Topband: DX Window

[Tom W8JI]

> If you put a couple dozen strong EU stations CQ'ing in the Window then 
> they
> can hardly hear the USA callers as they are all QRM'ing each other.
>
> "Back in the Day" many of the QSO's were done Split due to power limits in
> many countries as well as frequency allocation in many countries. Then the
> "Window" made a bit more sense.
>

A Window still makes absolute sense today. Power levels did not change a 
thing, because power went up on both ends of the path. Most of Europe 
increased around 16dB, and the USA increased around 12dB. Since the Window's 
function is to limit local QRM, and since local and DX signals are stronger 
by about the same amount, nothing changed with power.

>From past experience here, simplex or a non-window plan is only a good idea 
for people who have clear shots, or people who rarely or never work DX on 
crowded nights. By clear shots, I mean people who are located where very few 
strong signals are between them and the DX.

I thought the entire 160 bandplan group made a tremendous mistake in getting 
rid of the DX Window. I believe the plan failed to consider anyone's 
interest, other than the viewpoint large east coast stations. Since most of 
the influence is from east coast stations and big guns, the people away from 
the coast, in particular with smaller or modest stations, are out of luck.

73 Tom