Topband: Report from Luis, HC1PF

[Guy Olinger K2AV]

Luis asked me to edit and pass this on. He has been having some
problems with email. 73, Guy

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Hi Topbanders,

This is a summary of my first two months of 160m activity from Ecuador:

More than one thousand QSO's, half of them with NA, 400 with Europe
and 70 with Japan.

The efficiency of the TX antenna, an Inverted L over the K2AV FCP, in
this environment has been a big surprise. I am heard from Ecuador
better than I can hear and to balance the situation I reduce my output
power to 800 watts.

I have a lot of receiving problems here:

1) The expected equatorial noise.

2) BCI from several nearby AM broadcasting stations active in the
upper portion of the medium wave band.

3) My electric security fence which is like a big coil of 5 turns,
each 183 m. long: it affects every kind of receiving antenna.

As documented on several pages on the left column of my website
http://www.iv3prk.it/p1.htm I tried seven different RX antennas.

The rotatable flag always worked the best until I moved the BOG
outside and beyond the power lines and electric fence a wavelength
http://www.iv3prk.it/hc1pf-bog-2.htm.

I have been working hard on solving RX antenna problems but I get
cluster or chat messages and email complaining that I don't hear them.

Guys, I'm trying all my best, but I can't do miracles yet!  Patience
and perseverance is needed on Topband and everyone's time will come.

73,

Luis HC1PF ex IV3PRK

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A post script from the editor:

Luis shared with me some very unkind communications on his RX status
from calling stations that didn't get through, some running low power
and antennas with serious inefficiencies. One memorable complainer
indicated his antenna was an 80 dipole using his transceiver's
autotuner, therefore Luis should have heard him. That would be 100
watts to a very poor 160 TX antenna, where most of the 100 w gets lost
in the coax. Other memorable TX setups: Low power to trapped inverted
V with apex at 13 m (43'), 100 w to OCFD at 10 m (33').

It's one thing to be limited by circumstance to a signal from low
power and an inefficient 160 m antenna. It's quite another to berate
someone else because they can't hear it.

I have been party to his struggles with the noise there. Personally,
myself in his circumstances, by now I might have already given up and
gone back to 40 meters. But Luis is clearly very determined, and at
some point soon I predict he will be the standard HC mult and contact
in any of the contests. Folks, please give him a little room to solve
his really nasty RX issues.

I have worked Luis with 100 w, a ragchew QSO with sentences and
comments, in spite of the QRN, fence, BC stations, but I was using an
L over FCP  :>)

-- Guy