[Lowfer] 1750 meter band skip zone

[Garry Hess]

Thanks for the question Andy; it has stimulated interesting discussion.

Two observations based on limited experience listening below 530 kHz 
from NE IL are: (1) it's hard to copy signals to the east and (2) it's 
even harder if they're on the other side of the Atlantic.

To my surprise I find lowfers MP and EAR daytime regulars year-round at 
about 350 miles (unfortunately, lowfer RM at just a bit more distance is 
yet to be seen, day or night). That's true with both 10' shielded loop 
and e-probe antennas. To some degree it's thanks to QRSS-60 reception, 
but generally those signals are discernible even with QRSS-3 bandwidth. 
During the summer, night-time copy of those beacons was lost but it has 
recently returned. Beacon WEB at nearly 1000 miles comes in at night 
year-round, also strong enough to copy with QRSS-3. Wolf beacon TAG is 
about the same distance to the east and it hasn't been copied since last 
Spring. Even during the dead of winter the much farther beacon VO1NA to 
the east was copied only briefly a few times.

The only low-power signals from Europe copied here so far have been NDB 
POR on 327 kHz (0000Z 2/3/09) and GI4DPE on 501.057 kHz (12/15/08). 
Quite a few European beacons have been copied on the west coast via CW 
and WSPR, but nothing has made it to Chicago yet. On the other hand, 25W 
NDBs to the west over land often come through with audible CW at night, 
MOG on 404 kHz at 1700 miles being an example. Not sure of it's power 
level but LLD, Lanai, HI on 353 kHz at over 4000 miles occasionally 
comes through before sunrise in the winter. So does high-power station 
IPA, Easter Island on 280 kHz at 4800 miles. Numerous NDBs in South 
American are copyable in the winter, some despite substantial land along 
the direct path. And copy of beacons above 60 degree latitude also isn't 
rare.

High-power NDB GLS in TX on 206 kHz at 1000 miles can be copied during 
the day, but only in the dead of winter. High power NDB DDP in Puerto 
Rico on 391 kHz at 2000 miles seems a daytime possibility - perhaps this 
winter.

With all the new stations licensed for operation around 500 kHz it will 
be interesting to see what can be copied the coming winter.

73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL