TopBand: Texas Gulf Coast Report & Sunbelt Absorption

[JPalooka]

Hi Tom and All,
>  Does anyone have any theories on why 160M signals from Europe
>  and Africa often fail to penetrate past the Eastern Time Zone?
>  
>  de  Tom  N4KG
This is the first year in a long time that I've had/spent the desired time
on Top Band. At first, I did not have my packet up after moving back to 
the farm house, so I was not completely aware of others conditions as
I became after having the packet.

The 5A really showed how propagation can jump over/skip a geographic
area.  I was watching spots and hearing stations work 5A2A east, north,
south and west of me, yet I could not hear a peep in central Indiana. Then,
on that wonderful Tuesday evening, they pop in 579 around 0400Z, I work
them and by 0440Z, they were gone again. The gang over in central/eastern
Ohio said they were hearing them often, but never well enough to work them.
Earlier in the season, the west coast was banging away at Europe, while we
never heard a peep here in the midwest.  I had thought, before, that the band
would open to the east coast and gradually open westward, then recede. This
appears to not be the case, atleast this year.  I've experience conditions
this
year where I've beaten the east coast out, not often, but enough to know that
the propagation does not always wave out and then recede. 

There has been some discussion on the E-layer effecting low band propagation
and would like to hear other views on this. I do not have multiple Beverage's
to
check for various paths, so I may have been just missing the correct path at
given times when I thought I did not have propagation.

The Very Best of Season's Greetings to all and 
73 from K8Joe"Palooka" & Beverly,
K8JP, V31JP, VP5/K8JP, VP5JP, K8JP/VA2, ex-K8HKM, ex-KN8HKM
jpalooka@aol.com
K8JP@contesting.com
NIDXA/SMC/ARRL/HIDXA/QCWA
And read "The Contest Traveler" column in the NCJ
[\] NAUI Diver
New snail mail address:
Joe Pontek, K8JP
26441 Devaney Road
Arcadia, IN 46030
U.S.A.
New telephone number:
(317) 984-7388




--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/topband.html
Submissions:              topband@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  topband-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-topband@contesting.com