[OKDXA] Bouvet Ops

[kodiak]

Jeff -I agree with  your Crozet vs Bouvet contrast

Opinions on the success of the Bouvet Op seem to be the polar opposite
for those that secured a QSO vs. those that didn't , like you I am in
the latter group.

Missing Bouvet was not for lack of effort on my part.  I took several
days off from work and was glued to the radio for 4-6 hours each time
on FT8. They (Bouvet) simply would not work NA stations, just Europe,
it was frustrating, and each day passed with an increasing
side serving of sour grapes.There appeared to be good bidirectional
propagation on both days, signals (two streams) on my rx were more
than optimal. Bouvet did occasionally make a QSO with NA, and their
reported RX sig levels from the NA stations were outstanding as well.

Not sure how those "few NA stations" were selected, perhaps they were
big donors with a pre-coordinated timeslot, or flagged on an alert
list .....  just wild speculation on my part, sour grapes will do
that.

Meanwhile I have three digital  and two SSB contacts with Thierry, the
guy is a workhorse.

It would be nice if all teams pre-published a plan showing their
travel logistics, time on site, equipment,  and projected QSO Rate per
continent.  When teams have a solid plan I have no problem pressing
the Paypal donation button, with others I'm not so sure anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful to all the teams for their hard work
under poor (and sometimes dangerous) conditions, I just want to hedge
my limited bets on those with the best odds.

Thanks

Brian, AA5H
3W9OK