12-02-2022, 07:56 AM
Having had 1st hand experience with 144 MHz TEP when in Alice Springs, the experience is much like working via the southern aurora. There is soo much multi path distortion in place the signal can be S5 but totally unintelligible. CW sounds like an old fashion mechanical buzzer. On SSB the signal has no right tuning spot as you can move the dial and it still sounds the same.
I seriously doubt any of the current digital modes will cut the mustard but if any will, Q65 C or D is probably going to be the one.
Pointers when looking for night time TEP on 144, the signals on 50 MHz will start to have a running watery sound to them. which is the multipath distortion, then you can start looking for 144. I seriously doubt it will creep this far south. At Alice Springs we only got to the very bottom of JA on 144, it was a thrill but really hard work for each contact. Tried the FM section of the band (145 MHz) but the signals had extreme HISS on them from the multipath and of course not many of the FM op's at that time had much understanding of English, which is probably not the case now.
Good luck but do not bet the house on it making it much below Rockhampton in VK4.
sorry to be the wet blanket but the night time TEP needs to be extreme for it to come south. The Darwin boys could use FM hand held radios to work them but that's the joys of the tropics I guess.
I seriously doubt any of the current digital modes will cut the mustard but if any will, Q65 C or D is probably going to be the one.
Pointers when looking for night time TEP on 144, the signals on 50 MHz will start to have a running watery sound to them. which is the multipath distortion, then you can start looking for 144. I seriously doubt it will creep this far south. At Alice Springs we only got to the very bottom of JA on 144, it was a thrill but really hard work for each contact. Tried the FM section of the band (145 MHz) but the signals had extreme HISS on them from the multipath and of course not many of the FM op's at that time had much understanding of English, which is probably not the case now.
Good luck but do not bet the house on it making it much below Rockhampton in VK4.
sorry to be the wet blanket but the night time TEP needs to be extreme for it to come south. The Darwin boys could use FM hand held radios to work them but that's the joys of the tropics I guess.
Peter Sumner, vk5pj
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
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You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
- Winston Churchill