I was struggling to be heard in the contest last night. Only 4 stations were
worked and they needed repeats. All readings in the shack were normal and I
was hearing many stations with moderate signals. The only thing that was
different was that we were irrigating the grass. The grass is irrigated by
flooding from a small canal that is on the edge of the property. The canal is
fresh water fed from an Andean river. There was about a quarter of an inch of
water visible over the mowed grass. I am wondering if the water is effecting
the antenna performance.
I do not have a super station and only run 800W. The antenna is a 45 foot
vertical T loaded at the top. There are 32 radials 60 to 80 feet in length of
different type wires. All are insulated with various materials and are buried
about an inch below the soil level.
Anyone have any experience or knowledge on this. The soil is drying now in the
blistering sun so maybe we will see if there is any improvement tonite.
Thanks. Jack OA4TT
Sent from my iPad
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