TopBand: torchlight opening S21 to G land

[Bob G3REP]

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Hi Guys
Dhaka, Bangladesh

The following may seem a bit tame compared to KWs and quarter wave verticals
but I am struggling here to maintain a sensible effort to activate Topband
from
the suburbs of elecrically noisey Dhaka, then all of a sudden ones meagre
efforts get rewarded!!

NOTE  my receive noise level on 1.8MHz is running S9+20db on the TS430 S
meter. 


S21YP Log 
date 1 March 23.24hrs

I woke up just before the prayer call and thought I would check the bands.
Normally about this time 7 MHz is wide open but full of too many stations and
difficult to be heard in EU.

I checked 14MHz, totally devoid of signals but high noise level (S7-8) !! 
10MHz was the same
checked 7MHz  again high noise level and a few signals but too noisy to
bother,
3.5MHz again seem noisey
checked 1.8MHz since I worked some UA9s the night before.
could not hear any signals (carriers)  noise level the usual S9+20dB 
then heard a carrier tuning up on 1.824 wondered how local it was since it
sounded near, possibly 9M2AX I thought, 

then could not believe G3JMJ calling CQ!!  The band was totally devoid of any
other signals above the noise level.  

He was a solid signal and pushing the noise level back, he came straight back
and I  then worked John G3PQA who was definately about 1 Spt down on JMJ!! 
then G3FPQ who was a fraction stronger than PQA.

This was an E mail I got from John G3PQA

Bob,
What a surprise!
Your signal was excellent peaking an audible 579 for both Roger VE3ZI 
and myself who after an evening out turned on the rig and heard you
working Don G3JMJ with no takers except us afterwards!
(Roger was visiting on way back to Canada - I drove him to Heathrow at
0630 this am)
Your signal declined slowly after 2330 but very pleased to QSO and you
found a better location!  

<<John mistakenly thought I had been able to relocate my QTH to somewhere
quieter!!>>

73's
John

His reply to my mail above:

Bob, 
Yes, one of those fantastic openings to the east on 160m. 
Quite amazing you were at home and only using a vertical dummy load - 
the local soil conductivity must be pretty good! 

However, condx were declining and that may explain part of the 
difference in signal strengths. I would have expected to be 1 to 2 S points
down on FPQ 
because he has a phased antenna, but you had almost faded out when you 
worked him. 
Don G3JMJ is in south Kent and has a 60 or 70 ft vertical in the clear - 
and probably a lot less power HI. The last time I spoke he was only 
using 100w, but I dont believe there was 10dB difference because 10dB on 
top band sounds like 20 HI. 

73's 
John 
G3PQA

>>
Sorry that I seem so agast at being able to work G Land from S21 But there
were
no other signals audible so I can only think it was spotlight/torchlight type
propagation 1 hour before sunrise.  Sunrise does not work that well from the
tropics!!
 These three QSOs increased my 160m QSO count from 5 to 8 !!!

My bedroom/shack is on the first floor and the feeder goes out under the
balcony door, on to the roof  and up the bamboo to the centre of the 80/40m
trap vertical.  I have only been able to source CATV coax as the feeder.  To
run it as a vertical I lift off the coax screen and just feed the centre.  (or
as John said a vertical dummy load!!)

Thanks all, sorry about the bandwidth still chuckling here!!
Best 73s


Bob Parkes
S21YP/G3REP


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