Bill, For all that you are dealing with, along with the additional propagation challenges that 160M brings, it is truly the toughest H.F. band to be suc
When I started on 160M I did not have an amplifier that included 160M. I cq'd and tried calling stations for 3 months one winter until conditions were good enough to reach across the Atlantic with 100 watts. Success should be defined as what your expectations are.. GL -Charlie N1RR On Fri, Jan 5, 2024 at 8:33 PM Bill Cromwell <[email protected]> wrote: > > 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 > -- -Charlie N1RR 401-742-7240 <(401)%20742-7240> 8AM - 9PM *E-mail*: [email protected] *Website*: www.n1rr.com *Youtube channel*: NovemberOne RomeoRomeo https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDzEf57Ad80cVKOiLZLB7w/videos _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
