ARLA/CLUSTER: Anunciado novo recorde mundial de contactos em 630m (472 a 479 kHz)

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

A new world record on 630 meters ?

SARL News report that Eric Tichansky, NO3M and Roger Crofts, VK4YB,
are claiming a new world distance record on 630 meters . They worked
each other on 14 October at 10:32 UTC using the JT9 mode.

Eric said the contact represented the culmination of 2 years of effort
around every equinox since September 2017. "Hopes were wearing thin as
we were moving away from the recent equinox on 23 September," he said.

"Even when the path may have been open over the past 3 weeks, either
end would be plagued with QRN." He said that while the opening that
facilitated the record-breaking contact was not comparably as strong
as past openings, "something special was obviously at play."

The contact covered 14 979 kilometres, topping the previous record of
13 441 kilometres set by Roger Crofts, VK4YB and Kenneth Roberson,
K5DNL, by nearly 1 538 kilometres.

Eric said his transmit antenna is a 20,5 metre top-loaded vertical and
the receive antenna is a full-sized eight-circle array comprised of
short verticals. The transmit/receive at VK4YB is a linear-loaded
vertical.