On Mon, 2011-12-12 at 08:27 -0500, N1BUG wrote:
> > QRP may be fun for the QRP station but it's
> > often a PITA for the station on the other end.
>
> I'm sure that's true in some cases, but QRP'ers take heart! There
> are some, myself included, who enjoy the challenge of trying to dig
> a very weak signal from the noise. I suppose that is why I
> gravitated toward EME, 160m DX, 6m DX, anywhere else I am likely
> have to really dig stuff out. It's also one reason I don't enjoy
> digital modes - it robs me of the challenge and fun of using my
> brain to decode something which is at the very limit of audibility.
> To each their own! Personally, I'd get more enjoyment out of
> watching paint dry.
>
> As for band plans, I think we've seen some very sensible comments in
> this thread about utilizing the band but being mindful of the
> enjoyment of others. Over the past several years, with low solar
> activity, the 1.810 to 1.835 segment was crammed to the brink with
> DX and people calling for DX. This was especially true around and
> just after sunset here in New England. This year, with solar
> activity on the rise and topband conditions well down from what
> we've seen of late, it seems far less busy. I will add that 1.810 to
> 1.820 is a favorite among DX stations in Southeast Asia trying to
> work North America, especially the east coast. These signals are
> almost always VERY weak and fleeting, making this activity is
> especially vulnerable to QRM.
>
> I admit I've had mixed feelings about where to put digital. Below
> 1.810 seems unfair as most of the world cannot operate there. Given
> the available options, I don't see any better option that the 1.835
> t0 1.840 segment where most of it is now.
>
> To me, 1.800 to 1.810 seems an ideal place for casual QRP and CW
> operation where DX outside North America is not the goal. As I am
> weening myself from the much beloved pursuit of DX (not easy!), I
> went looking for and found a new interest: building of
> vintage/antique gear. Having been an avid topband DXer for many
> years, I plan to stay below 1.810 when on the air with my homebrew
> antique rigs. I hope to work a few of you down there eventually.
> I've not yet wound a set of 160 meter coils for my recently
> completed 1929 TNT transmitter, so I'm "stuck" on 80 meters at the
> moment.
>
> 73,
> Paul N1BUG
>
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Hi Paul,
I'm newly trying to get on 160 meters. I do operate QRP and sometimes
QRPp. I am not really discouraged by comments I see on this or any other
list. I have been running with QRP as my first choice since 1980. I
*know* there are some hams who can hear me but they choose to NOT work a
weak signal. At least they don't interfere. So I have no complaints
about that. To each his own.
When I bought that Ten Tec Argonaut 509 back then I soon made boots for
it consisting of a 6146B and associated circuitry to maintain QSK
operation. Sometimes QRP is just not appropriate. I don't have and I
don't want legal limit amplifiers here. I have always been able to
operate somewhere in the one or another of the ham bands with ~100 watts
or much, much less. That included my participation in traffic nets.
<heresy>
I'm not much of a contester. Some of the things I encounter in contests
really disgust me. That is not intended to change anybody's mind about
how they operate in contests.
</heresy>
I do operate in contests. The more casual the contest the longer I stay
in. I am working toward improving my portable operation capability for
several reasons and one of those is providing counties or grid squares
that are difficult to get to stations that need them for - contests. I'm
in Roscommon county in Michigan and it's only three miles to Missaukee
County and four miles to a State Forest campground/park there. Aside
from offering paper to other hams .. it's fun.
In my preparations to get active on Top Band I have found lots of useful
information from all of the threads on this list. I can't load an
antenna here yet but I have been listening and I have the general idea
about who operates where and the day/night/gray line thing about when. I
an pretty sure I am going to like 160 when I finally get those wires up.
When the band is crowded and/or I've had my fill of the "current"
contest there are always the WARC bands <grin>.
73,
Bill KU8H
_______________________________________________
UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
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