Topband: Correlation

[Bill Tippett]

At 12:30 PM 3/8/04, you wrote:
>I have a question.  You data is interesting, but I'm curious whether you
>accounted for increased participation due to higher bands not being very
>good.  Your high participation could have been partly due to being
>"the only game in town".  How does one factor this into the data?

         Bob, there is probably no way to totally eliminate that factor,
although it is unlikely that 160 is ever "the only game in town" since
40 and 80 are also good during low sunspot cycles.  Perhaps a
better measure than DX QSO's would have been countries and zones
worked, but we did not check that.  Take my word for it, conditions
on 160 during cycle lows are MUCH better than during cycle highs.
Signal strengths are several S-units stronger.  For example, I heard
KL7J 589 yesterday...stronger than I've heard him in several years,
but it will get even better as we go into the 2006/2007 minimum.

                                         73,  Bill W4ZV