Try w6el prop program to find when sigs peak on short path and long path--its free.

Then, search on line spots for VU to see if anyone is active from VU, and when they are on the air.

I seem to remember VU long path and short path here during winter, and sometimes LP during the spring on 20 meters.

I remember listening to W6CCP chatting with VU stations, at night, that I couldn't hear.

73
Bob

TNXs for the links.

I still have my P5/ from Romeo.

I've often wondered how he made it into USA?

73
Bob

<4. Stop being so critical. (open forum --- I can say what I want. So can you)
What did I miss? I'm sure you folks will dream up some good ones. >

Well.  Your post looks like a complaining.

If you wanted to criticize the ops, you could fault them for not restricting people to one Q per band, or no confirmation for any Qs.  But, that would be rather harsh, and might be impossible to implement while sitting on a platform over a rock in the ocean.

Plus, you didn't complain about the people having multiple calls, and trying to work them with each call, and then duping all the Qs.

Indeed, there are people who launch themselves into the challenge of cracking a pile-up, regardless of the consequences to other ops.

But, I didn't see you mention how many times you found where BS7 was listening, and them picking out someone else in your area who was stronger.  If you found them, and they were picking out people on the same frequency, in another part of the country, well, thats they way the propagation flows.

Also, I didn't see any mention of a temp antenna you built to increase your chances of getting through.  Competing on 20 SSB, against 4 element beams at 100 feet, and legal limit amps, if you are running a dipole barefoot, does not make much sense.

If one is restricted to barefoot, it makes more sense to get on 30 meters, and to make at least a temp 30 gp of some sort, for BS7.

I was restricted to a trap dipole, which I set up as a sloping dipole for N8S, and then reconfigured as an inverted L for BS7H.  The inverted L gave me the best low angle lobe on 20 and 15 meters, which I aimed towards BS7H.

Unfortunately, when their signals started peaking on 20 meters here, I couldn't find where they were listening; same for 17 meters.

Eventually, I found where they were listening on 30 meters, by finding the JA they worked and noted which direction they were tuning.  200 cycle filters for CW are necessary to zero in on where the DX is listening, sometimes narrower to get on top of the last station they worked.

I used EZNEC to model my antenna configurations, and W6EL prop to find when sigs would peak here.

Probably your best solace is that the next time BS7H comes up, if you are still haming, it will be a new one for you.

SO OT, what did you do to improve your chances?

Maybe someone can make suggestions so that your chances, on a really rare one, one in the top 5 or so, will be better next time.

I had a lot of FUN just trying to find out where they were listening.  AND, it would have been fine with me if my tombstone indicated I never worked BS7.

73
Have FUN
Bob

If there is a Lemon Law for electronic products, in your state, contact your state's Attourney General Office.

If you are a League member, you can contact them for help.

Some ham some place might be able to figure out why you are having all of these problems.  Consider finding a user's group, and posting the exact problems with a list of parts repaired that fixed the problem.

If I remember correctly, the 24 channel CBs had xtals 1, 2, 3, 5 times Xtal A, B, C, D, E, F which was better than having to buy an xtal for each channel, 10 xtals vrs 23.

You might start with schematics of a tube rig.

Bob