Topband: Nobody can hear me

[Rick Karlquist]

Jim Miller WB5OXQ in Waco wrote:
> I have not had time to build a new antenna for 160 so I tried the DX
> sloper.  I could hear pretty well with several stations over S9 so I tried
> throwing my call in a couple of times at 100 watts and got no response.  I
> hesitate to use much power on the sloper because NU5D warned me his end
> insulator caught fire.  Anyway I tried again at 500 watts, still nobody
> could hear me so I risked it and tried 1kw, still no response.  Then I
> figured if this antenna is so worthless I will try again  pushing the
> limit but still got no response at 1500+ so this antenna must be totally
> worthless.  I cannot get any higher than 60' for the center and one tower
> has too many antennas on it to try to use it for a vertical and my other
> tower is a crankup 3 section.  I plan to try the linear loaded dipole soon
> and see if it will work.
> WB5OXQ

1.  160 can have weird conditions where you think you are not
getting out, or the other station is listening on a beverage
pointed away from you.  You should try more stations in different
directions.

2.  Keep it simple and use a vertical.  It will work better than
a DX sloper, whatever that is, or a linear loaded dipole.

3.  Why is it you think you can't shunt feed your crankup tower?

Rick N6RK