Today it finally happened for me.
I found Gus calling CQ on 1824.1 at about 1040z which is roughly 16 minutes
prior to my sunrise. We worked with ease at 1043z and I spotted him
immediately.
Many other W2's and W3's called thereafter and I heard some work him. I
recall W2OKM, K3ANS, W3BGN etc.
I copied him from 1040z - 1110z when he faded out here finally.
A unique aspect of today's prop was that Gus was peaking FAR BETTER on the SW
quadrant of my 4 square array than he was out of the NW path. The difference
was about 579 to the SW and 459 to the NW. I suspect some skewing to the
SOUTH due to the high A & K that were present this morning.....
(The A/K were off the charts this AM - and I did not expect anything like this
to occur - but that's 160M for you!)
I also heard VK3ZL work W8JI on 1832 or so at about 1035z.
That's it.
On a final note, to me, this proves once again that the toughest paths require
daily operation and checking for an opening. I have listened almost DAILY
since 25 August for Gus and today was only the second time I heard him. The
first time was for 6 seconds at the end of September - and he heard me twice
that day - no qso. Today was solid - so for me 1 day out of 2 months!
Gus' being there EVERY DAY has made this an interesting exercise in typical
160M propagation - dx-peditions to the rarest spots often get one good day, if
any, on the toughest paths - short stays of 1-2 days are usually not workable
for me - longer stays offer at least some hope for an opening.
Good hunting to all - today was a good day here in the NE USA to Gus.
73 JEFF
K1ZM@aol.com
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