On 8/13/2025 4:46 AM, Brian Beezley wrote:
Fading can be a problem on 160. When it is due to polarization rotation
of the incoming signal, a circularly polarized receive antenna can
eliminate it.
Very interesting ideas, Brian! However -- the overwhelming issue for
many of us is local noise. I have two reversible half-wave Beverages,
half-wave on 160M, that are effective as high as 20M, one to EU/VK, the
other to SA/JA. I also have a phased pair of VE3DO loops spaced 5/8-wave
on 160 that are also effective on 80M. All of these antennas are
vertically polarized. There's a noisy home with a solar system in the
direction of EU, another in the direction of SA, and a retreat center
with a large solar system in the direction of JA.
My point is that for most hams, receive noise is the dominant factor in
what we can hear. With the same Beverages and TX antenna, I could work
EU on 160 CW a few nights a year when I moved here in 2006. I haven't
heard EU on CW for five years. I do serious weak signal work on 6M, and
noise from most directions is limiting me by 12 dB or more.
BTW -- beginning with their K3, introduced in 2007, Elecraft has had the
option of a second synced RX, and I've been using it since 2008. I'm
phasing the two VE3DO loops with a DX Eng NCC-1 noise canceller, which
is a very nicely engineered unit. Measured responses are in this pdf.
http://k9yc.com/VE3DO.pdf
73, Jim K9YC
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