Great to hear lots of people on the band last night, and Conditions were
pretty good !
The only strange thing was that Propagation seemed a bit one-way - I was
getting some amazing Reports, whereas most signals with me were weaker. (and
this wasn't just ME - I noticed the same with other EU
Hi Annas
Having built several Transmitters and Receivers, Valve ones are SO much
simpler (less stages required) . . . and they usually work straight away !
(unlike Transistor ones, where there's often issues to sort out). Plus no
PCBs needed, all the components just hang off the Valve bases,
A reminder once again . . .
There's been quite a few stations on 160 on Wednesdays the last few weeks
(from both sides of the pond).
So as Top Band conditions continue to be pretty good, hope there will be
lots of CW activity again tomorrow night !
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Well some telescopic fibreglass masts will fit over an alloy Scaffold Pole,
so you just slide it over and fit a Jubilee Clip a couple of feet down.
Otherwise, it's down to buying some tubing to act as a joining sleeve . . .
where the inside diameters are different I have known people use a
I thought conditions were fairly good, especially on Friday Night. The big
NA signals were peaking over S9 here in NorthEast England.
I spent about 3 hours in total on the band, and managed to work around 70
North American stations, including across to Florida, Virgin Islands,
Colorado and
David I'm inclined to agree with the other Gs . . . you could do this MUCH
more cheaply yourself (maybe a tenth of the cost) . . . and probably make a
stronger and more efficient antenna.
21ft thick-walled alloy scaffold aren't that expensive, yet are extremely
strong . . . and if you see a
Good to hear so many DXers on 160m last night working each other . . .
I came on for an hour and a half, and worked 24 NA stations, so was quite
happy with that.
Here's to another good night next Wednesday !
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives:
Bear in mind that if you want to work Europe, there are loads of wide
Beacons down the bottom of the band. These work like the old HiFix Beacons
(so are quite wide), and are located in the Baltic and used by Fishing
Trawlers for navigation. They pretty much wipe out 1800 to 1815 kHz over
here,
Just another reminder . . .
Hope to see lots of you on 160m again tomorrow night.
(I've actually often worked a lot more DX on these Wednesdays than in the
various Contests!)
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
I didn't think conditions were particularly bad over the weekend.
The problem for me was that I heard lots of NA stations, but most were
calling other stations . . . so I obviously couldn't call them !
Whenever I popped on the band there were very few NA stations calling CQ . .
. but I did
Just another reminder . . .
We had plenty of stations on CW from both sides of the pond last week, so
hope to see lots of 160 DXers on again tomorrow night !
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
As you say Phil, it's crazy that they omit the filtering components that
there is space for on the PCB, just to save a few pence. (they often do the
same in small chargers too - but not on the better ones)
Personally, I would have accepted the offer of a replacement PSU, as
filtering it on the
Once again, lots of stations on the band last night from both sides of the
pond . . . good have such a nice turnout.
However, quite deep QSB on most signals, and propagation didn't seem as good
as the night before (when I worked several stations right across to the West
Coast).
Thanks once
Well DX conditions have been pretty good the last few evenings . . .
although not that many stations on the band having QSOs.
Hopefully we'll see plenty of activity tomorrow night !
(there were at least 60 stations on CW working DX last Wednesday, it was
really good)
73 Roger G3YRO
Great to hear so many stations on last night ! And conditions were pretty
good too . . .
I came on around 0100Z for a couple of hours, and worked 36 North American
stations, so was very pleased with that. Many thanks to all of you that took
the trouble to give me a call.
There were a lot of
Hope to see some of you on the band again tomorrow night, as 160M DX
conditions continue to be pretty good.
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Yes, sadly we have lost another Top Band Legend . . .
R.I.P. John
Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
The SM stations are pretty strong here . . . but I would say there is more
DX activity on CW from G stations.
I think it must just be a better path to you Steve.
As I mentioned to you in a direct e-mail, I heard some guys working you the
other night, but I couldn't hear a trace from you !
