New Record Set on Lowest Ham Band in Australia

In Australia, a new record has been set for a contact on the 2200m-band.

Using barely 1 watt of power, a station south of Perth in Western Australia made a record-setting one-way contact into North America on the 2200-metre band, which at 136 kHz, is the lowest amateur band in Australia. The contact was made on 21st November 2022 between VK6MJM and received in the United States by Paul, KM5SW, in New Mexico. The distance was 16,164 kilometres and the power was 0.8 watts EIRP. The station was using a five-minute key-down mode known as WSJT-X FST4W-300 mode.

It was a big moment for the Western Australian Low-Frequency Experimenters Group, or WALFEG, which operates the station. It is led by Peter Hall, VK6HP, and is affiliated with the Wireless Institute of Australia.