Topband: Boring Report (and answer to trivia question)

[Tree]

I have been getting up most mornings around 1330 UTC and warming up the shack
by CQing up around 1832 khz (plus or minus).  With the bad weather, I have been
staying home from work and was able to stay on until sunrise.  

Some mornings, a handful of Europeans make it into the log.  This morning, only
a very weak OH2BO made it before I had to get ready for work.  I keep hoping that
there will be a big opening similar to the one I had on 22-November.  

This opening in the morning seems to peak about an hour before sunrise.

Last night - I was able to work RA4LW 10 minutes before sunset.  After that, the 
band seemed to go flat and I didn't hear any other Europeans.  This pattern seems
to happen often - where I can work Vlad early - but then nothing.  This speaks
well to his station - but perhaps also for making the QSO early before the worst
part of the aurora comes around (since it is worse on the midnight side of the 
planet it seems).  It is interesting to note that yesterday, I worked Vlad 5 
minutes after sunrise and then again 10 minutes before sunset!

I see the list of plaques for the Stew Perry contest is growing!!  Thanks to
all for your support.  Contact Lew, W7EW, if you would like to sponsor one. 
Yes - you can win the one your sponsor - so if you need some hardwood for the
shack wall - dream up a category that only you can win - and it shall be so!!

Okay - now the part you have been reading this for - the answer to yesterday's
trivia question.  There would some good guesses out there.  It is interesting
to see how the perspective changes as you move around to different parts of 
the world.  

First off - Europe is like about 5000 miles away from me on the polar path.
It's about the same distance as Japan.  The reason it seems furthur is that
we have to go over the aurora oval.  So - most anything in the northern 
hemisphere is closer than 7000 miles from me.

And actually - I probably have more like 200 plus QSOs with this guy if I go 
back into the 1980's before I had computer logging.  I know he used to have 
a daily schedule with VE7BS - that they kept going for some number of years.  

This person fights fires while most of us are looking at snow - and also 
sells really like looking coils for your hi-Z matching purposes on ebay.  
During the months of August and September, I think I can probably work 
this guy with 10 watts and a low dipole.

I speak of none other than Bob, VK3ZL, who has the topband disease worse 
than I do (http://web.jzap.com/n6tr/tbdisease.html).

73 Tree N6TR/7
tree at kkn.net