30m dxcc

DX analysis of FT8 contacts

It's one of my interests to analyse why and how contacts can made possible on a specified band.

This weekend I worked a YC6 at 19h UTC.  It was before sunset on my side and before sunrise in Indonesia.  So this contact is a surprise for me.  We exchanged -16dBm and -15dBm.

At 22h UTC I worked another YB.  This time we were both in the twilight zone.  In accordance with the expectations on 80m.  We exchanged -24dBm and -16dBm.

Same graph for the USA contacts.  Although the West coast was in also in the twilight zone around 3h UTC, nobody came back to my call.  I suspect the G5RV in this case.  To be continued

80m DX with a G5RV antenna

This weekend I started a new era in my ham career. 
Go for DX on the low bands.

The plan for the coming years is :

- try different antennas for 160/80/40, i.e. now the G5RV, later the 160m windom and maybe a double G5RV if the windom isn't working as expected on 160m.
- focus on DX for DXCC, WAZ, WAS
- without high new costs
- without too much work

This weekend I've put up my G5RV, since 25 years my most reliable low-cost antenna.
Reliable if some basic rules are respected.
The most important rule is to keep the ladder line a free as possible and at least a few meters above ground.  Second rule is to keep a high angle between the two 16m horizontal wires.

The purpose was to focus on some mechanical aspects, especially on how to keep the wires as high as possible and to check FT8 behaviour on a lower band.

For this test I the antenna was @18m with the wires slightly slopering, but with an angle above 120°.

I made 260 Q's, of which 50 with the US.
Power : 150 W, 7 W drive into the Acom1000 and terminated on a manual tuner in the shack.

First highlight :
YC6JRT and YB0AZ around 22h UTC (sunset/sunrise).  New country and new zone.
I made allready a qso with YB on 80m SSB, but my green stamps were never responded.  This time LOTW allready confirmed one.

These QSOs were made between a series of DL and G callsigns.

It should be an improvement if the user can setup WSJT to make the contact with f.e. longest distance station. 
Now it is only based on response time when multiple stations are answering a CQ.
A checkbox with preferred zone, needed country, etc... should be an advantage for better DX-ing.
And yes... you can call for dx only.

Second highlight : I was able to decode stations with a level of -24 (!) dB.  Stations impossible to hear in morse.

Third highlight : my 150W signal on a non-dx antenna was heard almost everywhere in the world, exept in the western US States.   This will of course change in winter-time.

Even my missing zones CE, XE en ZS were alerting my signal at -10 dB to -17dB, easily workable in FT8 terms.  So for the comings weeks, I can expect more new countries.

I also copied JA, CO (new one on 80m), PY.
I added West Virginia for the WAS award on 80m.

One of the coming days, my 160m windom antenna will arrive. 

With a total length of 83m, a new challenge for my qth. 
Howeve, thanks to the surprising good G5RV results I will wait for autumn-time to use it.

Within the same order, a FT817 cable will arrive to connect to the Microham. 
I'll be able to listen on a BOG on a power-friendly way and see what comes in on the lower bands.