opBand
stations and achievements!
I'd love to see it. Hopefully it will be online.
73, Jim K9YC
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79 and 83 ?You guys ain't seen nothin yet !I turned 85 this week and oftensay -
wish I was 80 again !
Absolutely amazed at what happens with age.If only I realized that I would have
been more understanding with grandparents etc...
73,
Jim W1FMR
On Friday, May 10, 2024, 3:12:31 PM EDT
to protect it from damage
when trees sway in the wind, had broken, so I didn't get to try to work
George last night. I'll fix it today, and will try if George is still on
tonight.
73, Jim K9YC
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Great post, Wes. Propagation from here is even tougher than Tucson,
although I probably have less noise.
73, Jim K9YC
On 4/27/2024 2:14 PM, Wes Stewart via Topband wrote:
That is true. Just getting permission to go there is problematic. See:
https://www.dx-world.net/ft4gl-glorioso-island
to their
costs. All I care about is LOTW, and my experience has been that if I
make a contribution, large or small, I'll get it.
73, Jim K9YC
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he license.
But on this topic, the only think I know **for certain** is that I'm a
mental micro-midget compared to Maxwell.
Same here.
73, Jim K9YC
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one of their nulls -- where the carrier cancelled, the sidebands didn't.
73, Jim K9YC
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dipoles.
Ten years ago, I published this study showing that elevating vertical
antennas increases their radiation efficiency and can also lower the
angle of their main lobe in the vertical plane.
http://k9yc.com/VerticalHeight.pdf
73, Jim K9YC
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are), and can tell us what times of day to chase them.
Bottom line -- it's still critical to use DFing to get to the source,
but electronic noise sources have both drastically increased noise
levels around the world, and made finding the source more complicated.
73, Jim K9YC
efficiency in the desired
direction is the issue for TX.
73, Jim K9YC
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
, and even the horizontal direction at which signals arrive can
vary widely with time, based on propagation. Ken is a very smart
engineer, and a bunch of very smart engineers and operators are on his team.
73, Jim K9YC
On 4/3/2024 12:25 AM, Michael Tope wrote:
I just occurred to me that my
, the noise made them deaf. No
different from here in NA.
73, Jim K9YC
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On 3/8/2024 6:02 PM, Frank W3LPL wrote:
(similar to NC0B's use of chicken wire on his verticals).
That was a brilliant idea that Rob published in "Ham Radio" in 1977, an
innovative adaptation of long-standing AM broadcast practice.
73, Jim K9YC
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it to still be good in undeveloped
areas. It's in quadrants. As a young EE student, I had a summer gig
using them to plot contours for an application for a new station.
http://k9yc.com/FCC-GroundMap.zip
73, Jim K9YC
_
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to working CW 20+ years ago. I would support the endorsement
you suggest ONLY to those QSOs made on CW after about 2010.
73, Jim K9YC
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would almost certainly have
been far more successful for at least one of them.
There is a saying here in the US about the understanding gained by
walking a mile in the other man's shoes. It may have come from our
European ancestors.
73, Jim K9YC
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, and with the same TX and RX antennas that I still have.
What makes my path to EU so difficult is that it's both long and through
so much of the polar region. It is FAR easier for me to work AF on
topband (when there are stations there to work), even much longer
distances, like ZS.
73, Jim K9YC
On 2/19
io In A Box," drastically reducing the cost and physical
difficulty of expeditions to islands.
I made several QSOs with the CB0 team this weekend during ARRL DX CW.
Great ops made it easy to work them. I did not work 160 this weekend --
storms have taken out all of
in, a user
outside the US must mail photocopies verifying their identity and their
license. In the US, ARRL is able to confirm identities and licenses by
accessing a public area of the FCC website.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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in VE6 who has built a
spectacularly good remote station a few hundred miles north of the city
where he lives (forgot his call), and has documented it on his website.
These guys have my great respect for their significant engineering
achievements.
73, Jim K9YC
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On 1/30/2024 11:49 AM, Frank W3LPL wrote:
Northern hemisphere transatlantic propagation is far superior
in January compared to the equinoxes
'
Yep, and that's who the Rules are written for.
73, Jim K9YC
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west who established the
Stew Perry for contests targeted to the rest of the world. And since the
Rules don't favor them nearly as strongly, the east coast cohort mostly
sits them out.
73, Jim K9YC
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levels
have built here in several directions, including EU and JA.
73, Jim K9YC
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On 1/27/2024 12:17 PM, Ed Parish wrote:
Wow, was hearing N6RO at 0030Z here on east coast.
Check out Ken's antenna farm. It's a multi-multi superstation.
