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.




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.

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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 a Diamond X50A vertical antenna at home. Mobile info is here.

HF Station Details

Click in a box in the block diagram for more details.

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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 100 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, mode (CW or RTTY), and band (data limited to 100 spots 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
1909z 11 OctW6YX 14083.9 37 dB RTTY45 bpsStanford, CA1182 km (734 miles) at 302.2 degrees***
1909z 11 OctN6TV 14083.9 21 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
1909z 11 OctKE3BK 14083.9 32 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
1909z 11 OctAC0C-1 14083.9 34 dB RTTY45 bpsLouisburg, KS1632 km (1014 miles) at 59.6 degrees*****
1909z 11 OctWE9V 14083.8 22 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
1909z 11 OctK6FOD 14083.9 31 dB RTTY45 bpsSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
0357z 11 OctK7CO 7055.0 29 dB CW16 wpmSandy, UT930 km (578 miles) at 354.8 degrees**
0352z 11 OctKO7SS 7055.0 38 dB CW16 wpmMt. Lemmon, AZ23 km (14 miles) at 18.1 degrees
0352z 11 OctWV4P 7055.0 32 dB CW16 wpmSavannah, TN2109 km (1310 miles) at 74.6 degrees******
0352z 11 OctNG7M 7055.0 15 dB CW16 wpmSyracuse, UT987 km (613 miles) at 354.3 degrees***
2305z 10 OctK9LC 14083.9 20 dB RTTY45 bpsRockford, IL2227 km (1384 miles) at 53.7 degrees******
2305z 10 OctKE3BK 14083.9 32 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
2305z 10 OctN6TV 14083.9 25 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
2305z 10 OctAC0C-1 14083.9 38 dB RTTY45 bpsLouisburg, KS1632 km (1014 miles) at 59.6 degrees*****
2305z 10 OctVE7CC 14083.9 16 dB RTTY45 bpsMaple Ridge, BC2120 km (1317 miles) at 336.1 degrees******
2305z 10 OctWE9V 14083.8 28 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
2305z 10 OctK6FOD 14083.9 28 dB RTTY45 bpsSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
2305z 10 OctWA7LNW 14083.9 33 dB RTTY45 bpsWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
2305z 10 OctW6YX 14083.9 35 dB RTTY45 bpsStanford, CA1182 km (734 miles) at 302.2 degrees***
1952z 07 OctN6TV 14083.9 11 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
1952z 07 OctAC0C-1 14083.9 20 dB RTTY45 bpsLouisburg, KS1632 km (1014 miles) at 59.6 degrees*****
1952z 07 OctK6FOD 14083.9 21 dB RTTY45 bpsSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
1952z 07 OctKE3BK 14083.9 16 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
1951z 07 OctW6YX 14083.9 22 dB RTTY45 bpsStanford, CA1182 km (734 miles) at 302.2 degrees***
1951z 07 OctWA7LNW 14083.9 27 dB RTTY45 bpsWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
2210z 03 OctK9LC 14083.9 13 dB RTTY45 bpsRockford, IL2227 km (1384 miles) at 53.7 degrees******
2209z 03 OctN6TV 14083.9 23 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
2209z 03 OctAC0C-1 14083.9 34 dB RTTY45 bpsLouisburg, KS1632 km (1014 miles) at 59.6 degrees*****
2209z 03 OctWE9V 14083.8 23 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
