Topband: Down Under Diary - Baad QRN in VK6

[Steve Ireland]

G'day,

Here close to Perth, Western Australia, we have had a very unusual almost
tropical summer so far, with very high humidity and consequent much higher
QRN levels.  For the last three weeks or so, it has been very hard to
operate in the period before NA sunrise, owing to S9+ static crashes.  It
has been more like living in steamy north Queensland than in dry Perth.

Unfortunately, although the humidity has eased slightly temporarily, we are
now approaching the hottest part of the year (and the CQ 160!), where the
QRN levels tend to go up anyway.

At sunrise, when the QRN tends to die to more bearable levels, openings
into Europe have been poorer than last year and very spotlighty, but when
an opening occurs signals can sometimes peak as high as S9.  Mike GU3WHN
was worked this week at RST 459, with signals peaking S6-7 for country #177.


Vy 73,

Steve, VK6VZ 


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