Topband: First west coast 03/04

[Bill Tippett <btippett@alum.mit.edu>]

        Very good conditions here on the East Coast also!
I was only QRV from about 00-02 but there was a lot of activity
including some Russians I had not heard before (e.g. RZ6ASO).
Got the following E-mail from EI3GZ and note his antenna!  Notes
like this are what make Topband so special IMHO.


Dear William,
Hi from Ireland,just a note to thank you for the contact on top band last
night only my second in the united states so i was very happy to make it
across the pond. your signal was very loud and clear and i think band
conditions were very good,hope it stays that way.

<picture removed - whip against side of his house>

The antenna here is a Helical mode whip which i scaled up from a 80 meter
design, it is 15 feet long fed against 3 copper wires of 15 feet each.I
have enclosed a picture of it .
All the best of dx this season,and again many thanks.

Yours in radio,
John o sullivan.

        Got up this morning hoping to hear BQ9P but no luck even though
many JA's were coming in well.  Heard him direct path yesterday briefly
but not strong enough to call.  Yesterday he was best direct even though
his signal on 80 was best long path.  It seemed like both stations on 80/160
went QRT around 1100 well before our sunrise.

        Finished the day by working YJ0AMY about 15 minutes past my
sunrise.  These good conditions may be due in part to very low geomagnetic
field activity we've enjoyed the past few days:

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html

Let's hope they continue for the remainder of BQ9P's operation!

                                73,  Bill  W4ZV 

_______________________________________________
Topband mailing list
Topband@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/topband