73
Conditions have been pretty good recently . . . had several calls from
pretty far west USA, as well as South America.
So hope to work some of you on the band tomorrow night !
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Well I'm pleased to say that DX Conditions on 160 seemed to be back to
normal last night.
Thank you to everyone who made the effort to come on the band . . .
I came on for just over an hour from 01.00 and worked about 15 NA station .
. . there were quite a few other Europeans on too.
Here's
Just the usual reminder !
It seems that conditions are starting to get back to normal . . .
So hope to work some of you tomorrow night on CW.
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Well I was hoping to have some SSB DX contacts on 160m, but conditions were
really poor from this side over the weekend . . .
Only managed to hear & work a couple of NA stations.
Even most Europeans weren't very strong at all !
Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives:
I actually think that a Window during Contests to work DX stations is a good
idea . . .
It can be quite difficult to work NA stations in a Contest if they are being
repeatedly called by other strong NA stations !
One of the other issues is that many of us come on the various Top Band
contests
Good to see quite a lot of stations on last night, from both sides of the
pond.
Conditions were reasonable, and I certainly worked every NA station I heard.
Thanks to all those that made the effort to come on, and hopefully we'll
have even more next Wednesday night !
73 Roger G3YRO
Just another reminder . . .
Hope to work some of you on 160 tomorrow night !
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
I came on for a couple of hours last night in the Contest, but conditions
were strange.
>From 00.30Z all signals were quite weak, including Europeans. Then from
around 03.00Z signals started to pick up . . . although not fantastic.
Popped on again at 05.30Z but signals had virtually
is morning at sunrise
We are an equal opportunity operator and there were a couple of Russians on
FT8 not much else heard here on that mode either
Dave
NR1DX
On 10/15/2020 7:05 AM, Roger Kennedy wrote:
> Great to work so many NA stations last night . . . and good to hear so
> many other EU stat
Great to work so many NA stations last night . . . and good to hear so many
other EU stations on the band.
Conditions were pretty good too . . . always nice to receive some S9 reports
!
Look forward to working many of you on Saturday in The Stew Perry Contest.
73 Roger G3YRO
Well several people have emailed me, saying this is a good idea . . . and to
keep reminding people . . .
So that's what I'm doing !
Hope to work some of you guys on Top Band tonight.
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband
Well first of all, it has never been my intention to upset or annoy anyone
with my posts on here . . . all I have ever tried to do is encourage more
people to come on Top Band on CW . . . to tell people that there ARE
stations on to work, and that DX conditions are often good, even if there is
At no point in these posts have I criticised people who want to use FT8 . .
. each to their own as far as I'm concerned.
But this topic was aimed at people (like me) who have no desire to use such
computer-based modes, to point out that there ARE quite a few stations
regularly on CW looking
I don't consider it whining . . . I'm just trying to encourage more people
to come on the band.
If that happens, then there WILL be more CW activity !
I just figure that there may be people who read this Reflector that aren't
aware that there are many of us on the band, staying up late most
The irony is that if more of the people that complain about activity only
being on FT8 these days actually came on the band on CW, there would be more
activity !
What amazes me most is that so many of you guys in the USA have invested in
fantastic setups for 160m . . . huge towers, full-sized
It's such a shame that 160m Conditions for DX have been pretty good over the
past week or two . . .
Yet there are so few CW stations coming on the band !
I hear lots of us Europeans putting out endless CQ DX calls . . . but often
getting no replies, despite good RBN Reports confirming the
Well propagation seems to have been fairly good over the past week . . . but
sadly there doesn't seem to have been much activity from NA stations.
Is it still very noisy over there for you guys?
Anyway, perhaps we'll see some stations on tomorrow night.
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Well I've been off 160m for the past few days, as I had a problem with my
coax feeder . . .
And a jammed halyard meant I had to lower my mast to sort it out, so quite a
headache! Anyway, I've replaced the whole coax run on my Topband antenna, so
back on the air now.
