Enjoyed reading your post! Thanks! 73, Jeff N0OST
On Sun, Jun 4, 2017 at 6:00 AM Dennis <egan.denni...@gmail.com> wrote: > Great job, Jeff! > > > > Dennis W1UE > > > > On 6/4/2017 6:02 AM, k1zm--- via Topband wrote: > > > Hi All > > > > > > > > > While it is still fresh in my mind and while I have a few moments this > morning, I thought I might pass along a few OPERATING OBSERVATIONS that I > made while over at JT5DX this past week. I will organize these into > GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, TOPBAND THOUGHTS and HF THOUGHTS. > > > > > > > > > GENERAL OBSERVATIONS - & What it was like getting there....... > > > > > > > > > First let me note that this was NOT a Topband Dx'pedition. From a > timing perspective, with no overlapping darkness to NA on either coast, the > timing could not have been worse for NA. What it WAS was an invitation to > join a talented International team of old friends to operate the CQ WPX CW > contest and to visit Hong Kong, China and Mongolia and JT1CO. Despite the > downside of SPRING conditions, there was still enough of an attraction > there to say - "HELL YES - I want to go!!!!!" Plus it was a chance to > visit CHAK and see his station up close and personal. And, even more > important, it was a chance to help build some updated capability into the > JT1CO lowband station for the upcoming Winter months. While I was out at > the farm, my wife and daughter accompanied K1LZ's wife on a wonderful tour > of the Southern GOBI desert so they were totally cool with my going off on > my own thing with the boys.... In some respects their experiences and what > they got to see and do was as equal > > ly > > > exciting to THEM as was my experience out on the farming steppes to > the NW of Ulan Bator. > > > > > > > > > Getting there... > > > > > > > > > The farm is around 220 miles to the NW of the capital city. That is > about the the distance from New York to Boston - but there are few paved > roads in JT land. And what exists could HARDLY equate to the I-95 corridor > along the East coast of the US. There are two PRINCIPAL roads in Mongolia > - one North South and one East west. > > > > > > > > > Our route was on one of them for the first part of the trip - perhaps > the first 4 hours of what was about a 6.5 hour drive in total. At about > the 4 hour point, Chak headed LEFT out into the mountainous steppes along a > dirt road and, from that point onwards, it was total dead-reckoning using > "this hill" and "that hill over there" - plus many rock outcroppings which > served as guideposts along the way. THERE ARE NO ROAD SIGNS!!!!!!!!! > There were MANY dirt roads and Chak knew exactly which one was the road > that would lead the last 45 miles or so out to the farm. (Honestly - if > you did not know where this place was located, you nor I would NEVER find > it. There was no GPS system I was told - I did not understand that - but I > did understand that only Chak's expertise got us there!!!) > > > > > > > > > There are also few treed regions in JT. We did pass through a few > clusters of BIRCH - some evergreens now and then along the hillsides - but > mainly sheep, goats, cows and the occasional hairy YAK. > > > > > > > > > I kept looking out for the station and finally, we dropped down out of > the hills into a valley below and there in the distance I could see 6 tall > towers way off in the distance. There were wheat fields everywhere - many > of which Chak owns as that is what he does for a living. There are 3 > million people in JT and Chak likes to say "I feed 300,000 of them every > year!" > > > > > > > > > The farm is enormous with quite a few LARGE buildings about the size of > aircraft hangers. He employs a large number of staff - most of whom work > the farm. He works his tail off on the farm, and remember - he does NOT > live there - and, with no home station back in UB any more, operating > timeframes are hardly a top priority for him - he gets on when he has > time. He is hardly retired..... > > > > > > > > > Some years ago, he bought the land and then built a compound on it - the > MAIN structure has 4 main connected components: > > > > > > > > > The family residence > > > > > > > > > The business side of the operation where his accountants and office are > located > > > > > > > > > The station component which has 4 rooms (one which is a HUGE workshop), > two operating rooms, a full bathroom and a lounge at the rear. > > > > > > > > > The last connected component