[Lowfer] Frustration...

[John Andrews]

Mike, Bill,

Sorry if I teed anybody off. This clustering of beacons has its advantages,
and the one disadvantage that anyone close to one or more of the beacons
will have some receiving problems. I used to enjoy listening/watching
beacons from the eastern U.S. at this time of year. Most of them are gone.
Many of those that are currently operating are clustered within a few Hz.
Even NC, which I was able to copy at mid-day last year, is no longer visible
here except on peaks at night.

But, PLEASE, I do understand your situation, Mike, and I'm not being
critical or asking you to do anything different. Believe me, you won't hurt
my ability to see WA! And for heaven's sake, don't try to please everybody!
Can't be done!  And I will from time to time be running TAG within that
grouping, so there is some value to it.

On the other hand, do realize that my ability to give signal reports in this
region is limited, both day and night. Take a look at this 10 A.M. screen
capture:
http://webpages.charter.net/w1tag/files/185300.jpg
WA and VD are clearly visible. TMO is within WA's signal, but not
identifiable except by frequency. Some pieces of USA may be there on "798".
Everything else you see is just junk. If I reduce the gain, I can clear up
WA and VD, but lose any chance of seeing weaker signals.

So my message is very simple: Operate wherever you want or need to. But
don't expect signal reports or hours of recording from folks like me when
you're very close to one of the New England signals.

John Andrews