Topband: An observation about Topband contesting technique

[PaulKB8N at aol.com]

I'm also sure that you cannot equate signal strength between stations in  
the same general vicinity.  I've heard and worked stations that others in  
the area couldn't, and vice-versa.  Not an unusual phenomenon at all.   I 
listened to a couple big guns in the area during ARRL160, and they  sometimes 
struggled to copy stations that were solid Q5 here.
 
Just part of the "Magic".
 
Paul, K5AF
 
 
In a message dated 12/6/2011 9:06:28 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
tshoppa at wmata.com writes:

>  These stations aren't crocodiles - many are in the
> super station  category and definitely have the "ears" to hear me. This
> seems to be a  matter of operating technique, not technology.
> [...]
> Last  night I worked 19 of the 26 stations I called on the east coast. The
>  others should have been hearing me just as well. I seriously doubt it  
was
> their ears were the problem as they were all big  stations.

Just a heads up on what was going on, on this side of the  pond:

Conditions from East Coast US (Maryland) to West Coast US were  very 
unoptimal.

Those west coast multipliers are very valuable and  there's a bunch of them 
that were a struggle to get from the east  coast.

I am sure many of the big guns who were calling but didn't hear  you, had 
their receive antenna pointed towards the West Coast of the  US.

I know for example that I tried to work N8OO on multiple occasions  but he 
couldn't hear me at all. I'm quite certain (from the stations he was  
working) he had a very effective receive antenna pointed squarely towards  
California.

Tim N3QE  Maryland
_______________________________________________
UR RST IS ...  ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK