On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 18:10:08 -0400, Mark K3MSB wrote: "Huge day for me this morning.... After several years of trying, I worked my first VK on Top Band! Well, actually my first 2 Vks!!"
>> First, congrats Mark, for your first VK on 160! We all know the feeling of stalking a station or country for many years, and the rush of finally making it! For me it was EY8MM. This is not to distract from your accomplishment in any way, but I would have to say, at SR that morning (local) was one of the best openings to the west since I've lived at this QTH in the Shenandoah Valley. I have worked both Ron and Luke multiple times, but to make the QSO always required a kW. That morning, about 20 minutes before SR, I could just begin copying the two VK3 signals. Right at my SR they both peaked at an honest S9! I had just fried my linear the night before, but hearing those 2 fat signals was too much to let pass without a try. I succeeded to work them both with 100 Watts. I only wish there would have been a bunch of other stations from that area active that morning! Which leads me to another observation... I have been intrigued by Roger's (G3YRO) comments about the lack of SR peaking at his QTH. I had observed that -- sometimes very dramatic -- peaking at local SR for decades in CA. There I lived in such a suburban noise bag, that I most often depended on the SR peaking effect to even make the Q. However, here in VA, I still see the same SR increases in signal strength. (Witness the above account of the VK3s.) I live way out in the sticks at a very quiet location. In fact, most of the time my Inv-L hears just as well as any of 5 RX systems I've used here. I see that SR peak to the west on both 80 and 160 almost every time the band is open. Since my location is so quiet, I am reasonably sure that what I'm observing is true increase in signal strength, not simply an improvement in S/N at SR. I also assume Roger is savvy enough to recognize the same. So, I'm curious... How does geographic location play into this effect? Roger and I are separated by ~17 degrees latitude. Is that a contributing factor? Why would this effect at a specific location (like G3YRO's) seem to change over the years? Thanks, and again, congrats Mark! Jim - WS6X _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband