TU for the new one this morning !!! You were very solid on my RX loop
antenna, peaking 569 at times, vy easy copy and vy easy to
work.....sorry for the dupe, but there was one particular W9 that keep
calling on your freq. You answered him several times when he went split,
but he never heard you I guess.....once sunset hits JA, east coast NA
doesnt have much of a chance, so my tip would be to get them prior to
about 1000Z.......
73 es tnx agn
------ Original Message ------
From "GEORGE WALLNER" <aa7jv@atlanticbb.net>
To
Cc topband@contesting.com
Date 8/14/2024 4:49:30 PM
Subject Topband: N5J on 160
We have been improving our 160 m set up every day. We have added more ground
wires that connect the TX antenna base to the water and have built a very
effective RX antenna. Now we can comfortable hear most callers.
Last night we got on 160 first around 0530. There were a few NA, callers. Most
had 100% QSB: going from 5 CPY to nothing in seconds. Got back on TB around
0830. Signals were much steadier with a slow but continuous stream of NA
callers. TS noise started up around 0900 and got steadily stronger all night.
(This noise comes from T storms in the Solomons, Papua and Indonesia, reaching
us after their SS. It gets progressively worse as the night progresses.
We are at the 1000 TB QSO mark. Given the fact the Aug is about the worst time
of the year for 160, this is OK. There would be many more in the log if callers
used better tactics:
1. Send your call twice. We need narrow filter settings because of the noise (we are on
the Equator). Unless you are "tail-gating" it takes time for us to tune the RX
to the caller's frequency. Often we only get the last few letters of the call ... and
then wait. If we CQ again, another caller will jump in and the first caller will lose the
Q. This happens a lot. If you are tail-gating -- calling on the last Q-s frequency --
once is enough!
2. There are callers who are not hearing us. We keep on replying with no
result. Probably most people listening on our TX frq can hear this taking
place. Sure, QSB and QRM will often make two or three attempts necessary. But
there have been some to whom I have replied to dozens of times over many hours.
They are just causing QRM and wasting their time as they will not make into the
log by accident.
3. Insurance QSO-s are perfectly justified. But they make no sense the third,
fourth -- and sometimes the sixth time. If we are not busy, a dupe call is
welcome as it reassures us that the band is still open. But when there is a
pile up, a third insurance Q just takes someone else's Q.
4. JA-s tend to have this habit (not all, TKS). It springs from good
intentions, but... When calling they send their call only once. We often catch
only part of it, just like in point 1. But once we reply with the correct call.
they then come back sending their call three times. This gets us to the next
point:
5. The ideal sequence is: CQ N5J UP -- N4xx N4xx --- N4xx 5NN -- 5NN TU -- TU.
Sending the call ahead of the 5NN can create doubt under difficult RX
conditions. Sending 5NN is really a confirmation that tells the operator that
the callsign is correct. The TU further confirms that the QSO is good and can
go into the log. Less is more!
6. For NA callers: JA callers have an all-water path to us and are often
louder. They start coming in after 1000 Z, some with astonishingly strong
signals. Plan you time accordingly: waiting for your SR-bump may not be worth
it if it puts you in competition with stronger (and numerous) signals.
7. Actual signal reports are very welcome. (Even the 339 ones.) They help us
adjust to the conditions.
We will keep coming on around 0500 for a short time -- there is a tiny chance
of working EU. And then come on again around 0830 ahead of NA SR. During the
next few nights we will also work FT8 F/H. It seems that SuperFox, which has
been very effective on other bands, it not as good under poor conditions on TB.
Hence F/H.
TKS for all the calls and GL,
George,
N5J
On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 11:40:34 -0400 WW3S wrote:
A couple of mornings ago, they were ESP, maybe 339 when sending UP, for maybe 90 seconds or
so…..this morning I got in the shack around 0900z and they were 449/559 with peaks to 579 or
so, I worked them easily with an inv l and 1000w or so from NW PA…..tu George and team for
the new one !!! They were in there solid until my SR…..
Sent from my iPad
On Aug 14, 2024, at 10:57 AM, Ron Spencer via Topband <topband@contesting.com>
wrote:
Was listening last night (8/14) to N5J pound out CQs on 1828.5. Hats off to the
folks operating for their patience and dedication to 160. The rate, at least
while I was listening, was pretty low. Certainly not what most dxpeditions are
after. But George and crew continue to spend quality time working hard to pull
out Qs in this very noisy time for 160. THANK you to all the ops for 160 and
all the other bands too. WELL DONE!!!
Ron
N4XD (portable 5 in DM64 right now)
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