Topband: CW160

[Gary Smith]

Dave,

I wouldn't say Surprised, more like 
curious. 

Obviously my 5W is not going to break a 
pileup and that's no surprise but when 
contesting stations with low signal levels 
here are working one station right after 
another and when I call & they hear me, 
that's the usual. When a station is coming 
in 10 over & can't hear me no matter how 
many times in the night I go back & try to 
reach them, I have to wonder why that is. 
The hypothesis I entertain is they use 
more power than they need but conditions 
and directive Rx antennas certainly do 
make a difference. 

As to the Clicks, the K3 on this end sure 
is an equalizer. I use the 250Hz filter & 
run the digital filter down to 50 Hz and 
its such a big help, Clicks just aren't an 
issue any more. I loved all of my old 
rigs, especially the Collins S line, but 
there is no comparison to today's 
technology for contesting.

Good luck in the contest & 73,

Gary
KA1J


> I'm not sure why you would be surprised running QRP that stations that were 
> "loud" couldn't hear you.  You're at a 13 db disadvantage at a minimum.  Ad 
> in clix (and there plenty of them) plus QRM the guy is experiencing on the 
> other end. . .and, well, there you are. . .you can't be heard.  That said, 
> it is all still great fun.   Condx to JA from here in Iowa this morning were 
> quite good        73. . . Dave, W0FLS
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Gary Smith" <Gary at ka1j.com>
> To: <Topband at contesting.com>
> Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2016 11:22 AM
> Subject: Re: Topband: CW160
> 
> 
> > Interesting conditions here last night. I
> > heard a whole lot of DX that simply could
> > not hear me. I'm running QRP and don't
> > expect to work everything I hear but one
> > thing for sure, the overall conditions
> > were really nice. It was fun to take a
> > break and listen to EU working other EU &
> > SA and hear both ends of the QSO on 160.
> >
> > Not sure how good the conditions were for
> > everyone though, Herb & I worked but he
> > was one of the very few Caribbean stations
> > I was able to get a Q with. OTOH, I worked
> > several California stations as well as OR
> > & WA so the band was selectively open.
> >
> > An interesting experience is to hear
> > stations who have one of the loudest
> > signals but are unable to hear me. You
> > have to figure their Rx must be difficult,
> > either that or they are running power
> > beyond their ability to hear. I
> > encountered that quite a bit and again,
> > running QRP, often my signal not going to
> > be heard but when someone has such high
> > signal levels here and can't hear me at
> > all, they might want to cut back on their
> > power or, get better a better Rx ability.
> > Maybe their Rx antennas were pointed in
> > another direction?
> >
> > Absolutely not pointing a finger, I just
> > saw that happen so very often. I know if I
> > were running more power, I'd make a whole
> > lot more Qs. Conversely, if they heard
> > better, they would have made a lot more
> > Qs.
> >
> > I'd really like to have the chance to work
> > a 160 at an excellent location with and
> > excellent Tx/Rx set of antennas. Wires in
> > not tall trees are the best I can do and I
> > have so much fun with them. However, it
> > would be nice to experience competition
> > with everything stacked in my favor. I'm
> > sure we all feel that way. Its been years
> > since I was at a super station and I'm
> > ready for that experience again; that was
> > back in 1986 and so long ago that they had
> > just started running CT by K1EA which was
> > first released the year before.
> >
> > Another have at it tonight so maybe I'll
> > pick up some of those stations I couldn't
> > break last night?
> >
> > 73 & good luck,
> >
> > Gary
> > KA1J
> >
> >> Good luck to all!
> >>
> >> 73,
> >>
> >> Gary
> >> KA1J
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