On Fri,1/29/2016 9:05 AM, jmaass@k8nd.com wrote:
One of the things I did during the "off season" is analyze one of our
frustrations: the fact that we can hear Europe at the beginning of the contest, but
they*never* answer us.
I also experience this operating from NorCal -- during the first hours
of a Topband contest, we hear a lot of the better equipped stations east
of Chicago, but almost without exception, they don't hear us. W8JI has
analyzed this as a matter of SNR -- the easternmost station has a higher
noise level because the path is in darkness to the east, while we, in
full daylight, have only daytime noise levels. I believe that another
factor is that the east coast stations are all listening to NE RX antennas.
During those first few hours in daylight, I can work 800 miles with high
power, but only on a vertically polarized antenna.
One other peeve to address, especially for Europe stations: if you call CQ,
PLEASE allow enough time between calls for someone to be heard! Often, there
is insufficient time even for our short 'PJ2T' call to be complete before the
next CQ has begun. It's not like 20-meters: Topband requires a bit more
listening time to allow for QSB and to allow you to listen on ALL your
receiving antennas for those responding!
Yes, I have the same frustration with stations not listening. Part of
listening is trying different RX antennas and digging for weaker
signals. You can't do that in 2 seconds!
73, Jim K9YC
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