W5WMU...THE FULL PICTURE

[BillK5GA at aol.com]

For those who are interested in W5WMU, please read on.

--- THE ANTENNA FARM ( AN EVOLUTION OF 20 YEARS)

10M.......6el @ 170'  (beginning this fall)
             6el @ 110'
             4/4 @ 60'/45'
             4/4 @ 45'/30'
             4el @ 40'

15M.......6el @ 190'
             4el @ 110'
             4el @ 70'
             4el @ 50'
             2/2 @ 65'/35'  (these are 2el quads)

20M.......3el @ 200' (beginning this fall)
              6el @ 160'
              4el @ 120'
              4el @ 90'
              4el @ 70' (a stateside killer)
              4el @ 40' (a short-skip killer)

40M........4el @ 160'
               3el @ 130' (DX Engineering...tremendous antenna)
               2el @ 90'
               4el @ 70' (this one fell down..not up again yet)

80m.........4el wire array @ 150' (W3/W4 people hadn't experienced 
                this one until last weekend)
                3el Vertical @ NE with a 300 radial ground system
                Dipole @ 190'

160M........Slopers both NE and SE at 190'


--------THE LOCATION
        
W5WMU is located in marshy swamp land with tremendous ground characteristics.
This certainly enhances the antennas

W5WMU is practically in W4 land. There is no one in the area to compare
against ( for propogation condx, etc)

---------TECHNICAL STUFF

Get your handbooks out and read-up on db change vs. power level. One must
increase power 4 TIMES in order to achieve 6db change. When a signal is 30-40
db over S9, what difference is 6db????

----------THE FUTURE

Experiments are being attempted to try out open wire feeds to all towers in
order to achieve 2-3db power increase to the antennas. This is of course
equivalent to an increase in power level of 2 to 3 TIMES!!

IN CLOSING, I personally think that when one wishes to improve his signal,
put all efforts in building a tremendous antenna arsenal. W5WMU has spent
years at this, and his signal shows it.

73

Bill K5GA


>From John W. Brosnahan" <broz at csn.org  Thu Jul 14 00:50:09 1994
From: John W. Brosnahan" <broz at csn.org (John W. Brosnahan)
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 17:50:09 -0600
Subject: In defense of big signals
Message-ID: <199407132350.AA08726 at teal.csn.org>

Aluminum is mightier than large vacuum tubes.  It is a lot easier to get
outlandish signal improvements with aluminum than with vacuum tubes.
Adding 10 dB more power only gives you 10 dB more at the other end.  But
putting up enough aluminum and at the right heights can provide incredible
gains.
 
Case 1.  When I first got up my 8/8/8/8 on 10M, N2IC wanted to run a
comparison with his KT34XA at 100ft.  As the band dropped out for him on VK 
and he could no longer hear them or they him, I was still S9.  An 8L Yagi
monobander may optimistically have 5 or 6 dB more gain than a tribander 
and four of them will have maybe 12 dB (6+6) more gain.  But this doesn't come 
close to 9 S units.  When the band was open well the stack was still superior 
but by nothing coming close to that margin.  It is in the angle of arrival, 
ie propagation, that makes these hugh differences.
 
Case 2.  When the HA5BUS operation was on from Bangladesh a couple of years
ago, I could work them for a few hours every morning on 10M long path
with signals reaching 30 over 9.  As people heard me working them over that
week that I was active, a lot of others got through, but not with signals
even approaching S9.  And when the pileup was no longer detectable in 
Bangladesh, I was still S7.  Long path on 10M over South America into
Bangladesh requires low angles of radiation.  The signals who couldn't get
through after the band had dropped out for them while I was still S7 
probably couldn't have gotten through with 10 dB more power.
 
Case 3.  Using the 7/7/7/7 on 15M a little over a year ago a Pacific station
stood by for QRP.  I backed down to 1 watt and called him and he said
something to the effect of  "W0UN, I am listening for QRP only and at
30 over 9 you are obviously not QRP" whereupon I stated that "I was only
running 1 watt and that he had not indicated he was only listening
for little antennas, only for low power".  After I told him about the
array he laughed and we had a nice but short qso before he went back to 
working "QRP with small antennas".  Clearly 30 over 9 is a big signal
but I was running 1 watt not high power, but I bet there were a lot of
skeptics on the frequency that evening.  And of course this happened
at our primo time for propagation to the Pacific giving me all of the
advantages.
 
So before anyone accusses anyone else of running high power I think it is
wise to assume that the big signals are due to propagation and aluminum
rather than big gas, unless one has personal, first-hand knowledge.
 
I would hate to be maligned here or on the air for running big gas
when I have spent my money on steel and aluminum.  (But when I do get
suspicious is when the loud signal can't hear anyone calling him.)  
Big amps don't make the DX loud in the headphones, only "Big antennas, high
in the sky".
 
I have visited a number of stations who have been the subject of rumors
of high power and when I saw the stations they all had big antennas
and not big gas.  I know there is big gas out there, but I don't think it
is rampant, or even very common.
 
Thank you.  John  W0UN     broz at csn.org
 
(This is not meant as a defense or an attack on any individual(s) only a
desire to eliminate rumors and innuendo--if you have first hand knowledge
then flame away!)