Topband: Boring Report - December

[Charlie Young]

This is my 3rd season on 160, so we don't have years of experience.  Since coming on the band  October 24, 2008, I have been listening my mornings and evenings over 95% of the time.   This season we got on 160 a bit earlier than previous years, about the first week of September.  Conditions were much better than we expected, both to EU and especially VK/ZL.  Perhaps the VK/ZL condx were seasonal, and I missed the best times in the previous years by getting on later.  My impression of September condx to EU is they were better than in December at my location. 
 
Most nights, I can hear and work the "beacon" stations from EU here in WV but the next tier of stations is missing.  Clearly, conditions now are nothing like 08/09 and 09/10.  Many nights even the beacon stations can't be copied.  To put the difference between this year and the previous two years in perspective, it would probably take several years under the present condx to work as many countries as we worked in 60 days during Oct/January 2008.  There is just no comparison. 
 
There have been highlights this season, spot openings to several of the DXpeditions.  Without this, 160 would have been "boring" for sure. 
 
There are only a couple of JA's in the log this year and only a couple of UA9/UA0 stations, well down from the previous two years.  We were fortunate to catch a spotlight to JD1BMH for a new one, but most mornings I have not been able to hear Harry.  
 
Hopefully condx will improve but I don't know what to expect. 
 
73 Chas N8RR     
 
> Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 08:17:14 -0800
> From: tree at kkn.net
> To: topband at contesting.com
> Subject: Topband: Boring Report - December
> 
> 
> Simply put - Decemeber was not very exciting... dare I say almost
> boring?
> 
> While I have been able to hear and work some Europeans during the 
> month - signals have been down significantly from normal. Most
> nights - I either hear nothing - or perhaps only a few weak signals.
> Most of my contacts have been made by the "skin of my teeth" and
> there have not been any opportunities to run stations. While I have
> worked a few stations in the morning - the mornings in the past two
> years were much better.
> 
> All of this sort of adds to me thinking conditions are significantly
> worse than they were the past couple or years. Likely worse than 
> they have been since 2006. 
> 
> Just wondering if this matches the perception of others? Looking 
> back in my logs - it's amazing to me that I actually went through
> several years of working zero Europeans - but it appears we might
> be on the brink of this happening again?
> 
> 73 Tree N6TR
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK