On 12/11/2013 11:54 AM, Ray Benny wrote:
I find that It makes a difference being further South and East. I worked
only one EU in 30 years in So, Calif on 160m. I didn't have a great station
but we just don't have the EU opening in CA.
Now, being 400 miles East of So. CA. in Central Arizona, just North of
Prescott, I've made well over 250 EU contacts since 2009. Many are with the
same strong EU stations, but my DXCC count has gone from 50 or so entities
to about 170! The major factor, I believe, is that my path to EU 160m just
skirts the Aurora zone, while the Calif it doesn't.
I agree with your analysis, Ray, and so do other very smart NorCal
DXers. There's also a significant difference between NorCal and OR/WA.
I don't have a guess I trust as to why.
But yet, stations further East or South of me, even by 200 miles, do
better. The further East the better, and being in New England or further NE
is the best, at least, most of the time. The W6's do have a better Asia
that us, but we still do well.
Yes. And there's also a bit of what I call "spotlight effect" -- sort of
like the sun peeking through a small opening in fairly dense clouds. I
find that, in general, when I can work EU or AF on 160M, those in Zone 5
cannot, for whatever reason. When I moved here in 2006, my neighbor
K6XX, who has a superb contesting station 3 miles N of me at the top of
the ridge over which I must work northern EU, told me that we hear EU on
160 here only a few nights a year. Since moving here in 2006, I've
worked (and confirmed) 16 countries in EU on Topband, and nearly all
were worked near the bottom of the solar cycle.
73, Jim K9YC
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