A note from the peanut gallery. This is [email protected]
I am on a postage stamp lot and the house & garage occupy approximately the middle one third. The frontage is not usable for antenna systems due to the underground utilities and overhead power lines. I am limited to compromise antennas for this band and those must be further compromised from published designs to fit into the space. I can be heard in Canada and the eastern United States. Most of the daily signals are for dx only. In some contests I can work a few stations on the north American continent. I can hear a lot of them but they don't hear me. I don't have an antenna for 160 at the moment and not a lot of motivation to put one up. Other bands seem more productive given these conditions. I would be satisfied with QSOs in the continental range but most are DX hounds and can't waste their time on more local rag chews. I am ready to just sign off from this list and get out of your way. Am I missing something? Happy New Year to all and... 73, Bill KU8H > On Jan 5, 2024, at 7:04 PM, VE6WZ_Steve <[email protected]> wrote: > George, > > Yes. I fully agree that many ops don’t understand that RBN is NOT to be > relied on. > > I operate 3 RBN skimmers, each on a different RX antenna, and auto switched > for the RX antennas to follow the darkness DX path. > 2 of these are Broadside phased Beverage pairs. My QTH is a quiet rural > location. > > However, the skimmer will only detect a very SMALL FRACTION of what I can > hear with my ears. > If I look at my CW skimmer, often I can “see” the EU DX CQing, but the > skimmer will not always decode it. > Many times I can work lots of EU, but never get a RBN skimmer decode from EU. > BUT, the opposite is also true. If I am getting EU RBN decodes, then the > band is probably in very good shape. > > Either way, as George said, do NOT rely on RBN to determine if the band is > open or not. > Just keep calling CQ. > > BTW…FT-8 will decode “deep into the noise” however, with the common very fast > QSB on 160m, a big reason FT-8 seems to work better is the PC sends EVERY 15 > seconds, for as long as the op lets the PC go. > Sometimes on CW, the QSB can be so fast, the QSO needs to be completed within > 30 seconds, or the DX has faded into oblivion under the noise. > (That’s why we usually don’t have time on 160m CW for exchanging more than a > signal report…..quickly!!) > That’s also why on CW we need to keep CQing into what seems like a dead band. > The difference on FT-8, is the PC does the CQing for you. Yeah…that IS > easier! > > > Steve, ve6wz > > >> Noise is up. >> 80 is becoming the new 160! >> >> Also, it is noise that is driving a lot of ops onto FT8. >> >> Another contributor is RBN! While RBN is great tool, most RBN RX antennas >> are poor on 160. Those that rely on a quick scan of RBN for 160 meter >> activity will incorrectly assume that the band is dead. >> >> In the past 10 years noise has gone up by something like 10 dB in many >> areas. What worked 10 years ago, no longer works today. We need to learn to >> live with it. Invest in better RX antennas and other noise reduction >> techniques. (Petition the FCC to increase the power limit by 10 dB :-) >> >> And keep calling CQ! >> >> 73, >> >> George, >> >> AA7JV > > _________________ > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
