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Re: Topband: C21MM

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: C21MM
From: Michael Tope <W4EF@dellroy.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2024 01:47:59 -0700
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
C21MM has been in solid for well over 1.5 hours on FT8 tonight and it's still early. They were loud enough at times (at least on my end) for a CW QSO, but they didn't decode my signal on FT8 until their signal peaked up to R=0, whereas on this end I was decoding solidly down to R=-20. Clearly they have some receive challenges. The DHDL antenna that C21MM plans to use for receive has been employed by AA7JV on some of his expeditions, so it's got a proven track record. Perhaps there is a storm that is very close to them causing unusually high QRN.

I need to go to bed, today is a work day 🙁

73, Mike W4EF.................

On 10/20/2024 6:13 PM, Wes Stewart via Topband wrote:
  The realities about some of these DXpedtions is that they are organized by Europeans and favor 
working EU. Take the just concluded (if they kept to schedule) PX0FF expedition.  The ops were 
all Europeans and >60% of their Qs were with EU and only 21% were with NA.  They didn't even 
operate 160 CW.  They made 1046 FT8 QSOs on 160 out of >150,000 total.

8R7X was another one with EU 54% and NA 31%.  Of course propagation favored EU, 
but they were active long enough that I worked them on both 160 CW and FT8 as well 
as 22 other band/modes.
Ditto A8OK that I worked on 33 band/modes, none on topband.  EU 64%, NA 19%.
I'm not trying to disparage our EU friends, I'm just pointing out the numbers.

C21MM will be QRV for at least another week.  So far they haven't made any topband CW contacts 
and only 6 with NA presumably on FT8.  They claim to have installed an RX antenna, but have 
high noise.  So we shall see, but I'm not holding my breath.  To their credit they have 
worked about the same number of CW and FT8 Qs and a few on RTTY, three of them mine.

AA7JV is a dedicated 160 man, who will put in the hours needed.  These other 
guys are not so motivated and want to run up their Q count by working the most 
productive bands, or by turning on the FT8 robots.
Wes  N7WS


     On Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 12:11:54 PM MST, Jim Brown 
<jim@audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
On 10/20/2024 11:14 AM, Steve Harrison wrote:
If possible, please spend some time attempting to work some North
American stations on *160 and/or 80m **CW*. A few minutes here and there
is NOT enough; HOURS on the low bands are needed in order to catch the
propagation peaks all across the NA and SA continents.
YES! Veteran expeditioner AA7JV recognized that topband openings tended
to happen on one or two nights of a multi-week activation, and developed
networks to allow simultaneous operation on CW and FT8 during every hour
there's a possibility of propagation. One of the most glaring failures
is abandoning the band at the first hint of daylight, when propagation
PEAKS over the next 45 minutes to an hour!

73, Jim K9YC



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