There is no real point of worrying about what the other guy is using. We only can control our personal operation, and really have to leave the other end of the Q to manage theirs. 73/jeff/ac0c alpha
Another fellow pressed me on this. What I should have said - that perhaps is more clear - goes like this. 1. Worry about your own operation --> because you can control it. 2. No point to worry abou
There is good and bad with the FT8. The good is that it is bringing guys into the HF DX realm who never got active in DX because for whatever reason they felt they did not have a good DX station. Th
Vac relay works great. Ran one just like that for several years. Be sure to use serious bypass/choke at the relay and then at the base for common mode on the line as the pickup will be huge. 73/jeff
The MFJ259 is a fine box but when you get to 80m with anything near a BC it's going to be problems. In fact I discovered the hard way that even up on 20m the box can read funky if your antenna is bi
Unless you have no BC stations for 200 miles distant, making measurements with an MFJ259 on 160m is going to give you unreliable readings. The overload threshold on that band is extreemly low. 73/je
At this location, the VNWA is a bit squirly near the BC band but with a single L/C notch added at the device input (within the cal plane), it works fine. The AA-55 Zoom I have is immune and is the my
He was easy to work on 160m. Excellent OP. But I've worked him now twice on 80m but the Q has not showed up either time. Not sure if there is an 80m log problem, an eager SLIM or just a couple of b
Todd, get on the contest and rock and roll. I don't know of anyone on 160m who has not given their antennas an iterative workout over time. Bet you will do just fine. RX is the tougher nut anyway.
I worked 160m for a few years when living in a townhome. The antenna was a trap loaded attic mounted dipole that ran through holes in the ceiling and down the walls to the ground. Had a lot of 160m
Disconnect the other antenna. Let it float. 73/jeff/ac0c alpha-charlie-zero-charlie www.ac0c.com It made a pretty substantial difference in the measurements. The 1.5 SWR range is now only about 35 k
Tim, My take on the popularity is explained this way. FT8 has an SNR advantage over CW of around 5 dB, PSK31 - about 10 dB and SSB of more than 15 dB. So for a given set of link conditions, FT8 res
The last version of my elevated 40m 4-square (~2016-7?) was built with belden stuff that had the black coating all along the length. I buffed it up and used crimp connectors. Worked great. My reaso
Got tired of the maintenance. It was about 3-5' and was a pain in the neck for mowing. Plus keeping tension on the lines etc was a hassle. With a 4sq, you pay in the end. If it's elevated radials
Brad what bearing were you pointing too? 73/jeff/ac0c alpha-charlie-zero-charlie www.ac0c.com On 15-Feb-19 3:41 PM, Brad Denison wrote: I'll have to second VE9AA - signals in to southern NH on the 8
Is this an intellectual exercise or Jim do you want to do something at the top of this vert - like hang a vac relay there to engage some 160m top hat cap loading wires? 73/jeff/ac0c alpha-charlie-zer
I used a W1W relay at the top of mine for years without incident. 73/jeff/ac0c alpha-charlie-zero-charlie www.ac0c.com 73 jim ab3cv Just for grins - did a EZNEC free space - perfect ground - with 80
Around here, lightning arrestors on these power cables are the prime candidate. I have exactly the same issue here and every couple years have to go track down one that has started making racket ove
This makes complete sense to me. You are right - FTx is a different beastie and compared with RTTY, the latter takes a ton more HUMAN work to bag the week ones. 73/jeff/ac0c alpha-charlie-zero-charl
An inverted L without radials is a random length wire and the measurements are of no meaning until there is a ground system to make up the other half of the antenna. But to Wes point, the 259 and big