Greetings from southern Ukraine.
Our electricity situation is pretty good for now, and I hope it stays
that way all season.
Yesterday I arrived at the station and installed the beverage for NA.
But conditions that night and morning were extremely weak.
Nevertheless, three contacts ( USA)appeared in my log. The season is
open.
N2KW :
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5TDy94EO8Co
---
Nick, UY0ZG
http://www.topband.in.ua
ve6wz--- via Topband писал(а) 2026-09-23 20:13:
As others have said here, 160m has shown robust openings into EU over
the last week.
My first QSO was Karel OK1CF on Sept 11, and the band has been open
almost every night since.
In the last 12 days of September, I have logged 48 EU QSOs. For some
reason, it seems Czechia seems overrepresented.
Here is my 160m CW QSO total list so far with Karel OK1CF leading the
pack.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/130bRzIqNTWMVQrI_BHTMGOPGmM2ThoTw/view?usp=sharing
Last night I worked 9 EU with a few new ones in the log, including
I4IKW and OK1KPU.
It was nice to see the band open up to the south with F5NTV and DF2PY
also in the log.
The night before (sept 22) I also logged 9 EU.
I noticed a number of far west coast guys making EU QSOs too like
VE7ZO and AA6AA amongst others.
It really is great to see the band open, and it just confirms (in my
mind) that there is still a lot of CW activity possible on the band.
We just need the conditions.
Too often I hear comments (complaints); "no one is on CW anymore", but
that is NOT TRUE. When the band is open, there is activity.
Of course, these recent good conditions can come to a screeching halt
tonight, and the band could remain dead for another month!
Such is life on TB and what makes it exciting. TB 'aint 20m my
friends.
Also, if you are not an active 160m operator, just be aware, unlike
20m, you can NOT just tune the band for a few minutes and conclude the
band is dead.
QSB is the norm, not the exception on 160m. You need to be patient and
wait for that gradual peak as the signal bubbles up out of the noise,
sometimes only for less than a minute.
QSOs need to be made FAST. No time for names and weather reports!
Also, I still hear guys sending long Cqs, (like six Cqs and then their
call six times). This NEVER works on 160m. It accomplishes nothing.
We want SHORT, 2X2 or 3X3 Cqs, then stop and listen. Then CQ again.
A long CQ will often just assure that you are Cqing through the only
short QSB peak when the QSO can happen.
Sometimes QSOs need to happen over a 30 second window!
Please watch the cluster for openings, and if you see that the band
might be open, consider getting on the radio to hand out some QSOs.
Some of our EU friends are very dedicated to calling CQ almost every
night. Please give them a call.
Steve ve6wz
Sundre, AB
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