CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB
Call: W6NOW
Operator(s): W6NOW
Station: W6NOW
Class: Single Op LP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 1
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 5 State/Prov = 1 Countries = 0 Total Score = 10
Club: Southern California Contest Club
Comments:
Ok, so this was my first 160m experience ever. I decided to build a 160m antenna
yesterday out of materials I had available (except 2 bind posts for the
connections at the top and bottom). I'm calling this my 160Minute antenna.
I did a 140' of stranded wire (70' wound up about 1/2 inch apart from top to
bottom soldered to a PL-259 connector). I used 40 PVC about 7' long. The other
70' of wire goes from the top to a support pole about 8' off the ground. The
1:1 SWR is at 2.1, a little long on the wire but I had no sunlight to do the
trimming and adjustments.
One of the limitations I encountered was that I had no terminated coax to reach
from the highest point in my QTH back to the shack, so I had to compromise and
located the antenna near the house at the bottom, and obstructed by everything,
then ran the wire leg up the hill only about 5' off the ground due to other
limitations, like mud from last nights storm.
Did it work? Well, I can definitely hear with this antenna. It was very quite
tonight thanks to the rain but I managed to hear CA, IL, NM, UT, AR, OR, and
XE1. I managed to work 5 CA stations.
My antenna needs improvements: finish radial connection, run 2 x 64' radials,
ground, and setup antenna at the highest point which is about 200' higher than
where it is right now, and get the coax run completed. I'm definitely keeping
this antenna, so that I can at least get on 160m during other contests. This
antenna can be taken apart in 2 minutes, and used as a portable antenna.
Thanks to Jim (W6YI) for my very first QSO on 160m - PSE QSL ;-)
It was very nice to have worked N6AA as I was shutting down for the night.
de w6now.
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