[UK-CONTEST] QRP

[Ken Eastty]

Chris/Roger,
   Those of us who operated Top Band in the days of the 10W limit know 
how far that would go, perhaps not as far as ZL unless you had a very, 
very good antenna and equally efficient (?) TX but I think that many 
worked the USA. I might be wrong about the G3ERN QRP story, it was 
probably written up in Rad Com or RSGB Bull ?

Working at an HF transmitting station with many kW floating around (even 
that would be QRP to the World Service techs.) it wasn't unusual to see 
florescent tubes alight when they were switched off. I think that on a 
visit to the MW GBR TX at Rugby I heard metalwork resonating at 16kc/s 
(I can't here that frequency today!).

73...

Ken

G3LVP

On 08/03/2012 15:52, Christopher Plummer wrote:
> Ken,
>
> I normally use a MFJ antenna anlyser as a calibration (rough) source 
> when out at the start of a 160m DF hunt to make sure the RX is working 
> and tuned to the right frequencies.  This is done with a dummy load 
> screwed in to the output socket, everyone onsite can hear the signal 
> from S9 at 1m out to 20m away..  just shows that the case and dummy 
> load radiate as well.
>
> Some years ago a friend of mine, G3SCJ, loaded up a 6' flourescent 
> tube on 10m from a KW 2000 and worked a number of Stateside contacts S 
> 6 to 9.  It was interesting to see tube light up and the striations 
> travel up and down the tube as he spoke..... I suppose it gave as good 
> a signal as a magnetic loop these days, goodness knows what the 
> impedance was though.
>
> Chris G8APB
>
> > Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2012 14:07:18 +0000
> > From: ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com
> > To: uk-contest at contesting.com
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] QRP
> >
> >
> >
> > My MFJ-249 produces about +25dBm - 300mW. It's not too surprising 
> that this can be heard some distance away.
> > I remember hearing a tale that one of the amateurs on the staff of 
> Brentwood (Essex) GPO HF receiving station
> > (now QRT) worked the USA one night shift using a BC221, also not too 
> surprising as the antenna
> > used would either have been a Rhombic or Franklin array.
> > 'Dummy' loads have also been known to radiate too, I believe the 
> 20kW TX at Ongar radio HF on the London - New York HF circuit once ran 
> all night on the (un-screened carbon filament) dummy load, the story 
> at the time was that no one noticed!
> > I also remember Ernie G3ERN(long SK) working the USA with a 
> single(OC71?)transistor TX on 160M.
> >
> > 73...
> >
> > Ken
> >
> > G3LVP
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ? I wonder if anybody has a DX record for a QRP QSO using an MFJ 
> antenna analyser?
> > I was tuning my top band dipole with the MFJ and was told that my 
> radiated signal from it
> > was S-9 plus 20 db about 3 miles away at a friend's house. Carrying 
> this further, I then managed
> > to "QSO" another friend about 8 miles way at about S-6, followed 
> closely by yet another with a
> > signal report of about S-6 around 18 miles away.
> >
> > ? So, be careful when using your MFJ, you never know who is listening!
> >
> > Oh yes, a superb method of keying was simple hand capacitance on the 
> tuning, producing a
> >
> > somewhat chirpy note, but readable!?
> >
> >
> > ?Can anybody beat this record?? It reminded me of my leg-pull in the 
> late fifties, when I managed
> > to give Pat G3IOR a ZL0 on 20m CW by keying my Heathkit GDO, loosely 
> coupled into my end
> > fed zepp.
> >
> > ?
> >
> >
> > Regards from Roger, G3LDI
> > Swardeston, Norfolk.
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
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