Topband: Why is ZONE 2 so Rare in JAPAN???

[uy0zg]

Hi All

"As I noted to VE5RA - the world has changed.  Basically, it is fast 
becoming time to "GO WITH THE FLOW" or get out of the way."

The world has always changed..

Just weak people in our time is becoming more and more.

Very appropriate quote .. :

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its 
limits."
Albert Einstein

---
Nick, UY0ZG
http://www.topband.in.ua

k1zm--- via Topband писал 2019-11-11 10:32:
> HI Gary
> Zone 2 is rare over in JA for a number of reasons.  These are:
> 1) The first is that there are only a handful of licensed/active
> amateurs in ZONE 2
> 2) Of those that are on the air - very few of them have even as much
> as a 64 ft tower
> 3) Of the remaining number - there is very little serious interest in
> 160m - most of the amateurs there prefer to operate on the higher
> frequency bands
> 4) One of the best guys in ZONE 2 is NAZ VO2NS in Labrador City,
> Labrador - and he has a good station - but he is a bit too far North
> and East for good propagation to JA.  I am not saying it never happens
> but it is RARE.
> 5) Even a really talented DX'er and 160m afficionado - my friend FRANK
> DAVIS VO1HP has only managed to work JA from near St Johns
> Newfoundland - and that was after some 2 years of winter skeds with
> Kaz JA8ISU.  Frank has tried for several years to to work Robert DU7ET
> - and they have (to my knowledge) not yet made a 160m qso.
> So it is JUST DAMNED HARD to work from VO1/VO2 and Zone 2 into 
> Japan.and Asia. 
> Miriam and I are pretty sure that we know what we are doing on Topband
> - I have 340/340 160m DXCC on CW, well over 150 DXCC on 160M SSB
> (including ST0 and VP8SSI) and have managed to make DXCC HONOR ROLL
> via signal band 160m only - something which only 3 amateurs in the
> world have achieved and I was NUMBER 2 in doing so.
> But even with this amount of experience - over the course of 6
> straight nights on the air from ZONE with a decent antenna system -
> with a single purpose of trying to work our JA friends who need the
> zone - we were only able to manage 6 qso's - and these had to be made
> on FT8 because we could not hear the JA's on CW mode (we tried
> repeatedly with JA8ISU - and if you cannot hear/work KAZ on Topband
> from Northern Hokkaido - well you cannot hear one of the most savvy
> and best equipped 160m amateurs in all of JAPAN.)  Kaz is a super op,
> dedicated to the band, and has a rock crushing signal here at VY2ZM -
> from late September to  mid March - first on the short path starting
> at 0730Z and he is again workable from 2020z in November via the long
> path - until his SR occurs.
> If it is not clear yet to anyone reading this post - whether you may
> or may not think much of FT8 - it is clearly superior to CW for weak
> signal work on Topband and less sensitive to "noise" to boot.  Just
> listen on 1840 or watch DX SUMMIT for a few days and you will see this
> kind of stuff there - with little or NO DX on CW mode: at the same
> time:
> 9K25T5VP8TA2UA9UA0JA's (tons of them!)T6
> Get the picture?  While it may sadden me as a dyed in the wool CW
> DX'er on Topband to see this happen, it is very clear to me where we
> are going here.  I still enjoy all the CW contests on 160m which bring
> the CW band to life once again - meaning ARRL 160m/CQ 160m/The
> STEW,/ARRL DX CW/CQWPX CW etc  Apart from those weekends though, it is
> SLOW SLOW SLOW down in the CW segment of Topband today.
> As I noted to VE5RA - the world has changed.  Basically, it is fast
> becoming time to "GO WITH THE FLOW" or get out of the way.
> Thanks for your question Gary - it was a good one.
> 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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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary Smith <Gary at ka1j.com>
> To: Topband <Topband at contesting.com>
> Sent: Mon, Nov 11, 2019 5:08 am
> Subject: Re: Topband: A Bit of Zone 2 History Was Made Last Week
> 
> I probably should know, but what makes
> Zone 2 such a rarity for JA & the others?
> The few operators from 2? Propagation
> issues?
> 
> 73,
> 
> Gary
> KA1J
> 
> 
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