Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: KH8SI  (Read 5095 times)

  • Guest
KH8SI
« on: July 29, 2006, 09:59:10 AM »

After a fruitless and frustrating night in the pileups, KH8SI was workable on 40M LSB (just after sunrise), and then on 20M USB (after listening to static for 2 hours and then they just barely came back on after a break).

In both cases, they faded away after a short while. I was surprised how strong they were all night on 20M and 17M - the pileups were HUGE and WIDE, with lots of QRM.

Luckily I worked them just before I have to leave on vacation - where I won't be bringing gear. Sometimes it is just perserverence, luck, and lots of listening.

Something tells me a bigger DX-Ped will be organized within a year, where everyone will work them with ease. Kind of like Ducie.
Logged

WB2WIK

  • Member
  • Posts: 21885
KH8SI
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2006, 09:20:59 AM »

Hope you're right.

I've been really busy past few days, with very little time to operator or even listen; however I did listen to the KH8SI operation Friday, Saturday and Sunday early evening (14.195) and must say on all three occasions, it was very out of control -- all due to the KH8SI operator not maintaining control.

Listening in a 20 kHz wide window and not asking for calls by districts is lunacy.

I've been in an awful lot of DX pileups over four decades and cannot recall any of them being quite as out of control as this one has been (at least on phone).  Every single time KH8SI actually answered somebody by giving the complete callsign, a thousand stations just went ahead and called, anyway.  Absolutely senseless.  If I was the "SI" operator, I'd have made a list of lids who did that, and announced the list over the air, saying, "The following operators will not be worked or acknowledged and will not be in our log: W1ABC, K2XYZ...etc."  Doing that maybe 20-30 times would only take 5-10 minutes from the operation and might help bring it back under control.

But keeping the window down to 10 kHz and going by call area probably would have helped a lot.  

WB2WIK/6
Logged

KB9CRY

  • Member
  • Posts: 4283
    • homeURL
KH8SI
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2006, 10:16:15 AM »

Something tells me a bigger DX-Ped will be organized within a year, where everyone will work them with ease.  
Hope you're right.


Nope, not gonna happen!:)


Of course it's going to happen.  It's the middle of summer in the solar minimum, so let's be realistic.  Come this winter, it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel.  It's only KH8 and for us in the states you should be able to work them all bands & modes.

And, going to play DX on a tropical island that is easy to get to, of course there will be many more DXpeds.



it was very out of control -- all due to the KH8SI operator not maintaining control.


Yes, some of the ops don't have much experience but you takes what you gets.  Right?


Listening in a 20 kHz wide window and not asking for calls by districts is lunacy.


I agree.



Every single time KH8SI actually answered somebody by giving the complete callsign, a thousand stations just went ahead and called, anyway. Absolutely senseless.


Not really the KH8 ops fault.


If I was the "SI" operator, I'd have made a list of lids who did that, and announced the list over the air, saying, "The following operators will not be worked or acknowledged and will not be in our log: W1ABC, K2XYZ...etc."


I'd love to hear the lids respond to you if you did that.  Persistence only works, plus moving to a different band.  


I did snag them last night on 17M, their signal came up big time just after dark and then got them early this morning on 40M.  

Don't despair everyone, they'll be back.

Phil  KB9CRY
Logged

NB1U

  • Member
  • Posts: 55
KH8SI
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2006, 10:53:17 AM »

At one point last Saturday evening (east coast) the 20m op. asked for "East of the Mississippi River", then "West of the Missiissippi River to the Rockies", then "West of the Rockies". While not by district, it did allow me to finally work him.

Mark, NB1U
Logged

N3OX

  • Member
  • Posts: 8919
    • N3OX Projects, etc.
KH8SI
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2006, 11:33:27 AM »

Last night on 20m CW there were callers spread from 14046 (1kHz up) to 14082.  

36kHz wide sparse CW pileup.  36kHz.  Pileup kept sliding up the band till it got into RTTY territory and then back down to .046, but there were stations parked every few hundred Hz through the whole range just hoping to get lucky.

