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Topband: XW4ZW Update

To: TOPBAND@contesting.com
Subject: Topband: XW4ZW Update
From: Ken Claerbout <k4zw@verizon.net>
Reply-to: k4zw@verizon.net
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2016 18:38:35 -0600 (CST)
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
I see now why my original post, from the 18th, didn't show up.  I sent it to 
the wrong address.  It's below.

I can report that the beverage is working very well!  Only thing I can figure 
is that it fills in a gap to the south, where the 4 square pattern falls off.  
Last night the band was rather noisy to the south.  The guys in Bangkok told me 
this morning they had rain so that may explain it.

Nothing left to do but keep plugging away.  I really hope things pick up on 
Topband but I know XW is very rare on 80 as well.  I have 330 plus countries on 
80 from home and still need it.

73
Ken K4ZW/XW4ZW
  
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Hi Gang - quick update on things from Laos. Yesterday I added a few more 
radials to the TX antenna. It's a trapped wire vertical for 80 & 160, full 
size. It now has 32 quarter wave 160 meter radials. As most of you have 
observed, when propagation allows, it's working fine.

I continue to be a little confounded on the receive side of things. For example 
on 80 meters the TX signal is fine into the US but it's real work pulling out 
stations calling. Some of them with big arrays and full power. I don't have a 
high noise problem and there have been no storms in the area. I'm using a 
completely refurbished, by DX Engineering, W8JI 4 square array on receive. 
Maybe more of an RX system than some of the guys hearing me. The F/B on it is 
excellent, on the signals I can hear. That wasn't necessarily the case last 
year. Today I added a second ground rod at each element, not being sure what 
condition the existing ones were in. When I arrived I replaced ALL of the coax 
and control lines. We in effect have a new system now. 

Today I installed a beverage to the south. It's a little short for 160, about 
450'. But it will be interesting to compare it to the 4 square. The rig by the 
way is a Yaesu FT 5000 so I have good hardware. In fact there is a new one 
available and I guess I can always try swapping radios.

All I can say is if you hear me, keep plugging away. At times it feels like I'm 
in a big RF RX hole but one of these days things will break loose. I do have a 
favor to ask. If you worked me last year, please don't make a duplicate QSO. 
Too many people need XW. Sit back, listen, and enjoy knowing you already made 
it into the log. There is a log checker on my QRZ.com page. Logs are uploaded 
daily to K1SE and ARRL LOTW.

As of now, I'm scheduled to fly back to Bangkok on the 23rd. I do have some 
flexibility. Let's see how things go.
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