2209z 03 OctKE3BK 14083.9 27 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
2209z 03 OctK6FOD 14083.9 30 dB RTTY45 bpsSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
2147z 30 SepK9LC 14083.9 15 dB RTTY45 bpsRockford, IL2227 km (1384 miles) at 53.7 degrees******
2146z 30 SepKE3BK 14083.9 31 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
2146z 30 SepWE9V 14083.8 21 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
2146z 30 SepAC0C-1 14083.9 35 dB RTTY45 bpsLouisburg, KS1632 km (1014 miles) at 59.6 degrees*****
2146z 30 SepW6YX 14083.9 33 dB RTTY45 bpsStanford, CA1182 km (734 miles) at 302.2 degrees***
2146z 30 SepN6TV 14083.9 23 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
0354z 30 SepF4GOU 7053.0 9 dB CW16 wpmCourcome, France8899 km (5530 miles) at 41.2 degrees***************************
0349z 30 SepND7K 7052.0 28 dB CW17 wpmWickenburg, AZ270 km (168 miles) at 319.2 degrees
0349z 30 SepKH6LC 7052.0 16 dB CW16 wpmKeaau, HI4652 km (2891 miles) at 264.3 degrees**************
0349z 30 SepKP3CW 7052.0 25 dB CW18 wpmSan Jan, PR4724 km (2935 miles) at 97.9 degrees**************
0348z 30 SepKV4TT 7052.0 23 dB CW17 wpmNorth Myrtle Beach, SC2991 km (1858 miles) at 77.8 degrees*********
2015z 29 SepK9LC 14083.9 12 dB RTTY45 bpsRockford, IL2227 km (1384 miles) at 53.7 degrees******
2014z 29 SepAC0C-1 14083.9 28 dB RTTY45 bpsLouisburg, KS1632 km (1014 miles) at 59.6 degrees*****
2014z 29 SepNG7M 14083.9 25 dB RTTY45 bpsSyracuse, UT987 km (613 miles) at 354.3 degrees***
2014z 29 SepW6YX 14083.9 35 dB RTTY45 bpsStanford, CA1182 km (734 miles) at 302.2 degrees***
2014z 29 SepKE3BK 14083.9 25 dB RTTY45 bpsMountain House, CA1149 km (714 miles) at 305.3 degrees***
2014z 29 SepWE9V 14083.9 20 dB RTTY45 bpsBristol, WI2309 km (1435 miles) at 53.7 degrees*******
2014z 29 SepN6TV 14083.9 20 dB RTTY45 bpsSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
0011z 29 SepND7K 7115.0 32 dB CW16 wpmWickenburg, AZ270 km (168 miles) at 319.2 degrees
0010z 29 SepN6TV 7115.0 15 dB CW16 wpmSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
0010z 29 SepWA7LNW 7115.0 40 dB CW16 wpmWashington, UT595 km (369 miles) at 337.3 degrees*
0010z 29 SepKM3T-3 7115.0 12 dB CW16 wpmAmherst, NH3617 km (2248 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0010z 29 SepNG7M 7115.0 16 dB CW16 wpmSyracuse, UT987 km (613 miles) at 354.3 degrees***
0010z 29 SepK5TR 7115.0 21 dB CW16 wpmAustin, TX1215 km (755 miles) at 97.2 degrees***
0010z 29 SepW6YX 7115.0 33 dB CW16 wpmStanford, CA1182 km (734 miles) at 302.2 degrees***
0002z 29 SepW1NT-6 7115.0 8 dB CW15 wpmNewton, NH3665 km (2277 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
0000z 29 SepKM3T-3 7115.0 8 dB CW15 wpmAmherst, NH3617 km (2248 miles) at 59.6 degrees***********
2359z 28 SepK9LC 7115.0 8 dB CW16 wpmRockford, IL2227 km (1384 miles) at 53.7 degrees******
2358z 28 SepW6YX 7115.0 32 dB CW16 wpmStanford, CA1182 km (734 miles) at 302.2 degrees***
2358z 28 SepK6FOD 7115.0 18 dB CW16 wpmSouth Pasadena, CA706 km (438 miles) at 289.1 degrees**
2358z 28 SepNG7M 7115.0 19 dB CW16 wpmSyracuse, UT987 km (613 miles) at 354.3 degrees***
2358z 28 SepN6TV 7115.0 13 dB CW16 wpmSan Jose, CA1141 km (708 miles) at 302.1 degrees***
2358z 28 SepK5TR 7115.0