Four-square over very good ground.
http://www.jazznut.com/n6ro/n6rostart.htm
I have a 100 ft Tee over lousy ground. :)
73, Jim K9YC
On 1/27/2024 11:13 AM, cqtestk4xs--- via Topband wrote:
Was on and off for a few hours.
Miserable here in NorCal. Turned the rig off after 15 minutes.
73, Jim K9YC
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is how much
DX we work -- that's far more dependent on propagation, and on RX noise
at both ends of the QSO.
73, Jim K9YC
On 1/15/2024 11:13 AM, w3...@roadrunner.com wrote:
But based on 15 years of reading and personal observations with my 1/4
wave INV-L ( that has grown ( vertically through
a good RG11 that measures like Belden 8213 with
Amphenol 83-1SP connectors.
73, Jim K9YC
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lots, and have a
dozen or more neighbors within 500 ft, each with lots of noise sources,
some with solar systems. That was true of my QTH in Chicago, and there
were three apartment buildings across the alley!
73, Jim K9YC
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com
.
Another observation -- during the daylight hours of 160M contests, I can
reliably work good stations up to about 800 miles with the Tee; with the
dipole, never even a QRZ? The logic is simple -- even at 120 ft, it's a
low dipole on 160M. :)
73, Jim K9YC
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during solar minima years,
adding about 25 countries. My computer did not build my station, did not
put up my antennas, and I learned propagation through extensive study.
Sitting in VE9, is like running home from third base and thinking you
hit a home run.
Thanks for the RAC QSOs.
73, Jim K9YC
crow flies, and we listened on a
pretty good table radio (my grandfather was an EE). This was the '50s.
In those years, WLW and (I think) WOAI were the only 50kW clears with no
one else on their frequency in the US. Something like 30-40 years ago,
clear-channel stations were far less exclusive.
radials.
Another thing I learned from N6BT, who we all know has worked
extensively with verticals, is that to be reasonably efficient on
topband they must be at least 20 ft above the ground.
73, Jim K9YC
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it is. RIP, George.
Jim K9YC
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On 12/27/2023 7:35 AM, Jon Zaimes, AA1K via Topband wrote:
Spacing is 1/4 wave.
I haven't looked at spacing for verticals, but optimum spacing for VE3DO
loops worked out to be 5/8 wavelengths, which I am lucky to have.
73, Jim K9YC
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caps in the 2-3kV range, and used those in parallel, in a
weatherproof box.
73, Jim K9YC
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!
73,
Jim - WS6X
On Mon, Dec 18, 2023, 9:26 PM wrote:
> So you cannot detune a TX antenna in IL, just in Florida?
>
> JC
> Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
>
>
> _
> Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topba
more
different here in W6.
73, Jim K9YC
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on 160, a bit on 80. My Beverages work up to
20M -- when I first moved to W6, I had them a couple of years before I
found a place to turn the little 3-el SteppIR between the dense
redwoods, and used one extensively to listen to EU on 20.
73, Jim K9YC
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, including vegetation.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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On 12/8/2023 2:11 AM, Steve Ireland wrote:
I am going to Ellington’s Jazz Club in Perth
Good on you, Steve. At 82 and limited by COVID, I consume my jazz from
Armstrong to Prez to Bird to Coltrane, from the internet and my CD
collection.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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verticals, changing
termination of the one I'm not feeding in the shack. Spent a LOT of time
modeling to get there.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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of attenuation around 900 kHz.
73, Jim K9YC
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to a 100 ft Tee and four Beverages, working east of Ohio was
a challenge.
73, Jim K9YC
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topband DXpeditioners, AA7JV, has been using FT8 a
lot for at least four years. George is both a first class op and one of
the smartest engineers I know of. I use "engineer" in the sense of
someone who uses science to solve problems, often in very innovative ways.
73
to the League by serious
weak-signal 6M ops.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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during one or two nights of a 2-3 week expedition. George
realized the advantage of FT8, and developed a system to diplex both CW
and FT8 transmitters into the same TX antenna, and narrow bandpass
filters for RX antennas.
73, Jim K9YC
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That's fine if radio is your only interest in life. We're much happier
here.
73, Jim K9YC
On 11/17/2023 7:16 AM, mstang...@comcast.net wrote:
Jim,
You should have stayed in Illinois and bought some farmland downstate on the
Mississippi.
I moved from a city lot in New York to an acre lot
-element array of phased loops spaced
5/8 wavelength.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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use a new body, but the ticker is running
good.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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anywhere in North America
around the Pacific. It's like running home from third base and thinking
you've hit a home run.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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l up to 20 meters!
