We have been improving our 160 m set up every day. We have added more ground wires that connect the TX antenna base to the water and have built a very effective RX antenna. Now we can comfortable hear most callers.
Last night we got on 160 first around 0530. There were a few NA, callers. Most had 100% QSB: going from 5 CPY to nothing in seconds. Got back on TB around 0830. Signals were much steadier with a slow but continuous stream of NA callers. TS noise started up around 0900 and got steadily stronger all night. (This noise comes from T storms in the Solomons, Papua and Indonesia, reaching us after their SS. It gets progressively worse as the night progresses.
We are at the 1000 TB QSO mark. Given the fact the Aug is about the worst time of the year for 160, this is OK. There would be many more in the log if callers used better tactics:
1. Send your call twice. We need narrow filter settings because of the noise (we are on the Equator). Unless you are "tail-gating" it takes time for us to tune the RX to the caller's frequency. Often we only get the last few letters of the call ... and then wait. If we CQ again, another caller will jump in and the first caller will lose the Q. This happens a lot. If you are tail-gating -- calling on the last Q-s frequency -- once is enough!
2. There are callers who are not hearing us. We keep on replying with no result. Probably most people listening on our TX frq can hear this taking place. Sure, QSB and QRM will often make two or three attempts necessary. But there have been some to whom I have replied to dozens of times over many hours. They are just causing QRM and wasting their time as they will not make into the log by accident.
3. Insurance QSO-s are perfectly justified. But they make no sense the third, fourth -- and sometimes the sixth time. If we are not busy, a dupe call is welcome as it reassures us that the band is still open. But when there is a pile up, a third insurance Q just takes someone else's Q.
4. JA-s tend to have this habit (not all, TKS). It springs from good intentions, but... When calling they send their call only once. We often catch only part of it, just like in point 1. But once we reply with the correct call. they then come back sending their call three times. This gets us to the next point:
5. The ideal sequence is: CQ N5J UP -- N4xx N4xx --- N4xx 5NN -- 5NN TU -- TU. Sending the call ahead of the 5NN can create doubt under difficult RX conditions. Sending 5NN is really a confirmation that tells the operator that the callsign is correct. The TU further confirms that the QSO is good and can go into the log. Less is more!
6. For NA callers: JA callers have an all-water path to us and are often louder. They start coming in after 1000 Z, some with astonishingly strong signals. Plan you time accordingly: waiting for your SR-bump may not be worth it if it puts you in competition with stronger (and numerous) signals.
7. Actual signal reports are very welcome. (Even the 339 ones.) They help us adjust to the conditions.
We will keep coming on around 0500 for a short time -- there is a tiny chance of working EU. And then come on again around 0830 ahead of NA SR. During the next few nights we will also work FT8 F/H. It seems that SuperFox, which has been very effective on other bands, it not as good under poor conditions on TB. Hence F/H.
TKS for all the calls and GL,
George,
N5J