Rate was about 1.5 /minute or something and every station who got through got a
"NN#XX de KH8SI 599", though sometimes it was KS8SI or KS8H.

Sigh.

I gotta admit, I would have choked in that situation too.  I'm not a brand-new-DXCC-entity class CW op either.  They probably should have brought one, plenty of ops would have signed on, I'd imagine.  The frustration was tangible.  KH8/S will be back... not likely to snag them this time.  

Dan
Logged
73,
Dan
http://www.n3ox.net

Monkey/silicon cyborg, beeping at rocks since 1995.

K9NW

  • Member
  • Posts: 540
KH8SI
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2006, 02:09:42 PM »

I guess the most interesting thing I heard Saturday night was when the op said "QRZ, listening 200-215, but mostly 212.5"  Umm.......

But it's all part of the game.  Frustrating at times, sure.


73, Mike K9NW
Logged

AA8LL

  • Member
  • Posts: 400
KH8SI
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2006, 02:26:21 PM »

I have been having great fun chasing the KH8SI.  If it were easy, what would be the point?  I can't believe how rude many ops have been to this DXpedition.  Thanks to all ops who travel to be DX for us.  I'm going to get them on 20-meters tonight.  All complainers and whiners should boycott them. (Just kidding guys!)

73 Wade  AA8LL
Logged

N3OX

  • Member
  • Posts: 8919
    • N3OX Projects, etc.
KH8SI
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2006, 04:47:29 PM »

I just don't think that being on a new entity entitles you to being a lid that populates everything between 14045 and 14082 with callers based on your listening practices.  It's not good hamming, whether it was Swain's Island or some dude in Minnesota... it's just that the latter never happens.

It's not rude to expect good operating practices out of other hams.  It is, in fact, part of being a good amateur.

73,
Dan
Logged
73,
Dan
http://www.n3ox.net

Monkey/silicon cyborg, beeping at rocks since 1995.

N3OX

  • Member
  • Posts: 8919
    • N3OX Projects, etc.
KH8SI
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2006, 04:49:25 PM »

Oh, yeah, and it doesn't do the DXing community any favors to obliterate huge swaths of the band and enrage the people who already think DXing is stupid.

I love it, but not everyone does, and we've got to coexist.  Bet the PSK ragchewers were loving the GIANT PILEUP when it got to 14070.  I'm not sure PSK is robust enough for massive AGC overload.

Dan
Logged
73,
Dan
http://www.n3ox.net

Monkey/silicon cyborg, beeping at rocks since 1995.

WW5AA

  • Member
  • Posts: 2086
KH8SI
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2006, 07:02:40 AM »

While he was working split on 40 meters, 7095/7219, I was not very astounded by the Extra lights calling out of band on 7095, but Advanced class?

73, de Lindy  
Logged

KB9CRY

  • Member
  • Posts: 4283
    • homeURL
KH8SI
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2006, 12:19:09 PM »

Sounds like a lot of you are new to this DX pileup game! :)

I don't think this DXped is any different, lid-wise and op-wise, from others.  Their trying to do their best with bad propagation and in the middle of summer.

Be patient and you'll work them.  This morning they were begging for Qs on 40M SSB.  No lids, no waiting.

Listen and listen to the pileups and try to figure out how they're working and where the will be and set up there.  But keep listening and moving and you'll get through.  All this practice will only make you better operators.  Those with marginal systems will have a harder time of it but again use all your resources to try to grab them.

Now's the time, as they are working through most of the stations.  Keep a log of when they appear on a particular band and try to be there the next day and see if you can be first.

Wake up in the middle of the night when the lids are asleep and you'll get them.

It's only Amer. Samoa, so there will be many more DXpeds and during this winter you'll be surprised at how easy they will be.

Keep listening.   Phil  KB9CRY
Logged

AH6FC

  • Member
  • Posts: 117
KH8SI
« Reply #11 on: August 17, 2006, 12:07:16 PM »

Never worked them.  Barely heard them.  You can be sure they were stressed with the huge pile-ups and certainly learned from their experience.  Intentional QRM really gets old.  It's there on the cw band too, but more on the phone side.  Discouraging.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up