It must have been about 25 years ago.  I had a Drake 2B receiver.  A friend
loaned me a 6 meter transvertor.  I had never listened on 6 meters but the
band was open for several days and I was hooked.  I sold antennas, borrowed
money, and finally got enough money to purchase one of those 3 watt Icom
502A side band CW rigs.  You know, the one that had a pull up whip and would
run on batteries?  I home brewed a 12 element 6 meter beam on a 12 foot boom
and when the radio came in the mail, fired it up.  Nothing.  I mean, for
weeks, absolutely nothing.  Bummer.  I worked everybody within about a 60
mile radius of Denver, and back then we had a load of very active 6 meter
guys, so there was always somebody to talk to on 50.110 which was, back
then, the national calling frequency.  Maybe it still is, I forget now.
Anyhow, one day I was on that frequency testing how closely I could come to
any frequency by using my other Drake receiver and listening for a carrier
signal with my rig key down.  Once I got used to it, I could do pretty well.
Is 3 watts enough power?  I heard a week voice.  My home brew beam was at 40
feet and worked incredibly well, to my surprise, so figuring the weak voice
was a local off the side of the beam, I punched the microphone and asked who
it was.  He answered me but his signal had gone from being in the mud to
just above the mud.  Still unaware where he was in town, I called again,
using my call, and said I'd rotate the antenna once I could find out where
in town he was.  His third transmission was and S 9 and he gave me his call.
He was another zero so I knew he had to be in town but his voice and call
didn't sound familiar.  I asked him where he was so I could rotate the
antenna.  I was in a town west of Denver called Lakewood and up pretty high
so I often just left my beam pointed east so I wouldn't have to turn it far
to peak a local station.  The fourth transmission, the guy was 40 over nine.
I had to turn the radio down.  He told me that he was in the state of
Missouri.  I told him I was in Denver running 3 watts.  He now was nearly
overloading the front end of my radio.  Almost as if he were mobile driving
by on the busy street in front of my house.  He told me I was 30 over nine.
His signal dropped during that transmission to about and S 9 and I told him
so.  His final transmission took him totally out and I never even could hear
if he finished his sentence or not.  I've made hundreds of 6 meter contacts
over the years but never stayed on the band long enough to get into the big
openings into Africa, Japan, or Europe as many of my Colorado friends have
over the years.  That whole contact I had with the Missouri station lasted
probably less than 30 seconds.  I sat at my desk and laughed and wondered if
a satellite had just passed over head between us and we had used it as
something to bounce off of.  In many respects, it is a very fun band,
doesn't need much power, or even super big antennas.  I used a vertical the
last time I owned a radio a few years ago and it was only 15 feet off the
ground.  I worked several states when the band opened back then but this
time I was running 100 watts.

Phil.
K0NX