Hopefully we'll see a few
As DL8LAS said, conditions were pretty good last night . . . good signals
and low noise level.
However, there were lots of EU stations on calling CQ, but getting very few
replies.
I managed to work 8 NA stations . . . but there seemed to be very little
activity from over there.
I was on
As several others have posted, Topband has been open for DX propagation most
nights over the past week . . .
So I'm still plugging the idea of trying to get lots of stations on the band
all on the same night. (it seemed to work quite well last season.)
Hope to work you this Wednesday night !
Thanks to all of you who made the effort to come on last night . . .
conditions were pretty good.
Hopefully we will get even more on next Wednesday.
By the way, I noticed quite a few other Gs didn't come on til around 05.30 Z
(our Sunrise) . . . but most of the NA stations had gone by then !
There were several of us Europeans on calling CQ DX last night . . . but I
didn't hear anyone get any replies!
RBN reports from North America were quite good . . . so is it that
Propagation was just one way (as sometimes happens on 160) . . . or were
there just no NA stations on the band?
Well
There were several of us Europeans on calling CQ DX last night . . .
But despite RBN Reports being reasonable from NA Stations, I didn't hear
anyone get any replies.
I'll certainly be popping on again tonight, in the hope of some contacts.
Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives:
Came on for about an hour last night . . worked a few NA stations, including
across to Texas.
Conditions seemed fairly good, but not many stations on.
Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Good to hear that more stations are coming back on the band !
I'll be popping on at various times during the night tonight and over the
rest of the weekend, so will hopefully work some of you.
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband
Had a lot of direct replies, saying most of you in North America still have
a lot of thunderstorms, so it's usually still very noisy on 160m.
We hardly have any thunderstorms, even in Summer over here . . . so now
we're heading into Autumn there's no QRN whatsoever !
I shall come on the band
So do you guys still have a lot of QRN over there?
Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Well DX Conditions have been pretty good lately . . .
So I shall be on tonight and tomorrow night from about 0200 GMT, seeing if
there are any of my NA friends to work.
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Good to work a few of you in the Contest last night . . .
Shame there weren't more stations on !
Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
allow spots for those bands you are interested in.
Mike va3mw
__
On Tue, May 12, 2020 at 7:58 PM Roger Kennedy
wrote:
Why oh why do some people post on the DX Cluster every FT8 station they have
heard?
One GM station this evening
Why oh why do some people post on the DX Cluster every FT8 station they have
heard?
One GM station this evening posted 21 stations . . . none of them were even
DX !
I don't even see why you would post ANY on the DX Cluster . . . I thought
the whole point of FT8 is that you leave your computer
Steve VE6WZ's post prompted me to tot up how many DX QSOs I've had this
Season (quite tedious, as I just use a paper Log Book!)
I haven't been as active as Steve, but managed to work a total of 1,014 DX
Stations on Top Band.
I obviously haven't included any Europe contacts, or even any
As many of you may know, this Friday (May 8th) is the 75th Anniversary of VE
Day . . .
So to commemorate the ending of WW2 in Europe, I shall be operating the
special station GB4VE.
(both my late parents served in the Royal Navy during WW2, so I thought this
would be a nice tribute)
I shall
Just seen this . . . and so sad to hear the news.
As others have said, Herb was one of the real stalwarts of Top Band DX . .
and consistently one of the big signals here in Europe.
I think I first worked him back in 1970, a few months after I was licensed.
I just looked back in my (paper) Log
$180 for a receiver filter? That's absurd !
I also wouldn't want one that attenuates 160m too.
Is the station you are having problems with actually above 1.6MHz ? If not,
you don't need a filter that starts attenuating within Top Band, like that
one does.
And you might need hardly any
, and we will keep listening.
