Greetings Tobanders ...
I think this is my first post. I have been "lurking" for about a year
and I have enjoyed reading the reflector and I have learned a lot. Since
this seems to be the hangout for the top 160 meter people, I am hoping I
can get some ideas about my antenna setup.
Last year was my first semi-serious attempt to work some DX on 160 - I
say "semi-serious" because an inverted L with one radial and 100 watts
would hardly be considered a serious effort. The inverted L was
essentially a dipole with the "hot" leg thrown over a tree about 35-40
feet high with the rest of it strung out horizontally to another tree.
The ground side of the dipole was run out in the opposite direction as
an elevated (4-6 feet) radial/counterpoise. The feed point was about 7
feet above the ground.
This year I decided I wanted to improve on it so I assembled an inverted
L out of some old beam parts. The vertical section is 49 feet and the
loading wire was adjusted for best SWR. The loading wire slopes down to
about 15 feet above the ground. For radials, I have two elevated radials
running in opposite directions. Since the feed point is only about 8
inches above the ground, I ran the radials up from there at 45 degrees
to about 10 feet above ground and then out about another 130 feet. The
radials were also trimmed for best SWR. The SWR at this point is 2:1 @
1805, 1.6:1 @ 1830 and 1.7:1 @ 1850 as measured on the SWR meter on the
Icom Pro III.
Now for the struggle. I have had an difficult time working anything out
of North America. I hear Europeans pretty well at times but they are not
hearing me even when I am the only station calling. I call and call they
call CQ again. This has happened enough times that I am getting a bit
frustrated.
I'm specifically wondering if the method of sloping the radials up from
the feed point is just a bad idea. Would elevating the feed point (to
maybe 6-8 feet) be better? Since I don't have space in all directions
for radials on the ground, I could only put out a few in the two
directions maybe 30 degrees on either side for 120 foot radials.
It's been suggested that it's just tough with just 100 watts, but last
year I had some satisfying contacts and managed to work 69 countries
over the 2008-2009 160 meter season.
I'd appreciate any insights anyone might have.
73 Rip K3XO
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160 meters is a serious band, it should be treated with respect. - TF4M
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