Can't help but hitchhike on N5IA's thread about arrl being an
easy WAS on 160.
Just back from the W2GD coastal site, former WSC marine stn.
We didn't get a sweep. Missed AK, and two provinces.
I know KL7RA was on...we saw spots. Never heard him, nor
were we called by him. At one point, we had a guy doing
nothing but looking for him.
And this, in a station with 2 el NE, 2el W, plus an Ell for
the mult stn. A 3 op setup, with two listening on the run stn,
and a separate mult operation. And rx antennas including 1500'
beverages SW, W, NW, N/S, E, NE, several of which are either parallel
phased arrays or stagger arrays...NOT a small installation.
So we fell 3 short of a sweep. Doing so entailed a crew of
8 or 10 people, walking beverages and trimming antennas, and
working on the computer network and the TX lockouts, so everything hummed
and we remained legal. And the A&K indices were reasonably low
throughtout...
although absorption to the west seemed high, to me.
W2GD can wax poetic...we did reasonably well, considering.
I would have liked to see more international involvement,
on balance, but this is a US-centric competition, and enthusiasm
abroad is...well, um, attenuated?
WAS is easy? I don't THINK so, even if it IS US centric!
Topband is a challenge, period.
N2EA
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