QRP on 160 is possible but you need a very good antenna, especially for DX.
(It is still painful, though.)
On the TX3A Chesterfield DXpedition I worked a W7 on TB, good signal, no bid
deal. About an hour later he called me again and I worked him again. Then
another 30 minutes later I heard him calling. He was very weak but we
completed the QSO. I was thinking, why all the dupes? Next day I saw his
email: The first QSO was with 100 W. The second with 5 W and the third with
700 mW! From New Mexico to Chesterfield! TX3A had a good DHDL RX antenna
pointing towards NA, which helped to keep down all the tropical noise.
Still... The guy had a full size 4-SQ. Aha...
In a contest however, I think QRP is a bit unfair to the other guy. Except
in the SP, other contests do not reward you for working a QRP. You do all
the hard work of digging him out of the noise, needing many cycles to put
together the call-sing -- dealing with all the people wanting to take the
frequency -- just to complete a QSO that you get no extra points for.
But working DX on 160 with 5 W is a unique thrill. Well worth the effort.
The trick is to wait until conditions are right. Otherwise, you will be
wasting your time.
George,
AA7JV
On Mon, 1 Jul 2024 10:57:15 -0700 Radio KH6O wrote:
Is anyone regularly using say, 25W or less on 160?
--
73,
Jeff KH6O / 6
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