I, too, have to agree with Larry, K5RK. From my location in NTX in a noisy urban area I struggle to hear any 160m DX (using an SAL-20 RX antenna). Last week there was a thread about a "Huge NA-EU opening last night". I had to chuckle because I heard nothing. I know there are other Texas stations (like K5RK) that can hear a pin drop on 160 but as for me IF I can hear any DX I have to be the only one calling. In a contest situation my chances are slim to none of even hearing the DX much less working them because there will always be a contest pileup.
As a point of reference I have worked 5 (five!) European station this season, and 0 (zero!) Asian stations on 160m. (And I am up every morning 1-2 hours before SR for Asia.) So, to my point. If one of those 10 days of contesting corresponds to the one day there is an opening strong enough for me to hear/work a DX station then I will have no chance of making a contact. I agree that a contest-free zone at the bottom of the band is a good idea for consideration. 73, Kris N5KM PS, I do participate in the 160m contests but only casually for the reasons given above. -----Original Message----- Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2015 15:48:43 -0500 From: "Joe Wilkowski" <dxra...@k8fc.com> To: "'Larry Burke'" <w...@sbcglobal.net>, <topband@contesting.com> Subject: Re: Topband: Stew Beef Message-ID: <001201d1440c$a3ba31c0$eb2e9540$@k8fc.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Well, since it is a public forum I have to side with Larry on this. I am a contester and enjoy mostly top band operating but I would have to agree that too much of a good thing gets old quick. It used to be that you looked forward to the SP, but warm-ups, pre-warmups etc. seem to carry the theme too far. - Joe K8FC -----Original Message----- From: Topband [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Larry Burke Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 6:38 PM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: Stew Beef > Fortunately participation is not mandatory for those who have had enough. Ah, but that's exactly my point. Those with a limited or no interest in this event DO have to "participate" in it by virtue of the additional weekend of chaos that it causes. - Larry K5RK ------------------------------------------------- _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband