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Re: Topband: Working 'long' distances on 160m

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Working 'long' distances on 160m
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2022 11:41:21 -0700
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
Excellent post, Grant, key points of which were driven home to me by O(T Topbander NI6T not long after I moved to NorCal from Chicago.

It's not the miles, it's the path.

73, Jim K9YC

On 9/25/2022 7:25 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
My perspective as originally a "1" in Boston and now residing near Seattle, is the nickname "suffering sevens" is well applied to my friends here in the Pacific Northwest.

Simply, for the PNW, distance isn't that meaningful - it's path that matters (and latitude).  What was easy in Boston at 42N is very hard in Seattle at 48N re EU on both 80 and 160.  The path is mostly over land or ice and usually thru or around the edge of the aurora zone.  Arrival angles for 80 peak at less than 10*.  OTOH, JA's- yawn.  Almost exactly the same 4790 miles either way, Seattle to Tokyo or London.

So when you hear a "suffering seven" in EU, reach out.  We also get a chuckle when "the band is open" messages get posted from EU and what we hear is only noise.

I did get TB DXCC, all from PNW since 2018, so am not complaining. Just want some more ;) .

Grant KZ1W

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