I agree with most, but be careful not to be louder on TX than you can RX! Easy
to achieve from a small lot with loads of qrn and qrm, ask me.
Allso there is a point where your ouput power "flat top", and dont show any
reward. I think Top W8JI found the same years ago.
Still, you you can have lots of fun.
73
Raoul ZS1REC, DXCC from 40m x 20m, lots of dedication,wasted qrn nights and red
eyes
________________________________
From: Greg Chartrand <w7my@yahoo.com>
To: topband@contesting.com
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 2:10 PM
Subject: Re: Topband: Need help to improve DX on 1/2 acre lot from CA
(kr6c@juno.com)
Jeff,
Most every one of us has gone through your experience in the beginning so your
not alone. There are a few items that are necessary to get where you want to go:
1. there is no substitute for patience. I have gone years here where I have not
heard a EU station here. When the sunspots are high like now, the number of EU
openings to the west coast are few and far between. That means for those
without a stellar station, you may only have 3-4 opportunities per year to
hear/work EU. I missed my chance about 1 1/2 weeks ago because I went to be
early. West coast EU opening opportunities peak just after your sunset and just
before/during EU's sunrise. In any case, you have to be there to work them.
That means your on alert every day watching CC user, checking the band, waiting
for your infrequent openings.
2) Transmitting. 160 is like moon bounce, EVERY DB COUNTS. Your running 800
watts so consider yourself already 3 db from where you should be. You described
your antenna. It seems reasonable but you don't have a good ground system.
Consider yourself another 2-3 DB down. There is a wealth of information about
radials in the archives of this digest, read it. In any case, there is no
substitute for 2000' + of wire on our under the ground. Your lucky because you
can eliminate the 5DB loss you currently have with a minimal effort.
3. Receiving. Your transmit antenna is the worst RX antenna you can have. Its
not only bad but it can ruin outer RX antennas near, and with your 1/2 acre, it
will. A simple short BOG or two will make a world of difference. Remember think
moon bounce, without a short BOG your probably 3-10 DB down signal to noise
than you should be. A NE BOG 200' long operating properly will get you some of
that loss back and if you isolate your TX antenna while receiving, you probably
will get even more. Put up a vertical RX array or flags and you probably will
even get more DB's.
4. Know how to use your rig. The signals you are looking for are always dirt
weak. Its taken me years to figure out how to get the best out of a RX to hear
the weak ones. Spend time listening to weak CW sigs and try different filter
settings, RF gain settings, CW pitch notes. I use a Timewave DSP-599ZX audio
filter. It has a "spotlight mode" for CW. In this mode, on a quiet band, I can
run the selectivity down to 10 HZ. It buys me another 3 DB or more SN. My 746
PRO has a gob of settings for filters, notches, and noise reduction I use them
all and in doing so probably buy myself another 3-5 DB of SN. Many hams have
not calibrated their receiver with the proper pitch setting thus they may be
off 100+ HZ when looking for a weak signal. With a 10HZ audio filter, 100 HZ
off is infinity! Tune in WWV and calibrate everything against it so the pitch
you like is right on frequency. This really helps when there is bad QSB. You
can sit on a FQ waiting to the QSB
to come up without having to tune the station unless he is off FQ. Most rigs
today are within 10 HZ so usually you can set it and be right on FQ IF
you calibrate your RX properly.
In conclusion, working DX on 160 from the west coast is a pain in the butt
especially on a small lot. If your crazy enough to try you won't get there
unless you fight for every DB transmitting and receiving and spend the time to
be there when the band is open. Some guys get lucky and find a quiet location
on rich earth, throw a wire over a tree and work DX on 160 with 100w. Don't
plan on being lucky!
I'm on a 1/3 acre hillside lot over soil with the conductivity of Teflon. My
antenna is similar to yours but I have lots of wire on the ground. I'm much
closer to the aurora oval than you so my location is the worst of the worst for
160. I'd trade locations with you in a heartbeat. I have used short BOGS, low
dipole, loops and other antennas for RX. I just purchased a Hi Z 3 element
array I can squeeze on my lot, I have high hopes for it but know I'll have to
isolate my vertical while receiving for it to work at all. If I get 3DB SN
improvement with it I'll be in heaven!
Go for it but understand that there is no easy way to get there unless luck is
on your side and it looks like it isn't so go fight for the DB's.
Greg
---------------------------------------------------------
Greg Chartrand - W7MY
Richland, WA.
DN-06IF
W7MY Home Page:
http://webpages.charter.net/w7my/
*************
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