Topband: V84SAA Status report 11 Feb at about 0211Z

[k1zm at aol.com]

Hi All
I need some sleep badly but there is good news to report.
We are almost at 3,000 qso's already on 160m - and they keep on coming - most are from JA and Eu - the Eu signals were so loud last night that Krassy ran 300 of them on 160m in about 3 hours.
First our SS - this is still a bit of a bummer!  So far the furthest penetration into W1-W4 has been to N4IS in Fla.  I did also work Pete N0FW in OHIO - but man was he weak - but who cares - it was a good qso.
No other W8/W9 as yet - dunno why.
We have worked a few W0 stations and quite a few W5/W6/W7 - this is about the same as last year at 9M0W.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
THE BIG NEWS OF TODAY WAS THE SR OPENING INTO W1 ON THE LONG PATH.
It was open to VO1HP as early as 2124z - and at 2148z Don Greenbaum N1DG called me right over top of the Eu stations - a solid 569 and I knew we finally had some PROP!
I then went down to my preferred NA freq of 1805.5 and was spotted - then in quick succession managed to workAA1V in MAK1WHS in MEK1FZ in MEK1RL in MAW1RM in CT and W1LU ( I think ) at my exact SR time - might be CT or MAINE - not sure of that one.
Judging on where these guys are located - it seems this was primarily a coastal event - as most of these stations are not very far inland.  Several of them are definitely near SALT WATER - no surprise there.
W1NA from yesterday is on Cape Cod - also near salt water!
I am positive there were other callers as I heard tidbits way way down there - pretty sure I was getting called by others.
Over on 80m Krassy was watching me do my thing into NE but he had NOTHING on 80m on the Long Path  That boggles my mind as we were sharing the same RX antenna - no idea how 160m could be open via LP and not 80m - never seen that before!
We are discussing options for a dedicated SW Rx antenna - which may boost signal LP levels into W1-W3 for the rest of our time.It still is a bit of chaos out here - but I am hoping we find a way to work on the LP RX that we do not yet have.
So there is a chance for more - just keep ur ears on.
EU and JA dominates as expected- with huge signal levels - at our SS we usually try hard for the east coast - but nothing usually happens until the SR reaches W5 - then we get 5/6/7 stations - some with reasonable signal levels.
Today - N1DG was the loudest out of NE on the long path - followed by AA1V  - K1WHS/K1FZ/K1RL and W1RM were all good copy but down at least an S unit from these two guys.  W1LU was weak just as I was going into daylight.
We had a great opening ceremony hosted by the Brunei Amateur Radio Assn on Saturday afternoon - there was press coverage, plus we were an item on the 6PM news hour on TV that night - and today's local paper has a group photo and a short article on our dx'pedition.
I have to say that the VOLUNTEER effort on our behalf by the local V8 hams and their wives is nothing short of extraordinary.  They catered the whole event, invited the deputy chief of the local FCC (called AITI) as the guest of honor - and V85TL and K1LZ made opening speeches.
So we are having great fellowship out here with our brethren hams from V8.  Last night I had a long chat with V85A - famous for his VOODOO AUDIO.  He is a great guy and Krassy and I had fun meeting and talking with Rahman.
Over at the SSB site (which I have not managed to find time to visit - I do not even know **where** it is exactly!) - LZ2HM reported to me this morning that they have made 4,000 FT8 qso's already - wow.
We may still have a chance to do some FT8 on Topband - but pls do not hold your breath - as we have no good internet at the CW site - which is needed to keep the WSJTx time synched - but perhaps we will find a way to get something going in several days.
Many of us are staying up in JERUDONG and the transit time to the CW site is about 27 mins.  I almost know the route with my eyes closed by now - as I have made at least 3 trips daily so far - to make sure I do not miss a prime time NA opening.
So rest assured - we are giving it 100% despite not yet having achieved what I had hoped for into NA.    But we are trying and we never give up!
GL to all - and keep ur ears on!
73 JEFF  K1ZM/VY2ZM






Jeff BriggsDXing on the Edge: The Thrill of 160 Meters Available worldwide through BookBaby, Array Solutions, DX Engineering, Radio Society of Great Britain, & Amazon





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