Hello Top Banders,
It has taken several months of operation to confirm what I suspected all along,
a move 35 miles closer to the equator has landed me in a real propagation black
hole. This weekend's contest, and the SP a few weeks ago, both have given me
statistical proof that YB5 is much worse for 160m than the apartment location
in 9V just a chipshot to the north.
Examples:
2005 CQ 160 CW: (9V1GO)
122 QSOs. 1069 QSO points
48 Multipliers
51312 Claimed score
2006 CQ 160 CW: (YB5AQB)
35 QSOs. 311 QSO points
17 Multipliers
5287 Claimed score
About 10% of last year's score was all that could be mustered this year. This
is with the same equipment, better antennas, and the same hours of operation.
Propagation was a bit down the first night, but a second night opening to the
west coast netted several OR and WA with real 599 signals. Europe was the
usual wall to wall alligators as has been the case for the past few years from
both YB and 9V. In short, typical conditions for a contest weekend on TB.
In the SP 2004 44 Q's with the majority long haul compared with 22 Q's and a
much bigger struggle in 2005.
The receive antennas now are beverages that hear well (but have to be put up
every weekend as the locals steal the antennas and use it to wire their illegal
squatter shacks or sell it). The TX antenna is an inverted L up 20m and out
20m and a fair number of radials. In Singapore only a low RX dipole on the
roof and a TX wire out the kitchen window did far better.
Even the YB5 DXCC total is about 50% (56 DXCC/21 Zones) of the 9V at this stage
of the operations (94 DXCC/29 Zones) at the 12 month mark.
This is not an observation, it is a moan. The ears still get shredded by S8
static crashes about every night, QSB is still a big problem, it is just that
the rewards have reached a point of diminishing return.
Ain't Tob Band grand!
CU on weekends, things have to get better.
73
Bob
YB5AQB/9V1GO
(Sent from my GPRS mobile)
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