is what he calls the HOTEL - which has 4 > upstairs guest bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room where we took our > meals. Three ladies looked after us - and if you came into the dining > room, within 30 seconds you were handed a cup of coffee or tea and two > minutes later a plate of food. So we were well taken care of - that's for > sure. > > > > > > > > > A fridge was stocked with BEER, COKE, COLD WATER and the coffee mess was > ALWAYS there with a full pot of coffee. I do not care if you came in at > 0200AM local - someone had made a full pot of coffee - which I personally > took full advantage of as I was up each night from about 0300 local until > grayline sunrise. > > > > > > > > > So much for the PROLOGUE.... > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > TOPBAND HIGHLIGHTS > > > > > > > > > All of us dedicated topband afficiandos know what 160M is like - usually > there is a well-defined peak in signals as SR approaches - sometimes it is > not there - but it USUALLY works that way. > > > > > > > > > I would get on at about 0300 local - which was 1900z - and start > listening on 160M. It was an interesting time to be on the air as JA SR > was occurring at about the same time as SS was moving from RW2F westward > towards Central EU and towards the UK. > > > > > > > > > Of course UA9/UA0 and the JA's were pretty loud. Then came the UA4 and > UA6 boys. You had to work the 8 circle array all the time because after > each CQ, JA's might be calling and/or EU stations and depending on where > your RX antenna was aimed, you would not hear both. The JA's would > ultimately disappear and then it would be all EU as one reached 2000z. and > beyond > > > > > > > > > Here's what it was like: > > > > > > > > > Scandinavia was pee-weak. I did work a few OH and SM stations. OH1RX > was one. I do not remember working an LA. > > > > > > > > > Clearly, the LOUDEST EU signals were from SOUTHERN EU - mostly IK7JTF, > I2TAO and the well-known SV stations which had the front door into JT for > sure. > > > > > > > > > Eastern EU was copiable - usually 559/569 or so but with alot of QSB. I > did work some SP's, OM/OK stations, some S5 and 9A and one loud EA6. > > > > > > > > > I recall, working a handful of DL - but probably less than 10 total. > > > > > > > > > I did not work a single FRENCH station. I worked ONE G station on sked > - G3XHZ I think who called me on ON4KST chat and had I not sent him to 1829 > outside the pile, I never would have worked him - he was in the noise but > we did manage a difficult QSO. > > > > > > > > > It is clear to me that the UK on 160M suffers greatly into JT land - & > unless it gets better in DEC/JAN/FEB - (maybe it does) - hard for me to > tell in late May - these guys seem to struggle on this path. Signals were > really weak and more than a few were trying. > > > > > > > > > Via CHAT I learned that ZL3IX was hearing me both nights and VK4MA asked > for a try - and I made it with Paul who had a 579 signal - I worked nothing > else down into the Pacific. > > > > > > > > > At 0500 (one hour before local SR) the band peaked into Eu and then it > dropped like a rock for the last hour as SR occurred. There was no > traditional SR bump. The I and SV stations did hang in there to the end > but the rest of EU was totally just not there - I did manage a qso with > 4X4DK five minutes into daylight - the last night I was on before the > contest. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > HF THOUGHTS and OBSERVATIONS > > > > > > > > > One of the things I wanted to check was what NA signals sounded like > over in JT and 20M was really the only place that I knew would likely be > open. I also knew 1130-1230z might be a good time for over the pole prop > into W1. > > > > > > > > > On Wed evening before the contest I had made a sked with VY2GF, George > Dewar, who has a modest station and low power on PEI and we had planned to > work at 1230z. > > > > > > > > > But around 1115z I found W1MK CQ'ing with a LOUD signal around 14015 and > worked Rob. He was pretty surprised when I told who I was. A few minutes > later I found Nate N4YDU who was just playing around with the remote > EASTPORT, ME RHR stacks - using his laptop in his kitchen. He was so loud > I could not believe it - and I do not remember anyone louder either - but I > did not have too much time to check either. I also worked K1RM a few mins > later with a good signal. KP2M with KT3Y operating was a good signal