This should not be construed as support for the Jackasses
who bray into a pileup with no realistic chance of hearing, but
rather a plea for understanding that DX receiving conditions
vary around this very large country of ours.
I notice that both Ken and Dave are "Right Coasters", where one
can work European and other Eastward DX in normal conditions
without a receiver, much less good receiving antennas: a never-never
land where Q5 DX is possible and expected.
On 160 meters In Ohio, at least for the 99% of the stations without
full-sized and/or phased Beverages in the correct direction, DX
signals are **very rarely** Q5. They fade up and down from Q3 to
Q1 most of the time. The regular "Big Signals" fro Europe may be
Q4 when conditions are good. Signals may be copiable on one
listening period, and completely gone when the pileup dissipates
for the next. It's even worse for the Topband brethren to our West,
in what they call the "Black Hole".
"Waiting for the Q5 bump" is not "part of good/sensible/responsible
operating" out here, it's a fantasy.
So, we poor souls in Fly-Over Land listen as best we can, and call
when we feel we can hear a reply. Sometimes QSB allows us to
hear the reply, sometimes it doesn't. Then we wait until we can
hear again, call again, and the sequence starts all over!
BTW, I couldn't hear a peep out of OD5/OK1MU last night, and
didn't call.
73,
Jeff Maass jmaass@columbus.rr.com Located near Columbus Ohio
USPSA # L-1192 NROI/CRO Amateur Radio K8ND
Maass' IPSC Resources Page: http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass
Circleville USPSA/IPSC: http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/pcsiipsc.htm
|