What are the chances of working the MV Island expedition from
the USA on 160? Very, very poor! Why? Not enough common darkness
on the path even on the extreme East Coast. Note the following
for my QTH which is representative of anyone on the East Coast
(since the terminator now lies on a Northeasterly line running up
the coast):
My sunset: R1MVI sunrise: Common darkness:
June 5 0033 0046 13 minutes
June 15 0038 0035 -3 minutes
Even in the middle of the winter, this would be a marginal
path with 13 minutes of common darkness which will decrease daily
during the expedition. In the summer, with the sun in the Northern
hemisphere and consequently high absorption, the odds are slim and
none. The best chance will be for guys in extreme eastern W1 and
VE1, but they probably already have it!
The moral for anyone planning a future expedition to MV Island
that wants to work 160: do it as far away from Summer Solstice (June 21)
as possible. I predict that it will be very difficult for them to
work very deep into the USA on 80 meters, but it will be much more
likely there than on 160.
I'll listen anyway, but in the words of an old professor I
once had..."I'm not too optimistic!"
73,
Bill W4ZV
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/topband.html
Submissions: topband@contesting.com
Administrative requests: topband-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-topband@contesting.com
|