George is correct.
I worked TX5S on 80m CW roughly this time yesterday..maybe + 1.5 - 2
hours..and well before SS on Clipperton.
EY8MM was the (uFB) op.
He sure wasn't vy loud, but was working them at 36-37wpm and 2-3-4 per
minute all along the East Coast of the USA and CDN Maritimes. I don't think
I saw any RBN spots early on and pretty sure he CQ'd enough to hit some
skimmers up in New England. My 4-sq tends to hear pretty well.
As an aside, I am pleased & happy it was Nodir at the key. I got to pay him
back for a new one I gave him (Sable @ CY0AA) in 1996.
Good Karma is wonderful! I only feel sorry for all the DQRM they are
enduring. The World has slipped in good operating practices, that's for
sure.
Mike VE9AA
On RBN Sensitivity/Antennas:
Whenever I CQ-d from any of our Pacific operations -- FO/M, FO, VP6A, E51D,
KH8, KH8S -- I always had the RBN screen on. Most of the time I would be
working stations in the mid-west, or even the East Coast, before the first
RBN report would pop up, if at all. As Steve points out, they do not have
high performance RX antennas for 160 m and you can not rely on them to
indicate weak openings. Of course, if you see your call on the RBN, the band
is solidly open.
73,
George
Mike - Keswick Ridge, NB, Canada
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