TopBand: Activity last evening

[Raymond Dave-CSUS04]

I finally got a 160 mtr antenna up yesterday and returned to activity on
this great band after a 9 year absence.  I hung a 132' vertical wire
(actually half of a dipole) off the 120' guy ring on the tower with the
other half of the dipole being an elevated radial (unfortunately
pointing SSE).  I also have the first 580' beverage up on Europe.

Boy, was I surprised at the activity level!  At times, it almost sounded
like 20 mtrs.  My first qso with the new antenna was at 0019z with
WA2VUY/VE9 on SSB.  Then the following on cw:

	0032z	G3FPQ
	0051z	DJ7AA
	0138z	GM4BES
	0252z	G3SED
	0301z	HA8BE
	0404z	DF2PY
	0415z	LA1VFA
	0431z	OH3ES
	0439z	DL7DF/HR3
	0500z	OK1AWZ
	0503z	SM5EDX
	0505z	G3DBN

I had company, so was in and out of the shack during the evening.
Unfortunately, I missed the 4X4.  DF2PY gets the award for the biggest
signal.  At times, on the tx antenna, he was peaking +10/S9. Perhaps the
most interesting thing is that, with the exception of DF2PY, I would
probably not have been able to work hardly any of these stations without
the beverage.  The beverage works very well on 80 as well as an adjunct
o the 4 square.  It even occasionally hears better than the yagi at
130' on 40 meters.

73. . . see you in the test from N0NI,

Dave, W0FLS
Iowa



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