I would definitely opt for 40 meters. I've always felt that if I only had one band to operate on, it would be that one. 40 meters is as close to a 24 hour band as you will find in the HF spectrum. It also gives you a good variety of coverage, with DX being very possible much of the time. During daylight hours, 40 meters shortens up a good bit, but you can still cover a fairly large area geographically. 30 meters comes close, but doesn't quite hold up at night, and 80 meters doesn't hold up too well during the daytime. When conditions really get good, 30 meters, and 20 meters too, can be open much of the time. So you have to consider what part of the cycle we are in to some extent. Antennas can be a limiting factor as well. A 40 meter antenna is still fairly long (dipole), and really need some elevation, particularly when running low power. A vertical might be a better choice if you have a space or support problem.
Dave W7AQK ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Short" <mike.sh...@mchsi.com> To: <Elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 9:49 AM Subject: [Elecraft] Single band QRP rig > If I built a single band QRP CW rig, what would be the > best overall band to > select? > > Mike Short > > AI4NS > > ai...@arrl.net > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: > http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
