Message-ID: <2000052019564768199@zetnet.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 19:56:47 +0100
To: rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org
From: "Peter Dodd" <g3ldo@zetnet.co.uk>
Subject: LF: Re: Liaison
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On the 10th of March I received an e-mail from Alan Melia saying that 
Brian Rogerson, CT1DRP, was in a position to receive 73kHz signals; 
although all he had heard to that date was Rugby. Brian was keen to 
try to receive amateur signals on this band before it was withdrawn 
(due for the end of June 2000 at the time).

After an initial exchange of e-mails I agreed to transmit QRSS 
signals on 71.8kHz but the results were negative.

I then asked Brian to send me a .JPG of his Spectrogram screen. The 
display was a mess with masses of electrical QRM.

In a series of e-mail exchanges I passed  to Brian the collective LF 
group wisdom (G4GVC et al)  for improving the receive system. This 
included improving the antenna resonating and matching and extending 
the ground system. The e-mails received from Brian showed intelligent 
response to the advice and  the .JPG images continuing improvement in results.

On the 5th of April I received an e-mail from Brian, with an attached 
.JPG, saying "was this you". 
It certainly was, although only readability 'T'; more recognizable 
from the frequency characteristics on keying than the data!

On the 10th of April I received a further .JPG from Brian showing my 
the 72kHz side of my cross-band QSO with I5TGC, this time readability 'O'.

The reason for describing this saga in detail is to show the value of 
liaison for propagating LF experience, particularly  if you are 
trying to achieve a long distance contact over over a path whose 
characteristics are not well known. When you realise that Brian had 
not received any amateur signal until the 5th of April,  to receive a 
30mW signal over 1200km as his first received amateur signal was 
quite an achievement.

Could not such a similar procedure be used for the transatlantic path?  

-- 
Regards, Peter, G3LDO

<g3ldo@zetnet.co.uk>