Topband: Small Loop does not receive weak signal on 160m BOUVET RX SPOILER

[Wes]

Rune has kindly spoken up, making some of this discussion moot but I will 
continue anyway.

I appreciate everyone's comments. With respect to Jim's concerns about QRM I 
have thought about that, but did not mention it earlier.

I use DX Atlas, in fact I have presented about the program to my DX club and 
used 3Y has an example of using the program for planning.  (If you don't use it, 
you really should.)

DX Atlas shows that the optimum time for me is about 4:00 UTC. Whether or not 3Y 
is on at that time is conjecture, but for planning, you have to start 
somewhere.  Looking at that time, most of the world's hams are in darkness.  Of 
biggest concern,  QRM wise is EU.  Using France as a proxy, the path is 0 deg 
azimuth and about 7,000 miles, the path to me is 270 degrees and 9,000 miles.  
EU has about 9 hours of common darkness, S. AZ has about 3.  One can only hope 
for selective calling.

I may speak more about RX antennas in another message.

Wes  N7WS

On 12/23/2022 9:34 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> On 12/23/2022 8:12 PM, n4is at comcast.net wrote:
>> I missed the second question.
>
> I understand Wes's point quite well. I have friends who operate 6M from very 
> remote places where there is no local noise to light up rare grids. They're 
> rare because no one lives there to create noise.
>
> The vast majority of active hams are surrounded by a LOT of noise generated by 
> electronics in their own homes and those of their neighbors, as well from 
> power lines, street lighting, and other sources. WE are the ones who most need 
> serious RX antennas (and also to devote our energies to killing as much as 
> possible of our noise at the source).
>
> The difference in local noise between what WE hear and what the DX hears can 
> easily be 20 dB.
>
> What Wes may be missing is that the DX may be hearing stations from multiple 
> directions, callers from areas with easy prop to them may be MUCH stronger 
> than callers from areas that must be worked under exactly the right conditions 
> and for rather short time windows, and that those loud callers may have a 
> tendency to not stop calling. :) THAT'S where serious RX antennas can help at 
> the DX location.
>
> And as both Wes and I have observed, great system engineering involves 
> devising systems to solve specific problems. One size never fits all.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
> _________________
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