as > well a few mins earlier. I did work VY2GF on sked which was a new one for > George - so I am sure he was delighted. > > > > > > > > > On 20M I tried to see who had the front door - K3LR was in there the > longest - but not that much louder than the best E Coast stations. VY2TT > held up for quite a long time as well - he has some SUPERB 20M stacks and > it showed. These guys, again, were not what I would call DOMINANT - they > just held up longer as the prop waned into the East Coast during the > contest. > > > > > > > > > THE CONTEST and JT5DX's configuration > > > > > > > > > As primarily a 160M specialist and a SINGLE OP/ALL BAND guy most of my > life - the state of Multi Single that exists today is truly mind-boggling. > > > > > > > > > K3JO and 9A5K had configured the station for either a M2 or a M/S > entry. We all decided that WHATEVEVER P33W did ***not do** would determine > what WE WOULD DO. Easy choice....really - a no brainer. P33W had > overlapping prop in NA on all bands and we had only 20M to shoot for > towards NA - also they were at EUROPE's back door - & we were a whole > hemisphere away to the East. > > > > > > > > > They wernt M2 - so we went M/S. Again - this was an EASY DECISION and > the right one - they made 40Meg or so - we managed 15MEG or so - being in > Asia on our side is clearly not the place to make a TOP WORLD SCORE with > P33W in the game!! > > > > > > > > > Again, the scope of the state of the art in M/S today is mind-boggling > to an old fart 160m op like me. After reading this you will better > understand the INCREDIBLE results of P33W, CN2AA, EF8R and ED8X (and > others). > > > > > > > > > Chris 9A5K and Velimir K3JO (who works for K1LZ in MASS) - designed a > switching/interlock system that can accommodate up to 12 stations and 36 > antennas - with the whole system is totally interlocked and running like a > fine SWISS timepiece. > > > > > > > > > In the most competitive M/S stations like P33W, and now JT5DX, here is > how one approaches a M/S operation: > > > > > > > > > 1) Two stations handle the RUN on the RUN BAND - with a power divider > splitting the power into stacked yagis aimed in different directions at the > same time. Each CQ goes out in two directions at the same time and each > operator listens in his direction for callers. In our case we had 7/7 OWA > long boom 20M yagis at something like 150/75 feet aimed at EU. The second > RUN operator at his station had another pair of 20M stacks aimed at JA. > Good operators like K1LZ and 9A5K work together to maintain huge RUN rates > - as they know how to do this. Whichever operator grabs the INTELOCK first > answers what he hears - then the SECOND station can call what he has heard > calling from the other direction. > > > > > > > > > 2) In a M/S operation like this - there are usually two OTHER stations > on the same band - using DIFFERENT antennas and DIFFERENT amps etc. These > are called IN BAND stations. I was on one of these - K3JO, S52M often were > on the other in-band station. > > > > > > > > > This means that 4 stations are all on the RUN band - with each station > SIMULTANEOUSLY putting points up on the scoreboard. > > > > > > > > > At each position Chris 9A5K's DX Logger logging program has 2 windows on > the computer - one window has choices of XMIT antennas and the other WINDOW > has choices of RX antennas. > > > > > > > > > On every band we usually had as many as 5 to 6 antennas to choose from. > The RUN guys had the BEST antennas - but what we had left to choose from > were not TOO SHABBY either - just lesser stacks and/or two 125 foot high > STEPPIR 40-10m yagis, for example. > > > > > > > > > Available antennas not in use were GREEN shaded - antennas in USE were > RED shaded - and could not be selected. One merely needed to POINT and > CLICK on the screen to switch antennas. Also there was a 3rd window which > indicated RED or GREEN which indicated the status of the interlock. If it > was GREEN (and with the RUN guys going at 200 per hour) that meant that you > as an IN BAND op needed to be really CLEVER AND FAST to be able to grab the > interlock to call what you were after. It was usually RED so you had to > wait for your chance. If you dallied too long calling a mult - you might > occasionally hear a STOP STOP shouted out at you from the RUN guys - > especially if you were taking down their rate - HI. So this required > TEAMWORK and the guys at P33W and CN2AA are probably the best teams in the > world