[Elecraft] Elecraft] QSB - eme extreme

[Edward R. Cole]

Kevin, KD5ONS, Nice pic, common sight up here (AK).

Regarding QSB, I would like to relate an extreme case that occurred 
last night on 144-eme.  My station is a decent sized 2m-eme station 
with four 10-element yagis and 1200w, so not surprising to get good 
signal reports (-16 is very strong for JT-65 as one can copy a -18 
signal by ear).  But I could not see any eme stations last night for 
a long time, though I was being copied well.  Of course first comment 
would be: "had I lost my preamp?" (No, it worked well on local 
stations and recently on far away weak signals on 144-SSB), so very 
strange as all I saw was noise at -30 signal level on JT-65.

To explain the signal level system on JT-65 it refers to SNR on a 2.5 
KHz SSB receiver, 0 would be signal=noise.  Good CW operators can 
hear -20 because use of narrower bw and the human ability to hear in noise.

Finally, W6BBS, Frank pops up in one Rx sequence with a -21 signal 
and we proceed to work each other.  I do not see him for about six 
more TX/RX sequences until I receive RO, indicating he has received 
his signal report, and then I get his 73 which indicates he saw my 
confirmation of his RO.  I realize the eme shorthand reporting is a 
bit cryptic to those unfamiliar with it.  Frank runs four big 
16-element yagis with full KW, so should have been much stronger.

But my point is that I was experiencing one-way propagation thru the 
ionosphere.  My signal was passed up to the Moon and back thru to 
others (signal passes twice thru the ionosphere for eme).  But 
signals were not making back from the Moon to me.  I can only guess, 
maybe some weird scattering mechanism.  I am on the southern edge of 
the auroral "donut".

"There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who 
moil for gold, and the Arctic nights have seen queer sites that would 
make your blood run cold." from The Cremation of  Sam McGee - Robert Service



73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45
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