Topband: High expectations for the Hi-Z

[Eddy Swynar]

On 2012-11-18, at 12:50 PM, Mark Lunday wrote:

> 
> So I have high expectations.  I spoke with Dick on Friday.  If I get half
> the satisfaction from the system that I did from the terrific customer
> service, then I will be happy.  I just want to be able to HEAR the DX on the
> low bands that I cannot hear now.
> 


Hi Mark,

Sometimes the simplest of things can make the biggest of differences...

Case in point: some years ago I was whining to my friend Ivan (VE3DO) about how I rearely heard any Europeans on Topband. "What sort of a receive antenna are you using?" he asked.  Receive antenna...?! I was using the same "L" here on both transmit and receive...

"Put up a K9AY loop," he advised.

I declined. Kept on whining. "Put up a K9AY loop favouring Europe!" Ivan insisted.

Finally, to shut him up, I went out back, spied a choice tree limb to toss an 85' triangular wire into, and let fly with my weight-tied-to-a-string. I recall that at one point I fell flat on my back doing this, but I persevered---and raised an easterly-only K9AY, fed with "Dollarama"-brand "coax" cable.

Well, that night tuning around, I must have thought a thousand-and-ones "I-told-you-so's" directed at Ivan: the band was near-dead, there were no signals on it, & I thought that maybe the feeder was somehow open. Suddenly I came across a "G3"---then a "DL7"---and even MORE Europeans! They weren't loud by any stretch, but the signal-to-noise ratio made it seem like they all just jumped up out of nowhere! On my "L", only the very strongest Europeans could be heard---at about 569, tops. On the K9AY, they were well above that because the band was so QUIET. Weak signals---still quite readable---on the K9AY were completely inaudible on the "L". 

I was completely amazed and astounded...

Three days later I incorporated an east - west switching set-up---7 days later I erected a complementary north - south K9AY.

If your experience there follows mine here, John, you're in for a MAJOR treat, I'm sure...

~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