Topband: Notes on early JA to East Coast QSO's

[John Kaufmann]

W2pm at aol.com wrote: 

> Im just depressed as I can't hear anything when you boys are working those guys..  

Working JA from the east coast is NEVER easy.  It's all about timing.  With the exception of those few outstanding years I mentioned before, there are typically just a very few days each year when there is JA propagation here, generally in December-January.  You have to be on EVERY morning, hoping to hit one of the right days.  Then when the right day comes along, there's just a very short window, maybe 10 to 20 minutes long, when the JA's are workable, usually starting just before sunrise.  There's also an element of luck, as well as some skill, in breaking the piles because people to the west almost always have better propagation.  However, I've managed to sneak in a few JA QSO's over the years because the JA's would standby specifically for W1's.  Good luck!

73, John W1FV