Topband: CQing and Clustering

[Ward Silver]

> DX clusters could also be a factor: i.e. fewer stations 
> are scanning the band. Rather, they rely on cluster 
> postings. Often, I call CQ for many minutes with no 
> response, but once I am spotted, activity perks up 
> quickly. Also, with fewer stations scanning the band, 
> there is an increased likelyhood of short openings being 
> missed. What will happen when everybody will be waiting 
> for somebody else's posting to get on the air?
> 
> George, AA7JV

On the other hand, if Skimmer spots are fed into the clusters (as they almost surely already are and will be) a few CQ's should get the calling station noticed worldwide in less than a minute.  Of course, that kinda takes a bunch of the fun out of pulling a needle out of the haystack of noise before anybody else.  It's a bit of a commentary on the hybridization of wireless, signal processing, and the global network.

73, Ward N0AX