W0UN (W0UA, op) ARRL DX CW 40M single band preliminary score. (couple of
unresolved calls/mults that need to be sorted out)
807/91 220,311
Equipment: IC-781, ETO alpha 87A, 4/4 stack of KLMs at 170/85 ft and a 4L
M-squared at 85 ft.
My congratulations and condolences to George, W0UA, for sticking it out
during extremely poor propagation conditions for Colorado. There weren't any
easy QSOs from here this weekend--even the big European signals were weak.
The following text is based on excerpts from a series of internet messages
that I had with Juergen Roettger, SM2/DJ3KR during the course of the last
few days. Dr. Roettger is a well known ionospheric physicist and Director
of the EISCAT atmospheric and ionospheric research facility. He is also
World winner of the 1970 CQWW CW contest as ZS3AW and an FOCer who is now
getting interested in contesting again. He is located in Kiruna, Sweden
(inside the arctic circle) but limited by his qth to 100W into a trapped
vertical. Juergen and I have been involved in a number of research projects
together over the last 16 years and have become good friends in the
process--but the contest QSO was our first ever actual radio contact.
I hope you find his observations interesting. (--- His comments are
without any initial delineator and my replies are with the usual < ---
--------------------
HI, John, Your signal is outsanding here on 7 MHz for W0. You are
comparable to the East coast signals, only NJ0P (NC0P??) is stronger. It's no
question that you don't hear me with my simple antenna, although I
called you several times. Here are some 'SWL' reports:
17.02.96
W0UN 0017 UT 7022 kHz 579
W1, and W2 are weaker
NJ0P is about 589 (possibly NC0P???--Juergen didn't have his notes with
him at work)
W0UN 0024 UT 7023 kHz 569.
-------------------
<Thanks for the comments. The east coast is clearly stronger than we are to
lower <latitudes in Europe. I like being strong somewhere--just wish there
was more activity <from the arctic circle!
----------------------
Yes, I was wondering why it took so many attempts also for others to get
through to
US the time I listened. I was not able to get in contact with any W. It was
much better on 7 MHz 2 weeks ago in the FOC Marathon.
Anyway, as I told you, up here in the north your signal was well above the
average signal levels from all US last night, at most two or three were
stronger than you.
----------------------
<3.5 hours into the contest and propagation to Colorado is not our friend.
Even LZ1KDP <and his KW is very, very weak here. It took 5 or 6 repeats
both ways to get through.
<
<Earlier this week the A index was 10 but had dropped this morning to 6 so I
thought the <trend was good, but now it has gone back up to 10. Hope we get
a good run of Euros <after their local sunrise. May be our best shot.
<
<I think we are just in the wrong place for tonight's conditions. The east
coast is able to <run southern Euros and we can't really run
anything--except maybe sigs in the Arctic <circle, and we have worked both
of them!
<
<Mult total looks pretty good at this point --42-- but the qso total is
only double that <much! Guess we need lots of JAs!
--------------------
A general remark: It is more than surprising to me that there are so many
contesters (and that happens also in usual contacts) exchanging reports of
599 when the partners can barely recogize their signals, which just may be
349 or so. I have experienced calling a station many times, finally got in
contact, but noted that he could not copy me too well, but I still
received 599 !!
------------------
<This is a problem with the philosophy of contest logging software. It
tries to make <everything very easy for you and is pre-programmed to send
599. To make it give a real <report requires a few extra keystrokes.
<
<And maybe 599 makes it EASIER for the very weak signals since they don't
have to <copy the real report since it will always be 599. Some say that
599 is just a sync pulse <to allow one to concentrate on copying the power
or state!
<
<We'll look for you and I hope conditions improve. George did have a pretty
good long <path opening to Europe this morning. Signals were very weak but
he was able to run <(well, walk) Europe until 1510 Z or a little later.
(last Europe QSO was 1540 but it was a <dupe with G0IVZ.
----------------
This "599" business is even applied when there is apparently no software
controlling it. I - personally - would better like to know what the
reality is in order to note changing conditions and get an idea how one
compares really with others.
