Topband: Monopole Elev Pattern w.r.t. Earth Conductivity

[Herb Schoenbohm]

Qualitative or Quantitative...Let me get this straight.  If I call CQ 
and the band is open to Europe on 160 and nobody replies after a couple 
of hours with my TX antenna #1 with no replies and after switching to 
antenna #2 I work a dozen stations in rapid succession, that should tell 
me something.  A good way to test a TX antenna is to listen to one of 
the many SDR receivers available on line and you can her the A/B results 
for yourself without the G5RV effect. But again is all relative. For 
example after calling TT8TT on 80 CW night after night without a reply 
(a total of 14 nights without a contact) using full power and a 1/4 
vertical with radials,  I decide to listen to the "up" frequencies to 
see if there was an EU wall were I could find a hole to call on.  
Amazing there I was, as strong as the Eu's calling TT8TT with a Eu SDR 
online RX located in Europe.  But why could the TT8TT op not here me 
after calling him from 2300 till 0245 (his SR)?

  Here are some options to consider:

(1) His RX antenna was so directional that the Caribbean and SA were not 
favored on RX as we were in the null.
(2) He was just ignoring me for calling him on the same frequency of the 
station he just worked.
(3) he was playing Russian Roulette after each contact.
(4) Like the ST0R TB operation, 160 was really an after thought "drive 
by" consideration, where quantity of contacts was more important than 
the fine wine quality of working the deserving on TB.  (IMHO one West 
coast contact on TB from Africa is worth 100 East coast big guns QSO's)
(5) He refused to give directional calls QRZ NA for fear of making his 
Euro buddies upset even if it was only for.a few minutes.


Any ideas?


Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ


> Why we are talking about A B test knowing that the ionospheric signal is fading up and down at least 10dB!?
> This can be verified by anybody having a stable carrier as a receiving signal and monitor it for few minutes...
>
> For a proper A B test one should switch A B very fast and record synchronously the amplitude! This is the only A B test that can be made (with low cost setups).
> This way, could be helpful a read of Dike receiver (radio astronomy).
>
> The above discussion is valid if we are talking about quantitative measurement, not qualitative.
>
> Every time we ask the DX station operator to read his/her S-meter in an A B test, we will have at best a qualitative result, doesn't matter how fast we'll do it.
>
> 73 de YO3FFF
> Cristi
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