Topband: 160 FROM GUANTANAMO BAY CUBA

[Jeff Maass]

G'day Jose:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: topband-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:topband-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of N4BAA - Jose
> Castillo
> Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 9:51 AM
> To: topband at contesting.com
> Subject: Topband: 160 FROM GUANTANAMO BAY CUBA
> 
> I went on this year's trip to "GITMO" with the intent of operating more 
> 160 than last year.
> The QTH down there is FAR from perfect as the shack resides in a "bowl" 
> surrounded my mountains...

At PJ2T, we have a 248-foot cliff going up a few hundred
feet between our inv-L and Europe! Photo (Signal Point is the
house on the left: 
http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/Radio/PJ2T_3a_Helicopter2.jpg

160 signals will crawl into and out of the most unlikely
terrains!

> 
> For receiving I took enoughwire to install 5 beverages....300 feet was 
> the shortest to South America....with ASIA/EU's being 1080 feet long and
> (2) USA's 540 feet long.....and 1080 to VK/ZL.    That having been 
> said....I could NOT get any of the beverages to play at all.....I was in 
> a panic mode!  I got a hold of W3LPL, K4XG and some others in an attempt 
> to "adjust" something....but to no avail....
> 
> As the ground in CUBA is very poor...(all coral)...I tried putting (4) 
> 1/4WL radials at each end....nothing...
> I tried them as Beverages on ground as well as up to 7 feet above 
> ground.....nothing....
> I tried changing terminating resistor values......nothing....
> I tried connecting a common 'ground' wire from feed end to terminating 
> end.....nothing...
> I wound NEW transformers.....nothing....
> I tested/swapped out feed line coax and type of coax......nothing....
> On the Antenna analyzer they ALL looked good!!!  ARGHhhhhhhhhhhhh
> 
> Setup was same as I have here in VA...which does well....came home with 
> same materail on Tuesday....reinstalled them on Wednesday...
> Everything fine!....
> 

We have two permanent Beverages above the coral rock
of Curacao at PJ2T, and they work fine. Single wire, 
terminating resistor, a few short radials on
the ground at feed and termination. The Europe Bev
is 1000-feet long, and the US/JA Bev is 650-feet long.
The USA/JA Beverage sits on the edge of a sheer cliff
dropping 37-feet down to the Caribbean!

I've never had a Beverage 'not work', over rich farm
land or dry coral rock, low to the ground or up 11 feet
following ground up-and-down or bent, or straight. 

How did you evaluate that they were not working?

I've had Beverages that seem omnidirectional in the
daylight, but they always worked at night.

Were you using the same radio at KG4 as you used to test
after at home? Bad RX antenna input?

I had my own RX antenna disappointment prior to the
contest. I'd taken down a complete DX Engineering
4-square system to install At PJ2T (Field Day style),
but spent two days trying to find a way to install it
in the overgrown briars before deciding that it wasn't
going to fit with any reasonable square size for 160.

I brought it back home, and will install it here
until we can arrange some work teams with machetes
and napalm to beat back the spiny man-eating plants
that surround Signal Point!

73,  Jeff  K8ND