Topband: Fwd: HK heard in VK6 on 160m over weekend - very difficult path!

[Tree]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Steve Ireland <vk6vz at arach.net.au>
Date: Sun, May 29, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Subject: HK heard in VK6 on 160m over weekend - very difficult path!
To: Tree <tree at kkn.net>


 Hi Tree



Hope all is well with you. Please would you post the following to the
topband reflector – some very unusual propagation from continental South
America into VK6.



-----------------



G’day



The hardest part of the world to work by far from Western Australia is
continental South America, which is directly on the far side of Antarctica
(the south pole) from here.  PY, YV, HK , CE, OA etc are genuinely as rare
as hen’s teeth and I have only ever heard two PY and one YV in 17 years of
operation on the topband from here.  South American stations can be readily
worked from the eastern side of Australia, but from VK6 they are the ‘holy
grail’. ;-)



However, on Friday night (27 May) HK3O was heard for several minutes from
1020Z on 1824kHz by Phil VK6GX and then HK3MW was heard on the following
night from 1012Z until 1027Z on 1823kHz also by Phil.  Both times signals
were about the same strength – S2 to S3 – but readability was good – R4.



As many operators seem to have directional receive antennas these days and
South Americans are not necessarily expecting to hear anything from the
direction of Antarctica, if anyone hears a VK6 calling a South American
station without success, please could they alert the South American station
that they have a ‘VK6’ station calling.  Please don’t give the full VK6
callsign of the station calling – just the prefix – so at least the South
American station can ‘switch’ any receiving antenna they have in this
direction.



Interesting times on the topband – which, from this part of the world, tends
to be better at the top of the solar cycle, rather than at the bottom.



Vy 73



Steve, VK6VZ