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Re: Topband: QRP on 160?

To: "topband" <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: QRP on 160?
From: "GEORGE WALLNER" <aa7jv@atlanticbb.net>
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2024 20:19:38 -0400
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
QRP on 160 is possible but you need a very good antenna, especially for DX. (It is still painful, though.) On the TX3A Chesterfield DXpedition I worked a W7 on TB, good signal, no bid deal. About an hour later he called me again and I worked him again. Then another 30 minutes later I heard him calling. He was very weak but we completed the QSO. I was thinking, why all the dupes? Next day I saw his email: The first QSO was with 100 W. The second with 5 W and the third with 700 mW! From New Mexico to Chesterfield! TX3A had a good DHDL RX antenna pointing towards NA, which helped to keep down all the tropical noise. Still... The guy had a full size 4-SQ. Aha...

In a contest however, I think QRP is a bit unfair to the other guy. Except in the SP, other contests do not reward you for working a QRP. You do all the hard work of digging him out of the noise, needing many cycles to put together the call-sing -- dealing with all the people wanting to take the frequency -- just to complete a QSO that you get no extra points for. But working DX on 160 with 5 W is a unique thrill. Well worth the effort. The trick is to wait until conditions are right. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time.

George,
AA7JV




On Mon, 1 Jul 2024 10:57:15 -0700 Radio KH6O  wrote:
Is anyone regularly using say, 25W or less on 160?

--
73,
Jeff KH6O / 6


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