73,
Don (wd8dsb)
On Thu, Apr 16, 2020 at 5:48 AM Roger Kennedy
wrote:
Yes, conditions seemed good last night (had several 35 - 40dB S/N reports
from NA stations on RBN)
During the night there were several EU stations calling CQ . . . but very
few NA stations on the band
Yes, conditions seemed good last night (had several 35 - 40dB S/N reports
from NA stations on RBN)
During the night there were several EU stations calling CQ . . . but very
few NA stations on the band ! (I know a lot of you guys over there have much
lightning and resultant static crashes now)
Message-
From: Rick Kunath [mailto:k...@yahoo.com]
Sent: 08 April 2020 13:40
To: Roger Kennedy; topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: CW Activity
Roger,
Have you tried a LoG (Loop on Ground) receiving antenna? I have one here and
it works wonders.
Info at this site: http://www.kk5jy.net
To Steve & Don
Sadly I live in the city, so not only have quite a high noise level, but no
room for low noise Beverage receiving antennas, like many other DX-ers use.
So I'm sorry I couldn't copy you calling me last night.
I do have a Receiving Loop I made a couple of years ago . . . but it's
Well there are quite a few EU stations on CW, calling CQ DX every night . .
. but getting very few replies.
I had about a dozen NA QSOs on Saturday night . . . but I've been on every
night since, and no calls whatsoever! (although RBN reports were quite good,
so the band IS open)
Roger G3YRO
Well 160m conditions have sometimes been really good lately . . .
In fact during the WPX SSB Contest, some NA stations on 160m were as strong
as 20dB over 9 (like they used to be years ago) . . but there weren't many
on.
And coming on the band on CW several times since then, conditions have
Just to remind you that if you're going to come on 160M CW one night this
week, TONIGHT'S the night when we try and get lots of people on at the same
time.
Conditions have been pretty good the past couple of nights . . . so hope to
see you on the band !
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Well I personally had a dozen NA QSOs last night.
But the band went very quiet after 01.00Z . . . (I popped on again at 03.00,
but no calls)
Thank you to those that made the effort to come on . . . maybe we'll have
more next Wednesday !
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives:
I couldn't agree more Steve . . .
That has been the whole idea of my suggesting Wednesday for a CW DX night on
160m, to at least get everyone on the band on the same evening (rather than
a few people spread out on different nights).
It seemed to work LAST season . . . I would often work over
Well I'm still trying to promote this, for all the people who say there's
very little CW activity these days !
Conditions have been pretty good lately . . . so I wonder if we'll get many
NA stations on the band tonight?
(I keep hearing EU stations calling CQ DX, but getting no replies, even
Hi Mike
As I said in my previous post, as the 1025 uses the same PCB as the 1026, I
effectively modified my 1025 to become a 1026, using MFJ's circuit, built on
to the empty slots on the PCB.
And as I only paid £40 for my 1025, this was quite a cheap way to get a
1026.
I actually rarely use
Having just read some of these posts, I just did a few tests on my MFJ-1025.
(bought mine second-hand very cheap - a lot of people buy these thinking
they will get rid of any noise!)
I modified it to become a 1026 . . . you definitely need the extra pre-amp
for the "Noise Antenna", especially
Yes, great to see conditions being good this weekend for the Contest. The
big NA signals were peaking S9 +10 to 15dB over here (which what they always
used to be, but I haven't seen for a while)
I came on for a couple of hours on Saturday night, and managed to work 45 NA
stations, including
Well I've said it dozens of times before . . . but I have used a horizontal
halfwave Dipole (at about 50ft)
for working DX on 160m for the past 50 years ! (and that's at 6 different
QTHs)
Not only do I work all over the world, but I know my signal often compares
pretty well with other Gs using
Well conditions were pretty good last night . . . but not many NA stations
active on CW . . .
Maybe we'll get more people on tonight.
(I personally usually pop on around 00.30Z . . . and again around 03.00Z)
73 Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives:
Steve, I agree about getting response only when you've been spotted on the
DX Cluster (which is why I sometimes resort to spotting myself after endless
CQ DX calls - then suddenly I get lots of calls !)
