Topband: W1BB

[Tree]

It's great to see this discussion come up.

One call I saw mentioned was PY1RO (the person who provided some of the
data on W1BB to K1ZM).  I have found memories of a QSO I had with Rolf back
in 1977 during the ARRL DX Contest.  I was operating from K6AC - a station
that had no 160 meter antenna.  I put up a dipole as high as I could - but
it wasn't more than 70 feet tall at its highest point (which was not the
feedpoint).  I had no idea how well the antenna would work - but went down
to 160 meters around 0330 UTC and tuned around.

I found PY1RO with a solid signal and he came right back to me.  I was
stunned.

A few other DX callsigns from the 70's that many of us worked include
VS6DO, JA3ONB and of course JA5DQH from the various places he visited with
his "Aki special".

One other historical point is a talk W6NJU (later KI6T and now an SK) made
at our local radio club about the DX he was working on 160 meters.  This is
around 1970 as I remember and it helped get me hooked on the band.

Tree N6TR

On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 8:19 AM, Gary Smith <Gary at ka1j.com> wrote:

> I'd like to thank everyone for their really helpful on & off list
> replies to my question about W1BB, no, not K1BB... :) I'm not as
> accurate as I remember being before... ;)
>
> I'm a relative active newcomer to Top Band, getting on from this
> location in 07 and it took till 2010 to get the sloper and radials
> down, 2012 before getting the HI-Z triangular. Before that I was on
> for only one year, in 94 when I had a 110' tower in Illinois and made
> a shortened delta for 160, center base fed and ran that from the
> tower and adjusted the frequency by a Vac Variable controlled by
> servos. But that was it.
>
> I'd heard so much about Stew Perry, the contest. Someone once sent a
> link to a photo of the water tower in MA but I had no idea of what
> the significance was and all the discussion here has been for the
> most part about the contest as most everyone here already knew about
> the man himself & why the contest was named for him. I never bothered
> to ask and just let it go by as another contest & I am more a
> contester & DXer than a ragchewer though a good ragchew always makes
> for a good day.
>
> Thanks for the info about Jeff's book, DXing on the edge. I just
> ordered it this morning from Universal Radio using the link Jim K1PX
> provided. As was suggested, Amazon had it as well but used which is
> fine but for a bit more, I bought a new one.
>
> http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/books/3716.html
>
> I don't read that easily any more, had shingles of some of the
> cranial nerves last year (Ramsay Hunt) and it's affected my ability
> to readily focus up close, among other things but I'm looking forward
> to going through this apparently very substantial book, cover to
> cover.
>
> Thanks again for the abundance of great replies and links.
>
> 73 & HNY,
>
> Gary
> KA1J
>
> _________________
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