The results of one contest really don't tell you anything. Propagation
is just too variable.
One of the biggest factors in DX contests is how close the path goes to
the magnetic pole. If you play around with Google Maps, which will plot
circle routes, you will see, for example, how that path between EU an NA
varies dramatically as you move the endpoints east-west, at the same
latitude. A station in NA 200 miles east of another usually has a huge
advantage on that path. I hear that all the time: a station 200 miles
east of me working Europeans I can't hear. For non-polar paths, I don't
think there is often a big difference due to longitude.
One way to experience the dramatic variations in propagation, in both
time and geography, is to operate the weekly CwOps CWT's. I've done
hundreds of them now, and it's really interesting to see how the results
vary. One operator, about 250 miles NW of me, has a similar station and,
I think, operating skills. Yet the differences in our scores can be
dramatic, in either direction. The same is true overall: sometimes it's
a west coast day, sometimes an east coast one, and, every once in a
while, a midwest one. Or sometimes, like last night, nobody's.
73,
Scott K9MA
--
Scott K9MA
k9ma@sdellington.us
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