Topband: KH1/KH7Z was a tough go

[terry burge]

I see this stuff about how easy or difficult the KH1 operation was to work. I'm on the west coast in northwestern Oregon and I personally found them one of the worst operations to hear from the Pacific I've ever worked. Worked them on 80 and 40 for ATNO and on 20 and 17 too. The 80 meter contact was one of the hardest I've had on that band as they kept dropping into the noise floor. And I've had some pretty difficult contacts on 80 meter before but KH1/KH7Z is right up there with the hardest. These were all SSB contacts. I spent a lot of time trying to work them on 12 meters and some on 15 meters too. On 15 I should have managed to work them but they apparently went QRT right when they were coming up and I lost my chance. Didn't really need them on 15 having worked K1B on 20/17/15/10 back in 2002.


One thing I was blown away with was I worked E51JD, Jim on Raratonga, South Cook Islands with a good 57 or better signal but the KH1 was near impossible to hear on 15 meters at the same time. Judging from the map I don't think E51 and KH1 are all that far apart but the propagation sure was different. I'd guess about 1000 miles apart at the most but much closer to the equator. The Pacific is a big ocean we all know. On 12 meters I never did hear him on SSB. They would of been an ATNO on 12 so I spent a lot of time listening for them on there.


And as far as I know they did not work any SSB on 160. When I tried to hear them on 160 meters CW I don't think I could ever heard them but my CW is poor enough I might have heard them and not realized it. Everyone calling sounded like they were going 25-35 WPM which I just take my hat off too. I'm maybe 15-18 WPM at the best of times, maybe. Copying beacons is about my extent on that mode.


Terry

KI7M