who attempt this. We are still learning at ED8X - so were are "TEAM > AVIS" - but we are getting better - HI. > > > > > > > > > It took some patience to learn how to optimize this - but for each > hour, the IN BAND guys on these two other stations would usually manage to > add from 60-80 additional qso's to the RUN guys total - elevating an hourly > total to well over 200 per hour during optimal hours. We would go after > prefix mults FIRST and then LATER anything regardless of where it was for > QSO points. The second day as things wound down there was NOT much left to > work. Certain stations were really hard to work too - especially Z37M and > CN8KD whom I called for hours on end over both days! > > > > > > > > > Some other notes: > > > > > > > > > As an East Coast op, I am not used to hearing BY and YB stations all > over the band - for example, on 10M and 15M that is about all we could hear > - plus a smattering of JA stations. I did work a ZL/KH6 and 5W1SA on 15 as > I recall - & the RUN guys did manage some decent RUN openings into EU. > > > > > > > > > The first night we did almost no operating on 80M and 160m - as the > rates were far higher on 20M and 40M all night long. > > > > > > > > > We had planned to hit 80 HARD the second night and an hour or so on 160M > - but the FLARE - wiped 160M completely and hurt our chances even on 80m - > but we did have a few decent hours after midnight into EU on 80M. I spent > some time operating with JT1CO on the RUN and boy - Chak is a great CW > operator. He can hear a pin crop, busted almost ZERO callsigns that I > heard and handled the pile at 38-40 WPM CW rate for hours. Every now and > then he would stretch and say - "I am getting old...." I really enjoyed > listening to him as he ran the lowband pileup. HE KNOWS HIS TOMATOES - as > one might say!!!! > > > > > > > > > One other comment to add is how CHAK ran out his feedlines. He had > constructed elevated channels on 14" high posts - think of them as > aqueducts - into which were placed up to as many as 12 runs of 2" diameter > hardline. These ran all over the farm out to the towers. At the base of > each tower was a LOCKED panel - and from there LMR400 smaller coax would > run up the tower to the yagis. > > > > > > > > > Some towers were as LARGE as cell towers - and on these towers 10m and > 15m yagis just could not be placed - unless they were mounted vertically > into stacks on masts spaced way out away from the tower face - the tower > diameter was just too fat for these small yagis - which is something K3ZO > once told me about down at his station. The vertical polarization did not > seem to matter though - EVERYTHING worked. We only suffered one failure - > one of the STEPPIR's had some kind of problem - but everything else worked > without fail. > > > > > > > > > As the contest ended, we on the IN BAND stations really struggled to > find something to work - we did not miss much we thought. > > > > > > > > > One other point - Chris and Velimir finished the station wiring at > MIDNIGHT on Friday night. Lucky for us the contest started and ended at > 0800 local time (0000z) - thus we all managed about 6 hours of much needed > sleep - then a shower and breakfast SATURDAY morning- and we were all > hunched over our radios promptly at 0800 local as the contest started. > > > > > > > > > For me - this was a thrilling experience - I am grateful to K1LZ and > JT1CO for allowing me to be a part of it all. I personally am starting to > enjoy 12 hour runs on the HF bands at 200 per hour LESS and LESS in favor > of more relaxed rates on 80m and 160M - so the BETTER OPS did most of the > HEAVY LIFTING on the HF bands - and asked me to do some nighttime running > on 40M and 80M - which suited me just fine - HI HI. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Pity that 160M was a total washout the second night - I only managed to > work HG8R in the noise and absorption from the flare made and runs there a > total impossibility. > > > > > > > > > Guess that is all to say here - hope it was fun reading - and thanks for > all the Qso's from the JT5DX team. > > > > > > > > > Cu down the road in the next one I hope. > > > > > > > > > 73 JEFF K1ZM/VY2ZM > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________ > > > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > > > > > > _________________ > > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > > _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband