Topband: The V84SAA story - Part II- The 160m stiation - Early Results

[k1zm at aol.com]

V84SAA - Part II - The 160m station and antennas - Early Results

K1LZ and I discussed the plans for the 160m xmit antenna at V85 and we decided in the end NOT to attempt some directivity - in part because of our experiences at 9M0W the prior year.  At 9M0W we erected two beautiful phased verticals spaced 5/8 wave apart which in theory provided 5+db of broadside gain on the long path SE from Spratly.

This was a great plan EXCEPT for the fact that the propagation to NA never materialized on the LP to the SE at our sunset! Instead it was all shortpath to 035 degrees or so - and we discovered that no one was hearing us on the east coast as a result.  The second night there we were able to switch the system to end-fire - but this too was not optimal - and we abandoned the two vertical concept on night 3 at Spratly as a result.  For the last two nights there at 9M0W we used the single vertical at the edge of the lagoon - with good results as an omnidirectional radiator.
So rather than be FOOLED AGAIN - we elected to go with a single vertical radiator at the edge of the ocean - which meant that we would lose some possible xmit gain - but we would always be aimed at the path that was open to NA.  It was admittedly a gamble but it paid off we thought judging by the reports we were receiving about our xmit signal at V8!
The xmit antenna was basically a textbook L using a 74 ft spider pole that Krassy shipped to Brunei.  But instead of sloping the tail down to the ground - it ran UP a bit and over some nearby trees - because it was installed using a DRONE to lift the wire into the desired location over the tops of the nearby trees.  From there, the wire went horizontal for about 60 feet and the support rope was tied to the base of some trees down at ground level on the beach  If you looked at this thing from the ground - it looked wonderful and played well.
The radials ran out over the beach with some of them terminating in the ocean.
160M Rx antennas
Originally, we had planned to go with two long beverages - one to NA and one to EU but when we got there - only one of the them (the one to NA at 035 degrees) had sufficient real estate to run it out to an optimal length.  So we had a 1000 footer aimed at NA on the short path and a DHDL designed by Adi S55M on the beach near the salt water aimed at EU.  These two antennas shared a single 400 foot feedline and at sunset we hooked it to the NA beverage - &  at 1500z after VE7 SR had occurred - we went out with a flashlight and moved the feedline over to the DHDL aimed at EU.
For the first several nights - we thought we were hearing very well.  USA signals were much the same as at 9M0W which means they were about RST 219 - but the EU signals were literally blowing our doors in!  It was so easy to hear and work EU and so tough to hear and work NA (except for W5/W6 and W7 that it was maddening!)A signal would rise out of the hiss and you would hear one or two letters and then it would fade down again - and only sometimes did it rise again so a callsign could be pieced together.
At Sunset on 07 Feb K5XI was the first NA to go into the log on Topband followed by WA7NS and then W5ZN.    Basically, as soon as the sun hit the ocean and disappeared (which I could see plainly from outside the window in our tent)- the band would open each night to NA - and for about 30 minutes time there would be a window that allowed us to reach as far as the Southerly part of W4 land.  It almost never went further North of that during this short optimal window EXCEPT for one night when I worked Eric NO3M - who has a superb 160m Xmit signal and excellent RX antennas.  One night we also managed a qso with Pete N0FW in Ohio - but these two spots were as far as we reached to the East coast on the short path.
I would watch the grayline cross W1 and W2 at their SR times each day and listened as hard as I could for guys from the Northeast - but they just were not there.  One time at 1206z I swore I copied AA1K at his local SR - and sent Jon a report - but it was not there on his side I later found out.
So SUNSET was a very short window into NA  but once it got fully dark - the band quickly went soft until local SR in Texas and points further West.  Even W0 was a tough haul - as it took several days to work Dave W0FLS in Iowa.
I can only describe it this way - EU signals were like a freight train and the NA signals were about 219 with rare exceptions and sounded like "fireflies in the fog and mist".  Hearing you guys was a frustrating and humiliating experience.  We just could not hear you despite trying all kinds of preamplification, attenuation, listening on the xmit antenna with attenuation, etc etc etc.  It did not matter what we tried - the signals were just too damned weak to do much east of W5 - except on one or two days when we worked into NC/GA/FLA etc.
>From 1500Z to about 2100z we would run EU with ease and the pileups were ENORMOUS.  It was easy to work 300 Eu stations in a single night all the way from G and OH down to Spain and Greece.  Of course the Asian stations were there all night long and there are a TON of BY stations that we never hear on the NA east coast.  Also quite a few DU and HL stations that we never know exist in W1 land.
Guys like RA0FF and UK9AA are the local qrm so to speak and were loud all the time - as well as our friends in JA - who were very polite for the most part and allowed us to listen for NA at the times when we had propagation.
160M Longpath
Our LP window started at about 2130-2145z peaking after 2200z with our SR at about 2237z each day.  From 2200z - 2237z signals would peak and quickly fade down as SR occurred.  
On Feb 7th and Feb 8th we did not hear any NA on the Longpath but on 8 Feb at 2224z FR4NT called in for an exciting qso.  He had a good signal too - Congrats to Cedric.
Generally speaking VK signals were weak at V84SAA - I struggled to work some of them and I know they were hearing me better than I was hearing them because initially we did not have an RX antenna aimed their way.  We got emails from numerous frustrated VK's who had called us for hours while we struggled to piece together their callsigns.  On day 4 we erected a second DHDL on the beach aimed South and that changed their fortunes and ours materially - HI!  I do not think we ever worked a ZL - I think I did not but maybe one of the other 160m ops may have.....
Finally on 09 Feb at 2239z we managed to work W1NA via the long path.  It was on a pass from the 80m station to 160m.  Pier Luigi I think lives in Texas but operates a fine station in Mashpee, MA on Cape Cod - and he had a 549 signal - well out of the noise.  This was our first and only LP into W1 at that SR time for us that morning.  I hoped for more - but there were none to be heard.
On the morning of 10 Feb before our SR time, we had our best day into W1 on the long path.  I had exchanged emails with Don N1DG and I knew he was going to be there looking for me at his SS - he even repaired his RX antenna in order to be ready - so I was primed and so was he!
I did not expect him to call in so early - but at 2158z he rose right over the Eu callers with a 569 signal - well out of the noise.  After that qso I knew NA was in well and looked for other callers.  In short order AA1V, K1WHS, K1FZ, K1RL and W1KM were next.  Jim at W1LU was in there also right at my SR and I gave him a report but he did not hear it.  I also think I heard N1RJ that morning and sent a report but Roger did not hear it.
Around 2145z that day I copied VO1HP with a great signal and sent a report to him - but he did not hear it - which was really too bad - because Frank was a solid 569 when he called me.
Following that success on 10 Feb - we were really psyched because we had a week yet to go at V84SAA and  I eagerly as looking forward to more LP into the East coast - but that was the end of it - except for a tough, water-weak qso on a sked with K1UO the last morning- I never heard another New England station on the LP at our SR time for the rest of our time there.  We did work into W1/W2/W3 on 80m at our SR peak - but 80m is a totally different world than 160m from that part of the world.
We will talk about why this dearth of LP into W1 may have happened in the next part of this report from V84SAA.  It is all conjecture to be sure - but I think it is probably a fair analysis of what PROBABLY happened to us.
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