GE Jim,
We can't possibly all remember 'who is located where' in the lower 48. For Canadians, we are locked to our call areas, so if you were to work a VE9 (for example) on 160m, you can be relatively assured, unless something weird is going on, that they are in New Brunswick. (there are some very rare situational exceptions, which I won't get into, as it'll only confuse the masses), but suffice to say..99.9% of the time, that's the rule. A W6 on the other hand, can be pretty much anywhere. Until you do several hundred (or thousand!) contests from FM08, it'll be exceedingly difficult for "everyone to know", hi hi ! I struggled to work a W8 on Topband this weekend (who I'd worked quite a few times before) and he could just NOT get my suffix. VE9AT, VE9A? , VE9TT, VE9?A, VE9MT, VE9MMT, VE9AAT, etc. How many VE9 contester's are there? J It happens to all of us. 73 and have fun from FM08..I'll be listening for you ! Mike VE9AA Gracious! I almost feel like I should apologize for sharing my 74-year old, "youthful" exuberance for having the weekend of my career on TB! To put things into perspective... 1. Since this is my 5th low-band / contesting season from this QTH in Rockingham County, Virginia, I thought everyone knew where I was located. I didn't mean to mislead, and certainly was not intending to stick it to my long-suffering W6 friends in any sort of boastful fashion! 2. Between 1983 and 2013 I worked 186 DXC on 160 from my tiny sandbox in Fresno, CA. However, it was 22 years, and only after installing a rotating flag, before I FINALLY worked my first EU! (OZ7YY). 3. From then on, QSOs with EU were few and far between, but one glorious night in Feb., 2009, I worked 17 EU in one evening. For me, truly amazing! So, how have things changed since the move to VA, and the enchanted East Coast? Over the weekend, during the contest, I worked HB0 for #224. 38 new ones in 5 years? Not bad, but not earth-shattering! Oddly, 3 were in OC, ones that I couldn't work from W6! 4. It was only this past December that I finally beat my Fresno record of 17 EU in one evening, with an amazing run of 23. With that background, please forgive me if I mistakenly thought that working 58 EU in one weekend meant that propagation was terrific! As for me and my meager station in FM08, you will have a difficult time proving otherwise! 73 es gud DX, Jim - WS6X P.S. You have my permission to assume some of the above was a bit "tongue-in-cheek"! Mike, Coreen & Corey Keswick Ridge, NB _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
