Topband: 160m DX Activity Night

Wed Jan 31 09:19:23 EST 2018

Oh that's AWFUL Don !

Well, as I have said, I am happy to work the same stations as often as
possible ! 

EVERY single DX contact on 160m gives me pleasure - and by DX I mean a long
distance, not some rare island !

I have even called the same station later the same night, to tell them that
they have come up from S6 to S9.

So hopefully most Top Band people feel the same.

73 Roger G3YRO

  _____  

From: Don Kirk [mailto:wd8dsb at gmail.com] 
Sent: 31 January 2018 11:51
To: Roger Kennedy
Cc: topband
Subject: Re: Topband: 160m DX Activity Night

HI Roger, I would like to share something that happened to me a little over
1 year ago on 160 meters that really upset me and it's related to this topic
(I have bitten my lip for a long time, but your recent comment gave me the
courage to come out in the open).  Below is a copy of an e-mail I sent out
to a station in Europe (call sign and country not mentioned to protect the
guilty party, and to also not reduce the number of calls other stations in
that country would then get).  The copy of my e-mail pretty much explains
the situation.

--------------------------------------------

"Sorry to call you today on 160 meters, but you were starting to get very
few callers (actually no one was calling you when I called as far as I could
hear) so I just called you to give you an idea that you were still being
heard in the Midwest USA with pretty good signal.  Matter of fact no one
called you after I did.

You said please don't call again because I was a dupe and that's the first
time (ever) that has happened to me in over 20 years on the top band and 40
years of hamming.  Looks like I worked you two previous times this season.

All the hams I have ever worked on 160 meters like to work the same stations
on different days (especially when things get slow) to help understand band
conditions.

Sorry, and I will try to remember not to work you again on 160 meters.

P.S.  I use paper log except for contests so sorry in advance if I make that
mistake again in the future."
-------------------------------------------

As a result of the above situation I have permanently posted the call sign
of the above station on a sticky label that looks me right in the eye every
time I operate, and it says not to work this call sign again.  I still spot
this station as a courtesy, but I will do my best to never work him again
(regardless of the band).

I am now very gun shy to work stations multiple times on 160 meters in the
same season, but with paper log it's not always easy to do.

Every time I see that "post it note" with the call sign of the station I
should not call, I get a little knot in my stomach (so to speak).

P.S. I never received an e-mail response back from the above mentioned
station in Europe.

FYI,

Don Kirk (wd8dsb)

On Wed, Jan 31, 2018 at 5:03 AM, Roger Kennedy
<roger at wessexproductions.co.uk> wrote:

Well that's interesting that you even ask that !

Personally, I get a buzz out of working ANY DX station on 160m, and North
America is certainly DX on this band.

And it doesn't matter how many times I've worked that station before, it's
still an achievement to me (and as I don't use a Computer Log, unless it's
someone I've worked a lot, I don't usually remember if I've worked them
before anyway).

As far as I'm concerned, working DX means a long distance contact (and on
160m that's anything over 1,000 miles) . . . I'm not even bothered about
working a station on some rare island, when I could be working a station
that's further away - that to me again is more of an achievement!

In terms of whether conditions are good when you come on the band on a
Wednesday, well you'd soon find out !

I personally will come on tonight about 0000Z . . . usually for about an
hour . . . and then again about 0300Z, to see if there's stations further
west.  (there seems no point in coming on at our Sunrise, around 0730, as
there is actually NO peak in signal these days)

Roger G3YRO

  _____

From: Mark K3MSB [mailto:mark.k3msb at gmail.com]
Sent: 31 January 2018 01:20
To: Roger Kennedy
Cc: topBand List
Subject: Re: Topband: 160m DX Activity Night

So what's the accepted practice of working stations again and again on 160M?

If I've worked you once or twice in the past I won't answer your CQ, unless
you're CQing with no responses, but then probably not.    I've found in the
past that ops don't want repeat customers,  they want fresh fish.

I've been doing other thingsin the shack and have heard EU stations CQing
and CQing on TB but I don't answer as they're in my log quite a few times.
Should I answer?

73 Mark K3MSB

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