[Lowfer] Wateringhole in CT + SDR & Beacons

[Steve Dove]

Hi Bob,

There might well be a differing 'radiator's perspective',  but from a more-or-less 
perpetual receptor's perspective,  the answer has to be 'no'  -  a single watering 
hole is plenty, provided there is reasonable self-stewardship of transmissions in 
terms of chosen slot, stability and occupied bandwidth, which by and large there 
is.  Given that, there's easily room for twice as many signals in the present 6.5Hz-
ish swath.

If I were a radiator, and in particular one of those guys to the west,  I'd like to 
know that there's a chance of people watching/snapshotting for them, even if 
by accident.  That is exactly what is more likely to happen at the watering hole 
as we know it now.  

Frankly, yet another frequency to watch means just yet another frequency which 
is not going to be being watched when something 'interesting' happens.  
Dilution:  we can't all watch everything all the time.  The most I can do at the 
moment here is three simultaneously (including DCF-39), and that's starting to be 
a bunch of resources and a lot of plates to keep spinning on sticks..

I think John (A) has the right idea  -  if he's doing something cute or 'odd' (like we 
all aren't already) or that needs more than a profligate quarter-hertz, he'll set up 
shop elsewhere;  but for propagational beaconing, the watering hole is the place 
to be, a centre of gravity, a critical mess.  There is far more to be learnt, and 
more fun to be had, from observing a busy screenful of signals.  DXing around 
from frequency to frequency, waiting for enough of a screen to fill to tell whether 
there's anything there (and there might be, but in a QSB slump), then starting all 
over again elsewhere, whilst lots of other signals go unobserved, sounds like a 
backward step.

The only thing I can think of that might make regionality sensible is for those 
'listening' whilst cowering in the shadows of the mighty antennas of the northeast 
powerhouses, which can I imagine light up the screen big-time to the detriment 
of weakies between.  Perhaps a northeast ghetto at one end of the 'hole,  DX 
(everybody else) at the other?

        Cheers,

                Steve    .  .  .



12/9/2003 8:49:56 PM, riese-k3djc@juno.com wrote:

>
>On Tue, 9 Dec 2003 10:43:11 -0600 "Steve Hughes" <hughe029@umn.edu>
>writes:
>> Hi Bob,
>> 
>> My home is in Saint Paul, Minnesota. 
>> 
>> Currently I am listening with an RX-320 and a long wire antenna.
>> 
>>
>
>I touched bases with Steve off list but his question on the Watering Hole
>raised an interesting point. Should we be looking at another regional
>hole  ??
>the current one is pretty full with the E/NE group and would it be worth
>starting
>another for the N/Mid West group... 
>
>Kind of end up watering holing across country,,, Thoughts Comments 
>
>Bob  K3DJC
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