ARRL DX Contest - CW
Call: N6BT
Operator(s): N6BT
Station:
Class: SOSB/10
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
----------------------
160:
80:
40:
20:
15:
10: 41 28
----------------------
Total: 41 28 = 3,444
Comments:
Before you say anything, I was asked to post this score!
This might be a "first." The antenna used is a 150 watt lightbulb. It is
mounted on a 4' tall fence post and fed through a Force 12 B-1 balun with 3"
leads. The coax runs down the post and along the ground. There are no other
antennas nearby, but to make sure, the closest Yagi was turned at 90
degrees to
lightbulb in the target direction. I used 9913 Flex coax to minimize loss.
The reason for the test is to verify some charts I have developed with
assistance from others. The charts are of antenna performance vs. enjoyment of
amateur radio. They are used in my antenna forum, entitled, "Everything
Works."
The key is to understand the performance envelope. The far left of the charts
for the high bands is the worst antenna I could imagine, which is a lightbulb.
It was estimated to be 17-18dB below a full size dipole on 10 meters and was
confirmed over about 3 weeks of testing. The far right of the chart is
world-class competitive antennas, which are +8dB to a dipole (an excellent
6 or
7 element Yagi). The overall range between the lightbulb and world class
potential is around 25dB.
I tried the lightbulb for an hour or so in the 10-10 contest and made 12
QSO's on 10SSB, all in the Midwest. The farthest was to Indiana, about 2,000
miles. The ARRL DX CW was next. I had to do some work on our new garage before
the next rain (came on Sunday), so operating time was limited.
My first call was to V47KP. One call. Easy! I operated on and off and ended
the day with 14 countries. The first EU was S53R - one call. That night it was
apparent that I had worked all continents except for Africa. Would ZD8Z be on
tomorrow? Yes - heard him just as the sun was rising, but he was les than
S1 on
the meter. I knew from experience that I could occasionally work an S1
station,
but they usually needed to hit S3 (on the TS-850S) meter to have a good
shot. I
kept checking for about 90 minutes and - there he was. Made another call and
completed worked all continents. After that, I experimented with trying more
power. I figured I could run maybe 200-300 watts if I kept the keying speed
high. No - blew the bulb. I saved the bulb and went out to the store and
bought
a 250 watt bulb -- now I was really set for QRO!
The filament was more stable, which helped. With the 150 watt, I would have
to move off frequency, hit the key for a second or so to warm it up, then make
the call. I eventually got bold enough and ran a peak of 500 watts at 36wpm
into the 250 watt bulb. This enabled me to test various power levels. As many
of us know, 2 or 3dB is a LOT. It certainly makes the difference.
I operated on and off again throughout the day and ended with 41 QSO's and
28 countries.
My thanks to all of you for hearing this weak signal. Many were made on one
call. The toughest was RW2F, who I called over about a 30 minute period with
his signals between S1 and S3. DL1IAO asked me if I was QRP - pretty funny - I
told him I was.
There are two advantages with this antenna - the band is VERY quiet. It is
also very inexpensive.
I hope we can learn some things from experiments like this. It would have
been much more enjoyable to use a real antenna, but doing research sometimes
requires efforts that are not necessarily a lot of fun. Everything does work -
the difference is how well. Diligence with even a lightbulb can get us worked
all continents in a weekend. Wonder if I can make DXCC.....
73, Tom, N6BT
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at:
http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
N6BT 41 28 3,444SOSB/10
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