Topband: CQ 160 Contest _ updated

[Shoppa, Tim]

The reason we have split on 40M is only lack of a coordinated band plan between EU and W/VE. It is far and away not a desirable situation. I have been a ham who regards 40M as his home stomping grounds for (lets count them) 5 different calendar decades now. I have seen the SW BC stations mostly leave, and this has helped enormously. I hope that before I die that 40M bandplans are rationalized. Even though the split is most obvious on phone, it unnaturally constrains CW operations too. Holding a run freq without a kilowatt in a 40M DX test is nigh impossible and this hurts rates on both sides of the pond.

The 1810 "wall" is unfortunate for EU's. On our side of the pond, we have 160M phone guys from 1855 or so up, and that's less of a wall but still there. Again, we need rationalized band plans. Every time I meet anyone having anything to do with IARU/ITU I ask, "what can I do to help?", and I will now include 160M rationalization as well as 40M rationalization.

I would not encourage split on 160 during a contest except maybe for DXpeditions that actually followed a well announced narrow split. Certainly having two dxpeditions split and within a few kHz of each other, is a complete disaster, even on the high bands. There's no good reason why a DXpedition should mess up 5, 10, 15 kc of spectrum during a high usage period. A think a narrow split could work.

P.S.... Todd WD0T (SD) and others are on 80M CW every Thursday night (your Friday AM) circa 0250Z in the "NS sprint". Sometimes we have EU participants join in, and appreciate them!

Tim N3QE

-----Original Message-----
From: Topband [mailto:topband-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of dl1amq at web.de
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 1:04 PM
To: topband at contesting.com
Subject: Topband: CQ 160 Contest _ updated

Heard/worked W/K best on Sunday morning during 1 hour before SR here (06.55z), time frame 27. Jan 06z - 07z. 
Went west up to the border between zones ITU-7/ITU-8 (TN, MI, OH, WV, IL, WI, KY, IN).
Farest west was K0DI in NE.
All time before was disappointing.

I heard much more W/K but was unable to deciffer them or hear exchanges due to VY much and VY strong EUs nearby working EUs or calling CQ side by side up to 1.880 kc ... Didn't know yet how much EUs are active on TopBand. To overcome this situation we should think about split as we did on 40m some years before. W/K should calling DX in the range of 1.800 ... 1.810 kc and listen above 1.810 kc or so. Heard several W/K below 1.810 kc. But also heard EUs answering them while out of the band.

Any better proposal, please ?

73 de Thomas, DL1AMQ.

by the way: still need SD and NV on 80m to complete WAS at 80m and 5BWAS and hope to find some in ARRL CW Contest. 
    

> Gesendet: Montag, 28. Januar 2013 um 08:42 Uhr
> Von: "Henk PA5KT" <pa5kt at remijn.net>
> An: topband at contesting.com
> Betreff: Re: Topband: CQ 160 Contest
>
> I was only active from Saturday evening on.
> Had the idea that there were more participants as last years.
> 
> About the DX, I did not hear a lot of asian stations, and those that I 
> hear were very weak. Did not work Japan.
> Till about 02:00 UTC I did only work 5 NA stations, and signals were 
> not good.
> I took a break and from 03:00 I was on again. After that time I worked 
> several eastcoast NA.
> Signals were like on 20m. But almost no midwest.
> 
>  From half hour before sunrise (sunrise at 07:30) I also worked AZ and 
> CA and several caribbean stations. Signals like 20m.
> 
> After sunrise band closed pretty fast. Last dx at 07:33 with W0AIH.
> I stopped at 07:45.
> 
> Sunday evening was the same, only EU no Asia, only some middle east 
> heard. (Not worked as too many stations only calling and not listening).
> 
> I did work 2 TX stations, but used to work more.
> 
> 73 Henk PA5KT
> 
> Op 28-1-2013 1:45, Mike(W5UC) & Kathy (K5MWH) schreef:
> > The CQ 160 contest was a large disappointment this year here in EM21. 
> > At least at this location, Europe was weak or not heard. Please, I 
> > would like to know what others were hearing.  I saw few, if any EU 
> > postings on VE7CC from others in this area.
> >
> > At least I am enjoying the winter.  It was a frigid 78 degrees F 
> > here in EM21pi today. (No, that's not a typo)
> >
> > 73,
> > Mike, W5UC
> > _________________
> > Topband Reflector
> >
> 
> _________________
> Topband Reflector
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