[UK-CONTEST] ARRL 10m, GW3NJW SO CWO

[Clive Whelan]

GW4ALG wrote

<Not sure exactly what antennas you were using, but those "punk antennas"
seemed to be doing a good job for you.  You were working stations that I
couldn't hear at all on my G5RV or 10m vertical here in Chepstow.>

Well to be exact, an 88ft doublet in inverted vee form, with the apex at
27ft, and the ends drooping to about 15ft. The legs are angled at 60 degrees
to each other, centred on about 290 degrees, notionally for the U.S., not
much good this weekend! However it does cut out Eu off the side. I have a
very quiet background in my rural location, but the aforementioned antenna
suffers very badly from pickup of digital hash on the tuned feeders. This is
what I use after midday when the band turns to the West. N.B. that I can't
hear you at all on it, so you can see how down it is to the NE. This is
intentionally very low profile to escape the attention of the conservation
area cops on their patrols ( I jest not!)

In the morning to hit Eu, I use a Butternut, ground mounted  vertical.
Minimal radials used, but excellent damp( read saturated!) ground , 200
yards from the river Ely. Both antennas suffer from train static, as I am
immediately adjacent to the Swansea/Paddington main line. However I wouldn't
swap back to the racket of suburbia I suffered in Cardiff; at least the
train is gone P.D.Q.

 It seems to me that you do very well with QRP Steve, which is a tough row
to hoe; keep on doing it.


73



Clive
GW3NJW