Topband: VP8STI last night - Report from Maryland

[Herbert Schoenbohm]

On 1/23/2016 10:44 AM, Herbert Schoenbohm wrote:
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> Last night I heard so many times that VP8STI repeatedly returned to NA
> callers  and sent the report with no reply. Its with the QSB peaks and
> valleys alone with QRN this is going to be a common problem for those
> hoping for a TB ATNO.  STI is hearing callers with simple Inverted "L"
> and dipoles but the limited RX ability of many callers is unfortunate.
> My suggestion for them is to go to Home Deport or Lowes and buy some
> THHN wire to run a bog SE or SSE  just for this operation. Even some CAT
> 5 Cable using two of the twisted pairs alone with the others floating
> will work.  Even those with small yards can beg the neighbors to run it
> over their picket fence or on the snow this afternoon and terminate it
> with a a 250 ohm resistor to a small 3 or 4 foot  ground rod...even a
> steel pipe is better than nothing.   On the feed end if you don't have a
> ferrite core to make the right feed transformer you might even try a
> direct feed with your coax run back to you Receiver.  It may not be
> pretty but could make the difference between a contact or none. As long
> as you get some noise on RX you will be amazed how the signal from
> VP8STI jumps out of it at times.  The idea is you don't want to have
> other noise pick up from other directions and sources competing with
> it.  To make my point, I listened to VP8STI for hours at 579 and even
> peaking at time higher, but when I switched to my TX vertical antenna
> they were unreadable.
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> If you have time try a BOG and it doesn't have to pretty to work.
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> Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ
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> On 1/22/2016 7:10 PM, Bill Hider wrote:
>>  From Maryland, FM 19:
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>> Armchair copy last nite from 2350Z until 0215Z this morning. Some 
>> fading.
>> With my headphones laying on the bench, they were Q5 solid copy while
>> I was working on other projects waiting for them to call for "NA" 
>> instead of
>> "EU".
>> Never happened.
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>> I stayed & listened until 0215Z when they faded out here.
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>> I'm using a Hi-Z 4-sq.  Azimuth heading to VP8S is 155 Deg. 4-SQ heading
>> used was 134 Deg.
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>> Bill N3RR
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