Topband: Conditions Mar 12/13

[Bill Tippett]

From: "Robin" <wb6tza at socal.rr.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:26:05 -0700
Subject: Re: Topband: Conditions Mar 12/13

The low dipole for receive has become a primary receive antenna for many
southern Asia folks, and has accounted for quite a number of QSOS that
otherwise would not have happened.  It sounds to me like you were
encountering some of the skew path class of propagation, and there is
considerable anecdotal evidence that such paths are very high angle at one,
and sometimes both, ends of the path.  If you can hang a cloud warmer
dipole from the top of your tower for Transmit, you may find it superior
under some "disturbed" or unusual conditions, most especially right at your
sunset.

It is interesting that it did not appear that we encountered much, if any,
unusual mode propagation from VP6DX, quite likely because few of our paths
went close to the polar oval.  From XZ0A, almost everything in the first
1-2 hours every night was skewed radically, and required the low dipole for
receive.  Those paths were all pushing through the polar oval, and at a
solar maxima, so different parameters apply.

Even so, if you will note the comments in several places from VP6DX, the
160 band was full of signals a couple hours before sunset, but it was near
impossible to get anyone's attention.  During the voyage up from ZL, about
in the middle of the ocean between ZL and Mangareva, on the Saturday of the
CQ160 CW contest, I copied 100 callsigns in 45 minutes of listening while
in hard sunlight - about 1 hour before sunset.  All signals were moderately
strong, and not limited to big guns.  A significant number of these were
copied by simply listening to both sides of the exchanges with some of the
CQ machines.

Robin, WA6CDR.
(VP6DX, XZ0A)