Topband: JA sp/lp from east coast

[Jim Jarvis]

N1BUG's post concerning a JA sked raises a question.

My first JA qso's on 40 and 80, from a modest station, 
were long path.  This occurs in December/January, when
east coast US sunset and JA dawn coincide.  On 40, the 
opening runs from 5 minutes to maybe 30 minutes on 21 Dec, 
and then back down to a few mins by the end of January.
Signals, at the peak, are many times louder than on the short
path.  Above S9 at times.  

I've never had more than a GP on 40 or 80 for this opening,
and those with large antennas pointed SE will enjoy longer
openings.  

So the question:  What has the top band experience been?  
When I was in Vermont, with a full sized elevated 1.8MHz GP,
I listened on 160 whenever 80 was open and I could work folks LP.  
Never heard anything topband, and suspected that was because nobody 
was there to be heard.

Comments?

n2ea
jimjarvis at ieee.org