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Re: Topband: Lightning QRN season?

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Lightning QRN season?
From: Bill Cromwell <wrcromwell@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 06:35:19 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
On 07/23/2013 10:03 PM, Mike Waters wrote:
I appreciate the replies and insight. Let me add some details I should have
included in my original question.

What I really wanted to know was, When do you think that QRN might let up a
little, to the point when we might expect to have a relatively quiet night
here and there? So far, we have gone many weeks with not one single evening
of quiet, making DX --and most good stations on the east and west coast--
all but impossible to hear over the lightning crashes. Beverages _at both
ends of the path_ helps, but that's not often the situation lately.

I haven't listened on 160 every night, but ever since sometime in May (I
forget exactly) I have been daily checking the Intellicast real-time
lightning map at www.intellicast.com/Storm/Severe/Lightning.aspx . And
there has not been a single evening on 160 since then when there was not a
lot of lightning over the continental USA.

I did manage to have some SSB ragchews late last night with some very
strong stations in the Midwest, but the QRN never dropped below S9 even
though the lightning was some distance away.

73, Mike
www.w0btu.com

Hi Mike,

I haven't heard a lot on 160 meters mostly due to lack of activity. I listen more in the early morning hours just before and through morning twilight and sunrise. A few times the band has been astonishing quiet - checked to be sure I was on the antenna and not on the dummy load. At night I am on 80 and 40 meters (and sometimes 20) but when I try 160 there is a more QRN than in the mornings. I mostly hear the SSB ragchew nets and little CW. When the ARRL gets on they are always in here quite loud but still no other CW stations. I should be able to easily hear lower powered stations if any were on.

73,

Bill  KU8H
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