yb0ibm @ G8CYK - 2017-04-02T15-30-53Z_14237.0kHz

yb0ibm @ G8CYK - 2017-04-05T19-06-32Z_14238.0kHz

yb0ibm- FIRDAUS (daud) BACHMID - great name - was also piled up on 20m, under an impossible heap of shouty south Europeans - but only after a thorough ragchew with A41NN (Oman) during a fabulous opening to the middle and far East

yb0ibm from his QRZ page

The excellent VOACAP Online shows the specific route forecast conditions....  this contact is just about predicted

September 25th 2017: another sked does the trick

Well, we eventually got the the deed done! Against all predications (the VOA chart) conditions to Jakarta were very good - and Daud kindly agreed to a sked.

And then found out about his serious local QRN problem. Living in downtown Jakarta is a big challenge to deal with the man-made noise.

Having now seen the recording of noise, I can appreciate why so many people arrive at a yb0ibm pile up and shout their tonsils off - but can't get heard.

If you want to work exotic DX like yb0ibm more easily- so you don't have to overcome the local noise level as well as teh suual hazards and challenges of pileups, then help us research how to track and deal with the rogue noise sources - which in many cases are nothing more than a small plug-top phone charger with failed suppression.

Increasingly in all locations, solar power inverter schemes are notorious noise generators - but as long as the source can be tracked down and identified, it can be cured .

... despite VOA's pessimism, band conditions were good for once, 20m was wide open to Indonesia

... ...

Unless you live in a lead-lined screened room, you will be aware of the growing noise from all manner of electronic and radio devices. Daud does not live in such a place, and this is the view from the mast location in Downtown Jakarta. Got the picture?

You may now realise why although there are frequently BIG  signals from this famous bellwether of the HF bands, you will need to blast through s9+ noise to get heard.

It sounds like the familiar poorly suppressed SMP noise that the UK is growing all too familiar with. Mains electricity in Indonesia is 230 Volts, 50Hz... so no surprise the noise period is 10mSec...

I didn't believe how big the signals were at first. But this was another of the recent openings to the Far East that reminds us that HF is unpredictable.

Unusually for 20m, PD9Z is perfectly audible and  there is even a point at 11:15 where he drops the power to ten watts and you can barely tell the difference.

At 14:35 listen to iw9ckg being loud and annoying and completely failing to get heard in Jakarta - but he was certainly heard this end. oe6nkg was not heard here .

DX Diary April 4th 2017 : working the crowd at 7000 miles

Wow. A mammoth pile up taking advantage of freak conditions. Even stronger at times than on the 2nd.

All 42 minutes 51 seconds from first heard to fade out. Many of the calling stations can also be heard. UK stations did well in this bunfight. G1DRW, G7GPH, G4SKO, G3TPL to name but a few.

M6MVW (Hockley - a local) with just 10W got 5/9! (I think I may have to pop over with a watt meter.)

It is a little frustrating for those waiting in the crowd to hear stations that get through reciting information already included in QRZ.com - especially when Daud says "hi, Flavio" (having instantly looked it up)  ...and then Flavio ponderously and tediously spells his name out, letter-by-letter....

ea8zt, yb0ibm, yb0ar out on the town - in Jakarta

The VOA predictor for this day is rather more optimistic and accurate all round.

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