Topband: missed EA1EJ

Last night I missed a QSO with EA1EJ on 1.850 due to qsb. We tried for a couple of minutes but had to give it up, hopefully he will be on again this evening. I had the preamp on even switched to the flex 3000 for more noise controlbutI do call most mornings when I get up around 07h00z 

Topband: ARRL 160 CW last weekend

Hi All, I am just curios on how Nort America Top banders experienced the condition this last weekend. I was participating a little the last night and I can say I have never heard as any NA station in one go before.Yes you have the “Big guns” that always lets my S meter “dance” however, many other

Topband: Stew Perry TopBand Challenge #22

Greetings 160M Protagonists, Pip Squeaks, Posers and Curious Onlookers, Dec 30/31 is rapidly approaching. Drive on over to: http://www.kkn.net/stew/ and read why the date is important. While there peruse the rules pertaining to The Stew Perry TopBand Challenge instigated by The Boring

Re: Topband: FT-8 question

My plan is to add four active verticals each feeding back to my house. They will be spaced over the entire 7 acres I have here. My hope is I can pick the vertical that carries the highest noise content and then cancel that noise from my various RX antennas. If I find I have an existing RX antenna

Re: Topband: ARRL 160

Running 1kw to a 55ft top loaded vertical over a decent radial field I found many many stations that I could hear quiet well that could not hear me, it's very disheartening, Is it my system or there's that's not working. I'm already planning improvements for next year to try to improve my tx

Re: Topband: DX Engineering NCC-2

Correction There is five hundred - 500 - feet between the two HIZ arrays here at K3LR. Not 5000. 73 Tim K3LR -Original Message- From: N2TK, Tony [mailto:tony@verizon.net] Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2017 5:13 PM To: k...@k3lr.com; ko...@yahoo.com; topband@contesting.com Subject:

Re: Topband: DX Engineering NCC-2

Tnx Tim for the info. I see a new toy being added to the Xmas list. N2TK, Tony -Original Message- From: Tim Duffy [mailto:k...@k3lr.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2017 4:16 PM To: 'N2TK, Tony' ; ko...@yahoo.com; topband@contesting.com Subject: RE: Topband: DX

Re: Topband: DX Engineering NCC-2

Hello Tony I use various antennas - to phase combine together with the DXE NCC. For example, my favorite combination is on NCC Channel A with the three element vertical Yagi and NCC Channel B is the HIZ 8 circle in phase with the HIZ 4 square (5000 ft between them broadside on Europe). I also

Re: Topband: DX Engineering NCC-2

Hi Tim, What do you use as a reference antenna as input CH RX B to the NCC2? Do you find one type of antenna works the best against local 60 HZ noise such as a short vertical vs. a BOG vs. short Beverage vs. the transmit antenna? Tnx N2TK, Tony -Original Message- From: Topband

Topband: Big 160m openings just before K index spikes

Is it just my imagination or have others noticed big 160 meter openings - hours before big K index spikes? It seems that several times, we have had big openings into Europe and Asia from out here in Arizona and my hopes of having a great opening the next night was ruined by a big geomagnetic

Re: Topband: FT-8 question

> As is, its infuriating listening to high noise > levels on 160m. If I cant hear on 160m...except for the usual louder > stations, Im not going to even try TX. Don't let noise stop you from transmitting. >Right now, Im trying to evaluate if 160m is even worth >the effort required. Are the

Re: Topband: FT-8 question

nope, my lot is 120' x  160'...1/2 acre in suburbia...and like you, different flavors of noise in different directions... I DO find FT-8 hears about 10 db better than i can on cw...FWIW... 73, w5xz, dan On Saturday, December 2, 2017 2:47 PM, Jim Thomson wrote:

Topband: DX Engineering NCC-2 (Follow up)

Thanks to K3LR and KA1J and NS7V for sending many suggestions! My NCC-2 with 2 DX Engineering active verticals spaced 50' apart didn't seem to offer any peaks or nulls or noise reduction on 160M compared to the top loaded transmit vertical. It does work on 40M and less so on 80M. On the WWV 2.5

Topband: ARRL 160

This is the first major contest that I have taken part in a while, at least to the extent I actually put a real effort into it. Its taken a bit to get back in the game after my friend Pat became a SK this year. That said, I almost matched my score from two years ago when the band conditions

Topband: Test Conditions & Hi-Z 8 Circle

Total: QSOs = 211 Sections = 53 Countries = 3 Total Score = 22,366 This started as a fun type dip in and dip out effort using search and pounce only from data supplied by RBN and reflectors. Just click, listen and try tobe heard. The Stew Perry will be different with no assistance. I

Topband: RBOG info

Hi, I recently purchased a pair of RBOG combos used and would like to get them up and running. As an alternative to the DXE RBOG wire would landscaping wire be ok? I've found Paige 18/2 or 16/2 landscaping wire at at cheaper price for 500'. It's bare copper as opposed to tinned and the jacket

Re: Topband: FT-8 question

Hi Jim, Well, yes on the 5 acres, but still suburban. But, I do notice that FT8 on the vertical 160 T often decodes as well as my DXE 4 sq receive which has directivity and thus less noise. Same comment from another op here locally. I don't see any advantage to subsegment filtering, and in

Re: Topband: FT-8 question

Give FT8 a try.  I worked my first EU the other night and then a few last night in the contest,  G, F, EA and CT9.  Not much Caribbean or Africa on.  I did copy a couple of JA's the other night while the antenna was at EU while I slept. Remote is where many of us will be as we continue to