But I only use RBN to check my OWN signals . . . how do you use it to check
ANY DX signals
I guess I should have been more specific in the title . . .
I mean no CW activity from NA stations ! (not interested in FT8 or any other
computer modes)
Despite conditions being poor, came on for a while last night and managed to
work about 10 NA stations in the SSB Contest . . . will try
Well I came on for a few hours last night . . .
Conditions were good, as my RBN reports with NA sites were between 20 and 35
dB over the noise.
But I only worked a handful of NA stations ! (there were several other
European and Russian stations on too)
It's a real shame there's so little CW
Well I wonder if we'll get many guys making an effort to get on Top Band
tonight?
Roger G3YRO
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Dave was originally G3SZA . . . he lived just two miles from me when I first
was an SWL, aged 12.
He was already working DX on 160m back then (1967), as was another local/old
friend of mine, Mike G3SED. They both helped and inspired me, and are the
reason I became interested in DX-ing on 160m
Well I came on a couple of times last night, but gave up after an hour each
time.
The band was certainly open as my RBN reports were good.
There were other Europeans on Calling CQ too . . . but very few NA stations
on. I only worked a handful, and reports were good both ways.
It saddens me
Interesting reading some of the comments on this topic.
I have been working DX on 160m for 50 years (I started young LOL!) . . .
The one thing I have ALWAYS noticed over the years is that the propagation
is OFTEN very selective on 160m. I will be hearing other EU stations working
people that
Yes, as Dave K1WHS noted, very few NA stations on the band last Wednesday
(think I only heard/worked 4), but there were loads of EU stations calling
CQ DX. (I find that very sad, considering how many NA stations there are
that put out a decent signal on 160m!)
Maybe we'll get a load more
I had forgotten it was a multiband contest, so I now appreciate that's why
less NA stations are on calling CQ.
Well I came on for a total of about 4 hours over the weekend . . . managed
to work a total of 128 NA stations, so was pretty pleased with that.
Apologies to any of you I couldn't copy
Very curious . . .
I came on 160m last night to see what NA stations I could work in the
contest . . . spent half an hour tuning around and only heard 12 stations
calling CQ, all of which I worked.
I then figured it might be worth calling CQ, as hopefully Europeans wouldn't
call me, as they
Personally, I don't really care what anyone else does !
I achieved DXCC on 160m many years ago . . . and stopped even counting new
countries once I had worked over 200. (it used to be really hard, as so few
Countries were licensed for Top Band, but these days almost everyone is)
I KNOW I
Well, I've personally never really understood this desire (or obsession?) to
only want to work new Countries . . .
After all, it's more of an achievement to have a contact on Top Band with
someone 4,000 miles away in a big country, than it is to work someone 2,000
miles away on some little
...@mksat.net]
Sent: 09 February 2020 15:31
To: Roger Kennedy
Cc: topband@contesting.com; Topband
Subject: Re: Topband: Very little NA Activity
Hi
Not everything is sad, Roger.
On the night and morning of February 7th,( 00:30 - 04:00 UTc) I had 15 CW
QSOs - K1UO, K5OO, N1PGA, N3RS, WY3A, WD5R
Despite the band being open (as shown by RBN Reports) there sadly seems to
have been very little activity from North American stations over the past
week. (apart from a couple of good old stalwarts)
I've heard lots of Europeans calling endless CQ DX calls, and getting very
few replies.
It
CQ DXs last night . . . the band
WAS open, as RBN reports were good . . . but no replies !
Hopefully there will be more activity tonight . . .
73 Roger G3YRO
-Original Message-
From: James Wolf [mailto:jbw...@comcast.net]
Sent: 04 February 2020 14:25
To: 'Roger Kennedy'
Subject: RE
Conditions have been fairly good the past few nights . . . but again, often
little CW activity from North America.
So I'm still trying to promote the idea of trying to at least get everyone
on the band on the same evening !
Personally, I shall be on 160 for about an hour from around Z . .
Hi Ken
Well this has been voiced before !
