Condx were MUCH better to and from 9M0C on topband this morning for the
West Coast. K6UR reported good copy from about 11Z and was successful
early. Copy was generally good on the West Coast, although initially
with deep fades. At this location, the sunrise bump was marked by
disappearance of the deep fades as propagation went high-angle.
Although the operator continued to report very high QRN (20 over), QSO
rates went from the dismal, early-on, to almost-continuous (at about a
max of one +/min) as prop moved north. Clearly, the ops have made some
headway with the RX problem. Locals were succeeding a half-hour and more
after local sunrise. I left the band with Q5 copy on 9M0C an hour past
my sunrise to call them on 30m. There, I was informed that 40 USA
stations were put in the log this session!
IMHO QSO rates would have been significantly higher had there not been
so much of the calling-over that now plagues the band. While many--even
most-- operators were standing by when not called, many recognized or
partially-recognized callers were being trounced as they tried to
complete. Some succeeded anyway--for example, W6OSP managed to complete
with THREE guys on him. Some did not fare as well-- a repeated "AI6?"
from Don, for example, brought a response from AI6L--and enough others
to prevent Jerry from completing, and he never had another chance. None
of those callers had similar calls, as far as I could tell.
--
Garry Shapiro, NI6T
160 meters: not a band, but an obsession
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