Propagation on topband to Europe from Ottawa has been very poor this season
and I wonder whether others in northern latitudes have had a similar
experience. Here are some figures comparing my DX results in 1999 with
those in 1998.
Period: September 1 to November 17
Number of DX QSOs: 45 in 1998, 6 in 1999
Number of European QSOs: 33 in 1998, 1 in 1999 (IV3PRK gets the prize for
good ears !)
Number of countries worked: 27 in 1998, 5 in 1999.
Now, I am only a "little pistol" in terms of my station (100 watts to a low
inverted L) but it is the comparison between these two sets of numbers
rather than their absolute values which seems signifcant.
As I have managed to work a few stations in southern latitudes (VK3ZL,
EL2WW, ZS5K, ZS6UT) I conclude that my antenna is working and that the
problem is related to propagation conditions. I note that stations south of
here seem to be working DX which, frequently, I cannot even hear. So, I
think that the high flux levels and generally more disturbed conditions, as
compared with a year ago, have been particularly disruptive at the more
northerly latitudes.
Has anybody else had a similar experience this year ?
Bob, VE3OSZ
Ottawa
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/topband.html
Submissions: topband@contesting.com
Administrative requests: topband-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-topband@contesting.com
|