I appreciate that many stations are only interested in working new or rare
prefixes on 160m . . .
However, personally I get a big buzz out of EVERY QSO with a station on Top
Band over 2000 miles away, as it is an achievement . . . regardless of how
a superstation.
Wowser, I wonder if we'll get that again before the sunspots start in again.
I can hope.
73, Guy K2AV
On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 3:27 PM Roger Kennedy
wrote:
Well conditions were reasonable over the weekend . . .
I spent a total of about 3 hours on the band, and managed to wor
Well conditions were reasonable over the weekend . . .
I spent a total of about 3 hours on the band, and managed to work 48 NA
stations through all the European QRM.
I'm sure I would have worked a lot more, as I heard many others calling
stations that were calling CQ . . . but I'm reluctant to
Well sadly conditions seemed very poor last night . . .
My own signals were 20 to 30dB down on what I would normally see on NA RBN
sites
I managed just 4 NA QSOs . . . but heard several other people calling me
that were way down in the noise.
Not sure how many stations were on across the
Well this is for all of us that complain about all the FT8 activity, but
very few CW stations on the band . . .
Hope we can get lots of people on Top Band tonight so everyone can have lots
of QSOs !
I personally will be on from around 23.30 GMT . . . again at 03.00 . . . and
again at 07.30.
Well, people who work me regularly know I put out a pretty decent signal on
160m with my dipole. And I get good reports all over the world, not just
right across America.
I also have a vertically polarised receiving antenna, so can compare signals
on receive . . . DX signals are very rarely
"However, 160 needs vertical polarization for consistent long DX."
So how is it that I consistently work all over the world on 160m with my
horizontal dipole at 50ft?! (and my signals seem to often be pretty
comparable with other Brits using verticals}
You certainly need a Vertical to work DX
It's easy to appreciate why many people - who are passionate about the hobby
- get upset about some of the things they see as being very negative to the
hobby.
Here in Britain there were LOTS of well-respected Amateurs who were actively
involved in Jamming the VHF Repeaters when they first came
Well sadly conditions were rather poor last night . . .
Also I wasn't sure how many stations made it on the band, as I had
torrential rain all night, and with the 400kV power lines a mile away that
caused a high noise level, so could only copy stations above S7.
Oh well . . . perhaps it will
Well for those of us who get a buzz out of working ANY station a long way
away (no matter how many times we've worked them before), let's hope we get
lots of stations on the band tonight !
And if you see somebody calling CQ, do try and Spot them on the DX Cluster,
as that helps others to find
Well you know I have said this several times before Steve . . so thanks for
clarifying.
Like you, EVERY DX contact is a thrill to me (even after 50 years on the
band), no matter how many times I may have worked that station before.
I actually think that MOST 160m DX-ers agree. After all, it
Well now that we have the Holiday season out the way, hope we can re-start
this each week.
Remember, this is for all the people who complain about FT8 and the lack of
activity on CW . . . there will only be activity if people make the effort
to come on the band and have a few QSOs !
Conditions
Hi Ian
Well what gives ME a buzz is EVERY DX contact on Top Band, i.e. any station
more than a couple of thousand miles away . . . it doesn't bother me how
many times I have worked that station before. And it doesn't bother me
whether they are in a big country or on a tiny island. It's the
Regarding your comments, Mike VE9AA . . .
I appreciate I may not be one of the biggest signals on the band (although I
did get several S9+ reports from NA over this weekend). . . but the point I
was making was that there were several of the big EU stations on the band
too, and they were getting
Yes conditions have been good the last few days on 160m (not Great . . . but
what I would always have considered Normal, which they haven't been for
ages)
I myself have received some amazing reports from Stations I have worked, as
well as strong RBN reports. However . . . there seems to have
Something else I meant to say . . .
I heard several other NA stations, but they were calling other people.
I didn't get to work them, as I wasn't going to waste time calling CQ myself
- as with all these Contests, I would have ended up wasting time being
called by dozens of Europeans !
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