Bruce... I suspect that this goes to John, but I don't have his email address
handy here at the office...
My location is 43.42N and 84.22W...K8DO listening for Heard, Fri pm / 17 Jan,
beginning at 2200Z to 2330Z from mid michigan...(Middle of the Mitten) ....
Heard Isl. peaked Q5 _very_ briefly at 2253Z Friday evening (in USA) as an S
zero (at the noise level), with the full call being copied Q5 just the one
time... The only copyable directions for the 45 minutes (roughly) that we
were able to get a letter or two at a time in rapid and deep QSB and heavy
QRN, and for the one Q5 peak, was South to SSW... The full call was copied on
the South beverage/180 deg... the second best reception was the 210
degree(SSW) lobe of the transmit array... I occasionally listened to the
pile and heard mostly 1/2/3 land calling, who are farther into the dark than
me, and which is a probable indicator of who was hearing them well enough to
justify transmitting... I am far enough west that Heard is in full daylight
by the time I am in greyline...
Watching the greyline on the computor at the time, it looked likely that the
signals are leaving Heard in the daylight with the first skip entering the
greyline to the W and following the edge and being ducted around the edge of
the antarctic pole and up to us from the South.... As the greyline was to my
west at 2253, and angling from SE to NW it appears to me that the signal was
exiting the duct well to my South and appearing to emanate mainly from due S
... Copy was not heard from the N, NNE, NE, SE , W, WNW, or NW ... A
description of the antennas follows...
Transmit/receive is a 4 element parasitic version of a 4 square, in diamond
configuration, with full size 1/4 wave, leaning verticals, and elevated
radials... with the centers of the main lobes beaming 30deg(NNE) / 120
deg(ESE)/ 210 deg(SSW) / 300 deg(WNW), respectively.... FB ratio averages
15-17dB... and greater on low angle signals... it hears as well as the
beverages (and frequently, better) except under specific noise conditions...
The beverages are 500 to 700 footers, terminated, on headings 0(N) / 45(NE)
/ 180(S) / 270(W) / 325(NW)....
I hope this is helpful information...
Denny CQK8DO@aol.com
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