Topband: One Way Propagation.

[Roger Kennedy]

Well whether people have an accurate S Meter is another debate altogether !

If ever I'm working somebody on SSB, and they are S9 +20 with me, but they
tell me I'm just S8, I ask them if they have an Attenuator switched in or
their Preamp switched off . . . when I point out that their rig's S Meter
only reads correctly with the Preamp on, they are often surprised . . . and
then turn it on to give me a proper report !

However . . . most people I find DO give accurate reports . . . (and I think
most 160m DX operators are intelligent enough to know how to make their S
Meter read correctly.)

So I find that with most of the general QSOs I get the same reports as I am
giving . . . hence my pointing out that it's curious when 160m DX
propagation is such that signals are much stronger one way than the other.

Regarding using separate Receiving Antennas . . . well I have a Preamp on my
160m Receiving Loop, which is set so that local signals are exactly the same
strength as on my Transmitting Antenna . . . in that way I can give
meaningful reports, regardless of which antenna I am using.

Regarding how strong your signal is above my Noise Level, to me that's kind
of meaningless to the other station . . . in practice my Noise Level can
vary between S3 and S8 . . . but surely you want to know how strong your
signal is with me?  (and using RBN highlights this, as it only says how
strong your signal is above their noise level . . . so if the figure is low,
is that because propagation is poor tonight, or just that they have a high
noise level, due to static, etc?)

Roger G3YRO