WSPR 160m

[VK2KRR]

You were not uploading for some reason Arie ?

[VK3AMZ]

Hi Leigh

RR....I'll tick the box tonight.....Limited BW out in the sticks!

Cheers

[VK3HJ]

Arie, I'm on NBN Interim satellite Internet, which means I'm still using the same old IPStar bird with new equipment at my station. Tons of download, well for my MO anyway (10 Gb/month).
The CQ WW 160 m CW contest is on this weekend, which will affect us Sat and Sun nights. I expect there to be CW signals right across our band allocation, and even up to 2000 kHz. Only problem with big contests, is that the band will be crowded and it will be more difficult to work the DX.
I expect WSPR and CW will be able to co-exist, but the CW ops having to wait until the stronger 2 min WSPR Tx cycles to finish.
I'll need an early night to be up at sunrise to try for Europe and six more entities I need to make DXCC.
73,
Luke VK3HJ

[VK3AMZ]

Thanks Luke

Mixed bag here of NBN satellite and 3G....go figure! The household (aka my son) uses virtually all the bandwidth on the NBN, while I wallow around on the 3G.

It's one of those gonna jobs...I had network connectivity to the house via a long haul wireless LAN modem but things changed. I'll pull my finger out one day

I get so frustrated in low band DX contests..... Signals are great but the amount of QRM at the other end just kills any chance of getting through. I sat on a DXCC country I needed once for five hours....... got through in the end but if the amount of traffic wasn't there it would have been 5 mins. I'm really not sure how many DXCC countries I have on 160 mx? Must be a few ...?? This is sure the best time of the year for DX on 160mx, in the winter we can hear them easily but they can't hear us, where as the opposite is true in the Summer. I worked TF4M over the North pole a few years back in the middle of Summer, now that was a good QSO!

My receive antennas are down at the moment due to the horses!! They got hungry and decided my little patch of ground where I had my RX antennas looked pretty good for a meal, pity they killed my K9AY. That's an excellent ant for RX, on most occasions was superior to my Beverage antennas (BTW the trees came down over those)..... again it's a matter of pulling my finger out and getting things back online.

I do like the challenge of 160mx Dxing, there are many parallels to 6mx...I know that sounds weird but when conditions are right (rarely) DX signals are something to behold!

OK, back to my contemplation! What will I do next?

73's Arie

[VK3HJ]

I looked at the K9AY receiving loop, and similar antennas, but chose a EWE array for reason of the horses.
There are five poles in the paddock and no low wires. I put the outer vertical wires in conduit, and the horses don't seem to bother it. Whilst I have 40+ acres here, it is a very narrow block, and I can not run a single beverage in any useful direction.
Similarly, I have an elevated counterpoise for the Tx antenna, as the ground is unsuitable to bury sufficient radials, and I cannot have wire lying on the ground.
I've only been DXing the past five years, but in that time, I seen had no reason to pursue 6 m. 160 m has been much more productive. 94 entities vs 10 on six. And our summertime is better for DX on 160 m, despite the QRN, as there is much more DX activity.
Back on topic, there were very few WSPR stations QRV during the week. Are weekends more active?
73,
Luke VK3HJ

[VK2KRR]

Luke,

In VK on 160m WSPR its usually myself and Derek VK6DZ, sometimes VK5ZRL and ocassional sporadic others.
In the past we have had reasonable size groups of local stations. Probably if you scroll back a few pages in this topic u will see some screen shots etc.

With my HF rig its usually monitoring 6m WSPR during the day, and if there is nothing happening at sundown I switch it over to 160m, the back to 6m a bit after sunrise.

On 160m WSPR my TX is set at 15% fyi.

Arie is right about the 160 to 6m comparison. 160 would have to be even more mysterious than 6m in regards to propagation in my view.

[VK3AMZ]

Hi Luke

Yes, the "DX"on 160mx is not really dependent on Solar radiation in the same way that 6mx is. When I mention the parallels it's more about the propagation. Occasionally ....that means "not very often"....you get a pipeline effect where DX stations are biblically strong but their neighbors are very weak. Much the same way that sporadic E filters geographically stations. It is really weird...... I distinctly remember one 160mx opening when I was using a dipole less than 10m above the ground.....there was a pipeline into the East coast of the USA, stations were ridiculously strong but stations in the Mid west were totally inaudible. I managed to work Joe Riesert W1JR that evening....a legend! Even have a card!

The EWE is a good antenna and comes from the same design philosophy as the K9AY. The secret to successful low band Dxing has always been the receive antenna! Mind you an efficient Tx antenna would not go a stray! My 160 mx vertical is a terrible receiving antenna.... must pull my finger out and repair my RX antennas

Cheers

[VK2KRR]

Looking reasonably good on 160m last night to USA, although signals not gaining a real lot of strength. VK2DDI also doing well.
As you can see I hear OK with the 160m Inv V dipole, it does not get out real well except locally, unless DX signals reach at least -10dB on my RX.
EU no good.

160m WSPR 200914