Your antenna does not sound too bad. You should be within a dB or two of a
full size antenna, unless you have the antenna jammed up in the middle of a
bunch of other stuff that is sucking up the signal. The worse performing
stations I have ever seen are those with too many antenna just randomly
placed and too close together. Power might be worth a dozen dB, but having a
dirty antenna installation with poor wiring and unwanted coupling to RF
absorbers can be devastating. It's damn easy to lose 20 dB in an antenna
system that is poorly planned, especially a cluttered system with too many
antennas too close.
160 is especially problematic for poor planning, because a wavelength is
over 500 feet. That means you have to pay attention to anything within 500
feet distance of the antennas. Remember 130 feet of spacing on 160 is like 8
feet on ten meters!!!
I remember years ago in Toledo on 160 with a local friend who lived on a 30
by 120 lot in the city. He had a simple single low band antenna, a Zepp for
80 meters 50-60 feet high. He would always be within a few dB of my 1/4 wave
tower that sat on 100 radials in soaking wet black sandy loam swamp soil.
This happened countless times.
One local ham had a back yard that looked like Radio Free Europe. He had
Yagi's and Quad and verticals and dipoles all over the place, with his 160
antenna in the middle of that mess. Old Harold used to beat Mr. Antenna Farm
by 10-20 dB all the time, and he did it on all the lower bands.
Mr. Antenna Farm could not believe he got skunked by such a simple setup, to
the point where he went purple-faced nuts telling poor old Harold he was
running illegal power and all sorts of stuff. We thought his eyes were going
to pop out of his head!! Poor Harold only had a pair of 6146 tubes in the
final.
If you can hear them you should work them, although 100 watts does make it
more difficult.
We work hundreds of low power, small antenna, DX stations on 160. Very long
distances are possible even with low power and small antennas.
The common limit on 160 is always hearing the DX, unless your antenna is a
mess.
73 Tom
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevan Nason" <knason00 at gmail.com>
To: "secc" <secc at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 3:38 AM
Subject: Re: [SECC] QRZ South Carolina 160m?
> Well,
>
> With a 40 ft high (vertical part) inverted L, only a couple dozen short
> radials, and only 100 watts I seriously doubt if I'd be able to reach
> Tahiti. I'm lucky to reach Texas or Illinois. Sure would like to though!
>
> Kevan
> N4XL
>
> On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 5:00 PM, Ralph K1ZZI <k1zzi at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:11:36 +0100 (CET)
>> From: f5phw at free.fr
>> Subject: Topband: WAS 160.
>> To: topband at contesting.com
>> Hello dear "topbanders"
>>
>> We will soon start march and 160 season will finish soon.
>> It's my last 160 season because I will go back to France this next
>> summer.
>>
>> So I am looking for "big gun" stations from following states in order to
>> finish my LoTW WAS on 160.
>>
>> If you are in LA - RI - SC or SD, please send me a mail to f5phw at free.fr
>>
>> I am every evening on on4kst's chat around 0530Z to 0630Z
>>
>> Many thanks and sorry for disturbing the topband list.
>>
>> Best 73 from Tahiti
>>
>> FO8RZ Phil
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> SECC mailing list
>> SECC at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/secc
>>
>>
>
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