Same experience here. Before I had aluminum, I listened to EU on my EU
Beverage.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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, abandoning the band at the
first sign of daylight, or failing to hit the band sooner before sunset.
For 160, it's at least a half hour, an hour on 80, two hours on 40.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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Thank you George, Thank you Mike, Thank you RiB. Great to connect this morning
on TB.
73, safe travels, Jim Colletto, N6TQ
From: Topband on
behalf of GEORGE WALLNER
Sent: Thursday, November 2, 2023 9:13 PM
To: 'topband@contesting.com'
Subject: Topband: KH8
.
I'm using the DX Eng radial plate. Pricy, but 17 years later, not a
sniff of corrosion, 5 miles from the Pacific.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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has significantly better on the eastern side of the pond.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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that plugs into the mains. And enforcement
of EMC regulations is close to non-existent.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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inventions.
73, Jim K9YC
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On 10/24/2023 9:15 AM, Paul Mcl wrote:
and he confirmed that was correct and he was using a large
rhombic by the ocean.
Consider the dimensions of a Rhombic for 160M, and that to benefit for
being "by the ocean," the QSO would have been long path.
73, Jim K9YC
_
On 10/23/2023 5:14 PM, Tree wrote:
Here in Oregon - the solar cycle has a huge impact on European propagation.
I typically go 4 years or so without hearing a peep from Europe during the
maximum.
My experience 600 miles south of you is the same.
73, Jim K9YC
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On 10/23/2023 9:38 AM, Roger Kennedy wrote:
Yes conditions continue to be really poor on 160m (wonder why?) . . .
We are approaching a solar maxima. Conditions on topband peaked at the
solar minima several years ago.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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cancellation. It's exactly the same as what we hear as "picket-fencing
at VHF.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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I was mistaken.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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His TX is NOT in EN52 -- he's VERY LOUD near San Francisco
73, Jim K9YC
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Hi Guys,
Have been looking for you B4 and around your sunset, but don't see you.
I usually have decent prop down that way.
73, Jim K9YC (Near San Francisco)
On 9/7/2023 2:54 PM, Don Greenbaum wrote:
E51D will QRT at 17:00 UTC Sept 8.
Tonight will be our last night on top band
On 8/30/2023 11:24 PM, uy0zg via Topband wrote:
War does not change people at all.
Here, it has strengthened the Ukrainian people.
I will not work RU stations until this aggression ends.
73, Jim K9YC
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Jim not a bad count.
Here I am at a count of 86. Been working at it for 38 years here in the city on
a tiny lot.
Working 100 for DXCC on 160m better happen before I die. Age here is 70.
Its what it is.
Jim Borowski K9TF
jim.gmfo...@gmail.com
_
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rom my QTH near San Francisco, once I get past VE, KH6, KL7, KP2,
KP4,XE, CM, and a few Caribbean islands, the average distance is 5,000
miles. My current count is 171 in 16 years after moving here in 2006.
73, Jim K9YC
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val angles vary with propagation.
I don't know enough about 160M propagation to know whether paths are
always reciprocal -- that is, if a signal ARRIVES at a high angle, will
my most efficient transmit path to him be at that high angle.
73, Jim K9YC
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it.
The first three hours of topband contests are in daylight here, and the
Tee can consistently work good stations out to 800 miles. That
horizontal antenna never even got a QRZ?
73, Jim K9YC
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is a quarter-wave. Higher
reduces upward radiation, lower increases ground loss. This study was
peer reviewed.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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of
interest, Al shields and CCS centers can be fairly lossy below VHF. CATV
coax tends to be much cheaper than the coax designed for transmitting,
thanks both the the lower cost construction and the extremely large
market for it.
73, Jim K9YC
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On 8/4/2023 7:42 AM, Mike Waters wrote:
If you don't already have it,*Low Band DXing* by John Devoldere, ON4UN
(published by the ARRL) has a very informative chapter about receiving
antennas. Most of it is about Beverage antennas. Highly recommended.
Yes, highly recommended.
73, Jim K9YC
to the elevation where they started. They
roughly follow that terrain, but one is about 15 ft high where it goes
over the creek. They both work fine, only issue is noise from solar
systems in neighbor homes.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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with keyers that won't let you turn Iambic off!
73, Jim K9YC
_
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stations west of the Rockies.
73, Jim
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On 6/30/2023 2:48 AM, Roger Kennedy wrote:
I reluctantly changed over to an Electronic keyer about 5 years ago
In the '50s, I used a Vibroplex that a cousin had used in the Navy. I
switched cold turkey in the late '60s.
73, Jim K9YC
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On 6/25/2023 2:32 PM, Guy Olinger K2AV wrote:
I always liked W4KFC on a bug. It was very recognizable, but it was not
excessive. Like watching someone walk who has added just a hint of dance
steps.