We are now doing something via Internet, which I had in earlier years
expected to be on the hambands only. I recently read an article in the
AMSAT news arguing that we need no more communication via the "fossile"
way, since they argue that Internet can replace completely the
communication via air. Maybe a combination of both is alright. However, I
know that those Internet fans have no idea whatsoever that there is a
great challenge in recognizing and adopting to the ionosphere
(troposphere) conditions and variability, which Internet can never
provide. I like to observe and interpret the variable ionosphere, - that's
why I would like to have as honest and realistic reports as possible. This
of course also holds for those who would like to know how their antennas
work, - and that's your particular highlight of the hobby. So let's do
something to get our fellow hams to consider more realistic reports.
(((*** see W0UN analogy at the end***)))
-------------------------
<I thought conditions would be better Saturday night--I didn't think they
could get much <worse than Friday--so the only direction they could go was
better. Boy, was I wrong. <The only Europe during most of the opening was
a few of the mega stations in Europe <and they were very weak. We were very
lucky to work before the band went completely <dead. The JA run was also a
disaster, only now are we getting some -- just at our <sunrise peak and they
are still very weak.
<
<This is the kind of contest weekend that if you could predict the
conditions in advance <you would go skiing instead!
<
<I wonder how many USA stations you were able to work? Although I am sure
you did <not have very much time to play. But it was fun to put you in the
log and also have the <internet dialog and the signal observations.
[[[{{{BTW No no use of internet for time or <frequency was involved--in fact
I only noticed Juergen in the log after the QSO had been <made by
George--John}}}]]]
------------------
I am now back in office and started to read my
e-mail, as well was going to give you my report. Here it is: I started to
listen around 2350 UT. Extremely weak US signals on 14 MHz and I did not even
tried to call. Noticed quite a few Europeans working US on 3.5 MHz but did
not hear a glimpse of the US stations. There were some 10-20 US stations on
7 MHz with real s-meter reading between s4 and s8 (noise level at s5, and
the broadcast (Moscow etc.) above 7100 kHz with s9+10-20 dB), some
Europeans contacted US which I did not hear. Europeans were here between
s5 and s9+10 dB. I tried to call some ten US stations but succeeded only
with two: W0UN and much later KC7EM. I recognized that some others must
have heard me, but I was obviously too weak that they not even attempted
to come back to me with ?? Noticed that others had same problems as I did.
Our qso was between about 2358 and 0002 UT, only a few minutes after I
came on the air. W0UN was the strongest US amongst those I heard at a
time. However, the Europeans masked a lot of the US signals.
Here my "swl" report of some stations I wrote down (with real s-meter
reading, which gives you at least a relative measure):
0005 UT N3RS 579 (he is usually s9+)
+later N2RM 579
W0UN 589 slightly more stable than WB5VZL
W8AH 569
K3LR 579
0020 WB5VZL 589
+later KT3Y 579
K5MR 579
W3LPL 569 (usually one of the strongest, he did not hear me)
N4RJ 569
KC7EM 559
0110 W0UN 569 flutter fading
KC7EM 569
all other US weaker
0135 KC7EM 599 100 599 OR (but I certainly was not 599,
real 599 that time! since it took him quite a while
to get my call).
0200 I gave up after failing to contact KL7 (s6) on 10 MHz.
No, I have not heard K0RF, but remember when we once visited him. (de-W0UN
-- We ran neck and neck with K0RF's score on 40 from his multi-2tx
operation and Chuck may not have been on 40 during the periods that Juergen
was listening.)
----------------
<I especially appreciate your comments regarding signals into the northern
regions. <BTW KC7EM is running a 3 over 3 stack of full size beams and may
be a bit higher. <Plus I notice that he often has better propagation to
Europe than we do. I always <imagine the auroral region as a donut and W1
never goes into the donut (except to work <Arctic signals like you). W7
goes through one wall then into the "hole" then the second <wall. We get
caught going through the edge of the donut and remain inside for the
<longest path length on many occasions.
--------------------
For those that have read this far--here is an analogy that I thought of last
night that George liked, but it was not part of the dialog with Juergen.
Internet is related to HF radio the same way that
buying fish in the market is related to fishing.
You buy internet service and get communications the same way that you buy
fish and have fish for dinner. On HF radio you don't know what the
propagation will bring you in the same way that going fishing does not mean
you will have fish for dinner. But going fishing is a lot more fun that
going to the fish market!
73 John W0UN
John Brosnahan
La Salle Research Corp 24115 WCR 40 La Salle, CO 80645 USA
voice 970-284-6602 fax 970-284-0979 email broz@csn.net
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