05 JunKM3T-2 7060.0 23 dB CW12 wpmAmherst, NH3617 km (2248 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0208z 05 JunW1NT-6 7060.0 15 dB CW12 wpmNewton, NH3665 km (2277 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0208z 05 JunN6TV 7060.0 21 dB CW12 wpmSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
0208z 05 JunNN3RP 7060.0 10 dB CW12 wpmWashington, DC3129 km (1944 miles) at 66.6 degrees*********
0208z 05 JunN4ZR 7060.0 17 dB CW12 wpmPhoenix, MD3175 km (1973 miles) at 65.6 degrees*********
0208z 05 JunK9IMM 7060.0 25 dB CW12 wpmMount Horeb, WI2194 km (1363 miles) at 51.3 degrees******
0208z 05 JunK9LC 7060.0 14 dB CW12 wpmRockford, IL2227 km (1384 miles) at 53.7 degrees******
0208z 05 JunW3UA 7060.0 25 dB CW12 wpmBedford, NH3632 km (2257 miles) at 59.5 degrees***********
0208z 05 JunW8WWV 7060.0 24 dB CW12 wpmChesterland, OH2802 km (1741 miles) at 60 degrees********
0208z 05 JunN9CO 7060.0 30 dB CW12 wpmSycamore, IL2242 km (1393 miles) at 54.7 degrees******
0208z 05 JunNU6XB 7060.0 18 dB CW12 wpmBerkeley, CA1213 km (754 miles) at 304.4 degrees***
0208z 05 JunND7K 7060.0 33 dB CW12 wpmWickenburg, AZ270 km (168 miles) at 319.2 degrees
0208z 05 JunK5EM 7060.0 19 dB CW12 wpm1969 km (1224 miles) at 334 degrees******
2021z 04 JunKO7SS 21083.9 41 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2021z 04 JunKO7SS 21083.9 41 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2020z 04 JunVE7CC 14093.9 13 dB RTTY45 bpsMaple Ridge, BC2120 km (1317 miles) at 336.1 degrees******
2020z 04 JunKE3BK 14093.9 11 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
2020z 04 JunK6FOD 14093.9 12 dB RTTY45 bpsSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
2019z 04 JunW6BB 14093.9 21 dB RTTY45 bpsBerkeley, CA1213 km (754 miles) at 304.4 degrees***
2019z 04 JunKO7SS 14093.9 38 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2019z 04 JunKO7SS 14093.9 38 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2018z 04 JunKO7SS 7083.9 38 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2018z 04 JunKO7SS 7083.9 38 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2017z 04 JunWA7LNW 7083.9 16 dB RTTY45 bpsWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
2016z 04 JunKO7SS 3583.9 15 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2016z 04 JunKO7SS 3583.9 15 dB RTTY45 bpsMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
2155z 03 JunW6BB 14083.9 34 dB RTTY45 bpsBerkeley, CA1213 km (754 miles) at 304.4 degrees***

The plot below shows a historic plot of W6IWI HF CW and RTTY activity.

Also see here for a graphical representation of all RBN data. There is also a new version under development that shows similar graphs but also paths between transmit and receive sites on a map.

Search RBN for Your Station

Enter your call and click Submit to see what RBN has on you. This can be useful for testing different antennae. Transmit TEST DE CALLSIGN a few times on one antenna, switch to the other, change frequency a bit (maybe 100 Hz) and transmit again. You should see spots recorded at several locations for each antenna. Compare the reported SNR to get an idea how the different antennae perform. Click Show/Hide on the right side of the results page to enable a map with grayline showing the location of the receive sites. If your site is not shown correctly, update your location at QRZ.COM. Once logged in, select your call (right side of menu bar), then Edit your call, then Map, Grid Square and Coordinate settings. RBN uses these coordinates to place your station.

NOTE: RBN only reports CQ or TEST. It does not report every QSO. Send one of the following (I use CW and RTTY) to generate RBN spots:

Also, note that RTTY is only reported if it is at "tape speed." Hand typed RTTY is not reported.

Call Sign:

You can also use the form below to get a more detailed RBN report.

Call Sign:

More RBN Fun!

HA8TKS has an interesting set of RBN utilities. For example RBN Graph shows all stations detected by RBN in the last 15 minutes on a selected band. The graph has frequency as the X axis and time (minutes ago) as the Y axis. It shows the call of each station detected. The color tells whether the station was running CW, RTTY, BPSK, beacon, or other. You can filter to use skimmers on certain continents and filter to only show stations on certain continents. Nice view of what's going on!

Voice of America Coverage Analysis Program

VOCAP for ham radio. Originally written for the Voice of America, this predicts the best frequency between two locations at a specific time. For more info, see www.vocap.com.

Find Hams in your Neighborhood

Amateur Radio License Map maps US amateur radio operators in an area centered on a call sign, grid square, zip code, or street address. Pretty neat!

The Ham Shack

The image at the right shows the operating position. Left to right, the following items are visible.

  • Teletype model 15 for Heavy Metal RTTY
  • Top Shelf
    • Dentron Clipperton-L HF power amplifier
    • Daiwa CN-501H RF power meter between the output of the Clipperton-L and the line to the antenna. Behind the CN-501H is an MFJ 4117 power injector to put 12VDC on the outgoing coax to drive the MFJ 998RT remote antenna tuner.
    • Above the CN-501H is a Wouxon KG-UV6X VHF/UHF handheld transceiver. It is driving an external VHF/UHF vertical antenna
  • Middle Shelf
  • Bottom Shelf
    • USL CM-8E cinema booth monitor. The CM-8E is across the SEA245 audio bus. The DSP in the CM-8E is configured to act as a narrow CW filter. The headphone output of the CM-8E is used to listen to the filtered audio.
  • In front of shelves
  • Netgear WN2000RPT WiFi Extender used to bridge WiFi to Ethernet equipment in shack.
  • CZUR ET18PRO scanner. Used to scan manuals for Saving History From The Dumpster.
  • Samsung 55 inch TV used as computer monitor.
  • Tecsun PL-310ET DSP-based portable multiband radio. Covers LW, MW, SW, and FM broadcast bands. Uses the SI4734 single chip receiver. Very impressive!
  • Shure 522 PTT microphone used on Zoom and similar calls.