TopBand: ZS8IR

[Chris R. Burger]

Chris's 160 m antenna broke down again, in the midst of a snowstorm.  
He will fix it as soon as possible.  He is regularly on the air 
before sunrise, but the combination of lousy conditions and a high 
noise level has precluded any contacts for several days.

I've shipped a beefy antenna tuner (obtained for him by WB0HBS) for 
his use during the crew changeover.  The ship is arriving at the 
island early in May, at which point Chris will attempt to fire up the 
Rhombic antennas.

The Rhombics currently present an akward impedance, limiting his 
power output to something like 200 W.  Hopefully, the Rhombics will 
provide some gain and allow him to run more power.  I'll announce 
operating dates once they are known.

QSLs are up to date for everything received up to the end of 
February.  A few potential "not in log" cases are being investigated. 
Unfortunately, the time distribution indicates that there were 
instances of piracy, especially early in the operation.  So, there 
are individuals that thought they had a solid QSO, that actually 
worked someone else.  I will publish a full list of all contacts 
(including high bands) soon, so that everyone can check if they are 
in the log.  I will also publish a list of the "not in log" cards 
still being processed.  My idea is to do this before his final burst 
of activity, so that we can avoid duplicates to the greatest extent 
possible.

The remaining QSL requests will be answered during April.

Chris R. Burger
QSL Manager for ZS8IR

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