ARRL 160-Meter Contest
Call: W1DYJ
Operator(s): W1DYJ
Station: W1DYJ
Class: SO Unlimited LP
QTH: EMA
Operating Time (hrs): 8
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 124 Sections = 29 Countries = 1 Total Score = 7,530
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
Rig: TS-2000
100% S&P
I was on sporadically on Friday night and some of Saturday
night as I lost prime time to a holiday party.
With 10M essentially gone for a few years, I've decided to
learn what I can about 160. I first tried 160 two years ago,
when I played with my shortened, loaded, 8M high 80M dipole.
Needless to say it didn't get out very well.
I have no tall trees on my EMA (Woburn) property, but I decided
to experiment for the CQ WW CW anyway. I snaked a dipole
around my yard, about 3 meters high on average, in a "Z" shape.
The southwest segment was about 4M high in a line of trees. The
middle segment went across the back of the house. Then the
northeast segment sloped down the side of my front yard right
on top of a five foot high hedge. Modeling showed it to have
about negative 6 dBi of gain straight up, but the real SWR
response was not very close to the modeled response. The
model was obviously not taking into consideration the loading
from the hedge.
It didn't work very well either.
For this contest I reoriented that front-yard "hedge" side to my
back yard, so it became a "U" -- not as good a shape theoretically,
but at least that leg was now in the trees also about 4M high.
Although the model now had negative 8 dBi of gain straight up,
the actual SWR response was now closer to the model, so I suspect
the model is now a more accurate one. It also worked better as I
was able to contact most of the stations I heard, at least the
ones east of the Mississippi, and one Caribbean country. I could
not connect with those heard farther to the west.
A 160 dipole at an average of 4M high, and in the trees, is better
than nothing as it allowed me to have some fun! And I have a
challenge for next year to improve it!
73 -- Larry -- W1DYJ
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