Topband: 160 meter activity

[Bill Cromwell]

On 08/26/2013 12:26 AM, Mike Waters wrote:
> Bill,
>
> The stations on the RBN are automatic, and work even when unattended. 
> They are not like the DX clusters which require a manual post. Call CQ 
> and see. :-)
>
> 73, Mike
> www.w0btu.com <http://www.w0btu.com>
Hi Mike,

Thanks. Yes..I thought everybody who knows what RBN is also knows that 
the stations *automatically* post the information on the RBN server. I 
thought I made an efficient use of words. I did make the call and was 
not heard. I did see some activity on the RBN and I was able to hear the 
North American stations that were posted there AND I heard one or two 
that were NOT posted there. Do they call the receive stations 
"skimmers"? I'm sure the skimmers are 'plagued' with the same noise 
problems all of us face. And there is the matter of 'lobes' in the 
antenna patterns - intentional or not. There are a lot of reasons why 
skimmers might miss some signals. One of them is low power and another 
could involve the antenna. It may not radiate well and it may not 
radiate well in the direction of skimmers that could otherwise hear. Not 
all of the skimmers are on 160 meters.

I hope to be be doing some more serious antenna work before snow. I do 
sometimes get heard and pretty much always - on the other bands with 
that antenna. Meanwhile I will keep trying. Puzzle pieces keep falling 
into place. I discovered a 'bad' patch cord in the station. It was 
obvious instantly when I put it in the antenna circuit. As Tim the 
ToolMan Allen says - Oy?

73,

Bill  KU8H