Mae, W3CUL, had a unique fist.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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working AS.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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About S4 noise here which is great for a condo with a hidden wire in the trees.
Hope to work across the pond with 5 watts.73,
Jim W1FMR.
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
On Fri, Jun 16, 2023 at 10:25 AM, Mike Waters wrote: On
Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 7:54 AM Roger Kennedy
wrote
, the Sierra, and the
high desert. He's also built big amps that run on 48VDC and are water
cooled. He's doing Es, tropo, meteors, and EME.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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-market patents.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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On 5/24/2023 11:10 AM, Charles Morrison wrote:
Where can we find George's work for these items ??
I heard him present it at Visalia in 2019; he presented it the next
month at Dayton.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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rge is one of those geniuses who live among us and have done so much
to advance the state of the art. I'd like to start a movement to
nominate him for the greatest award the ARRL and world ham radio has to
offer for technical achievement!
73, Jim K9YC
On 5/23/2023 11:25 PM, GEORGE WALLNER wrote:
I
be decoded at
SNR 15 dB below that of CW with great ops on both ends.
Why not say 1.990 MHz to avoid QRM.
Among other reasons, international frequency allocations and antenna
bandwidth.
73, Jim K9YC
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
and help
files on the WSJT download site.
https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/FST4_Quick_Start.pdf
This is the comparable doc for the Q65 mode, designed for various
scatter modes at VHF and above.
https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/Q65_Quick_Start.pdf
73, Jim K9YC
_
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if
anyone is interested. It discusses the mechanisms in detail.
73 Jim K9YC
_
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On April 4th 2023 I worked 9X5RU on 80m FT8 at 0305z. Was that a SLIM? 9X5RU
posted their logs on Club Log almost 24 hours later and that QSO is still not
listed.
SLIMs like this ruin the sport of the hunt.
Jim Borowski K9TF
jim.gmfo...@gmail.com
_
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://www.sdr-kits.net/introducing-DG8SAQ-VNWA3
Greatest precision (ability to see small things) is provided by a sweep
over a very wide frequency range. I usually sweep from 50-500 MHz. Once
the sweep is done, the TDR is simply a few more button pushes in the
menu system.
73, Jim K9YC
Phil called me on Sunday morning (local) just a bit after my SR. I kept
getting "6GX" and then got the "V." There was just too much QRN and QSB for
my little RX antenna to pull it through. Sorry Phil!!
I was running 100 Watts to an Inv-L.
Jim - WS6X
On Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:4
On 3/12/2023 12:01 PM, uy0zg via Topband wrote:
I hope to live to see the next one.
We earnestly join you and your countrymen in that hope.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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Blank email. I think all contesting.com reflectors reject formatted
text, and I know they reject attachments.
73, Jim K9YC
On 2/8/2023 2:59 PM, Dave Jorgensen wrote:
_
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_
Searchable
o In A Box. And as
remote as they are, and as lightweight as they are (100W, very limited
antenna), they ought to be doing only CW and FT8. Thiery did a great job
lighting up Crozet with similar limitations with FT8 -- in addition to
its signal-to-noise advantages, there were no cops!
73
On 2/7/2023 10:17 AM, Roger Kennedy wrote:
I already worked it ages ago, so not too bothered personally.
Their website asks only stations needing the country for DXCC to call.
ATNO only!
73, Jim K9YC
_
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have entered their county. It is my understanding that
USA-CA does not accept LOTW confirmations. Am I wrong?
73, Jim K9YC
_
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showing
the LOTW confirmation, which includes the county, grid, and IOTA if the
other station has entered it. This is also their method for accepting
eQSL! There's no excuse for USA-CA not accepting screen prints of LOTW.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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On 2/2/2023 7:25 AM, Roger Kennedy wrote:
Can anyone help with this?
It's unlikely that the SWR bandwidth of your antenna was contributing
significant loss on receive over the 160M band.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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or the QSO.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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I got some checked at our local hamfest. It takes about 3-4 weeks for them to
show up LoTW.
73, Jim WE4S
Get BlueMail for Android
On Jan 9, 2023, 4:31 PM, at 4:31 PM, Jim Brown
wrote:
>On 1/9/2023 9:47 AM, Steve London wrote:
>> What kind of card checking is done for LoTW conf
oast.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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On 1/9/2023 6:48 AM, STEVE MCDONALD wrote:
Highly unlikely at 1:30 in the afternoon in California.
All of this is an example of why ARRL card checkers must have achieved
DXCC on topband before they can check topband cards.
73, Jim K9YC
_
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