Topband: J28MD, conditions

[Grant Saviers]

On 11/6/2022 09:02, Artek Manuals wrote:
> In the end it is a signal to noise problem.

And there are more than two sides to that coin.

1. DXpedition site noise - a big risk factor with little that can be 
known (except for desert islands) or solved in advance .
2. Differences in noise at caller stations - often fairly predictable by 
country except for the big guns in every zone.
3. Operator fatigue with high local/atmospheric noise - picking out the 
callers, whether CW or SSB causing ops to move to digital modes.
4. QRM levels and miscreant behavior in the pile up - sometimes it is 
better to go for a walk or switch to digital.
5. Propagation and tropics noise

For most DXpeditions, maximizing rate is everything, followed by efforts 
to balance band, mode, and zone opportunities.  Big stations are often 
capable of working thru difficult conditions.  Into the second week, 
it's little pistol time and then FT8 can be the better mode for THEM. 
The number of only 1 band Q per call in that period is significant. 
 From my limited expedition experience really good conditions absolutely 
favor SSB and CW. Sustained rate can exceed 200/hr and peak 10m rates 
over 300, it's great fun, so nobody is going to prefer FT8.

Given the cost, complexity, space needed, setup, and tear-down time for 
160m antennas, when paths are open rate is the dominant determinant of 
mode.  Often QSB on 160 favors a quick CW Q over FT8.  Noise, at least 
in the tropics, usually makes SSB efforts futile.

At H40TT it was a waste of effort for RTTY Q's. About 60 JA's and zero 
ROW.  If you can't self spot, don't bother.

Having FT8 in the tool kit has certainly helped Q counts, especially 
during the prior minimums.  Now that conditions are improving, I think 
more expeditions should use FT4 and was pleased to see the 5V7 group 
there today.  Plus, FT4 isn't deadly boring.

It's all about rate.  A better WSJT UI for FOXen would help.

Grant KZ1W