RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Q: When QRP is great? A: Every time! I have K2 but work with 5W or 500mW. 170 countries 5W and 70 with 20...500mW. The difference is the same to HiPower boys whatever sunspot number. It just need your equipment been correct and some additional operator skill. For PROSIGN CONFUSION: I think letters in abbreviations BK and CL are separate. -- BennyOH9NB ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
L. B. Cebik reports favorably on vertical dipoles at Cebik.com. When elevated sufficiently; since they are a complete antenna, not requiring a radial set; they radiate quite well at DX angles. See www.cebik.com -Stuart K5KVH ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Stuart, K5KVH wrote: L. B. Cebik reports favorably on vertical dipoles at Cebik.com. When elevated sufficiently; since they are a complete antenna, not requiring a radial set; they radiate quite well at DX angles. - You are missing the fact that just because an antenna doesn't need a ground (that is, it is NOT a Marconi antenna) that the ground doesn't have a dramatic effect on the radiation pattern. Vertical antennas still suffer from far-field ground loss that horizontal antennas do not and do not get the reflection gain that horizontal antennas enjoy. The difference is typically 6 dB lower gain for the vertical under the BEST of conditions over normal earth, providing the horizontal is 1/3 wave high, and up to about 1/2 wave or so. That's as basic to antenna performance as the fact that a 1/2 wave radiator is self-resonant. Now, if you can raise the vertical up a half wavelength or so, it does help, but it never gets as good as a horizontal. That is, if the lower end of a 40-meter vertical is 60 to 100 feet high and the top is 66 feet higher you start seeing some low angle radiation that beats a horizontal at 1/4 to 1/2 wavelength high. But few Hams are in a position to mount a 66 foot vertical with the base 60 to 100 feet up! Even with such an extreme vertical, it's gain is still 4 or 5 dB below a horizontal at 1/3 to 1/2 wave high. You are absolutely right: Cebik has some excellent material on the WEB and he deals with this very issue at: http://www.cebik.com/fdim/fdim4.html Note the difference in the lower angle radiation from a ground-mounted vertical with various ground losses from a perfect ground to poor. That perfect ground is why verticals work so very well at sea or at the sea shore. Salt water isn't perfect, but it's a whole lot better than dirt, even wet, marshy dirt. The only issue I take with that data is that it shows a horizontal as having the same gain. His scale is wrong, both according to his other pages concerning horizontal antennas and to other references such as Moxon or modeling software such as EZNEC. All of those source say the dipole will be roughly 6 to 7 dB better if it's upwards of 1/2 wave above the earth. Verticals work. They work very well. It helps tremendously to have a full-size (i.e. half wave) vertical since there are no losses that often appear in a Marconi (1/4) wave vertical, although with care a 1/4 wave can be very efficient as well. The great work done by Gary Servick, W2FMI, showing that a 6-foot tall top-loaded 40 meter vertical can be very effective is a good example. His work was published in QST (one article in the April 1978 issue) and in other ARRL publicatins such as Vertical Antenna Classics published by the ARRL. No matter what you do, the polarization of a vertical is still vertical, and they don't get the reflection gain that a horizontal does from the earth. Of course, as Cebik points out, you can often phase several verticals to produce a very effective directional antenna in a lot less space than you'd need for a similar horizontal antenna on the lower bands. Ron AC7AC ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Keith I run only wire antennas here with my 5w K2. Plus a 50 ft vertical on 160m. With the K2 at 5w, I have 160m QRP WAS, so you can have a lot of fun with 5w on the low bands. You do have to be a bit creative with your antennas to wring out the last drop of performance from them, but to me, that's part of the fun of ham radio. A good radio helps, too. For contesting, I would stick with the K2 over the K1. More features to work with, and access to all bands. I work all the contests, and throw my 5w in there among the big boys. Fun is where you find it. Get out there and stir something up. 73, Bob N6WG The Little Station with Attitude -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Darwin, Keith Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 9:20 AM To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Hi Keith, During the solar minimum the higher frequencies don't open as often or for as long, that is 10 15m. I find that 20m and 17m are open nearly every day and are both great bands for making QRP QSOs, and similarly I use mostly 17m while HF mobile (I estimate that the poor mobile antenna efficiency with a 100W rig is about the same as QRP, HI HI!). These bands are open during the daytime and closed (at my QTH) at night generally. Okay, now for the good part. If you have a vertical antenna with good radial system to minimize ground loss you've got a great antenna for DX and stateside QSOs on 40m during the night. I've worked many European DX stations on 40m while competing with 100 to 1 KW stations on the bottom of 40m and have always made QSOs on 7.040 (when the RTTY PSK31 doesn't encroach). DX is probably easier on 160 to 40m during a sunspot minimum because more stations that used to be active on higher frequencies are forced to go to lower frequencies if they want to stay active. Also, there is less D-layer absorbtion so the path losses are less. Both of these add up to a win-win for QRP! BTW, I have a Carolina Windom 160 antenna up about 60'. It is an okay all-around antenna but I've had better antennas, I just can't do anything different currently. I'd love to have a tower with a yagi, but it would go to waste during the dark hours (which is when I'm home from work to be able to play radio anyway) at this point. Don't look for excuses to stay off the air (sunspot cycle minimum)! Look for opportunities to be active! 73 good luck! Mark, NK8Q K2 4786 From: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed Jan 11 11:19:39 CST 2006 To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
BTW, last night 160m sounded pretty good. I didn't have time to spend on the radio but I did work my second European DX with 5W from my K2. I worked G3PQA (I think that was it, my memory may not be 100% since I'm in a training course today). Apparently he is a fairly big Top Band station. It took a little while until he got my callsign, but afterward, he did say Nice job for 5W so I was happy! Mark, NK8Q From: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed Jan 11 11:19:39 CST 2006 To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Darwin, Keith wrote: How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? You can still make plenty of contacts with 10 watts. During the day, 20 meters is usually open, and 40 in the evening. I worked Europe from here (California) with 5 watts on 40 meters during a sunspot minimum with a vertical. 30 meters can be quite good as well. If you could get another 10 feet of height for your dipole, that would be a big improvement. But you will make more good QSOs with 100 watts. My advice is: get the KPA100. You can operate at 5 or 10 watts output as much as you want, but you will be able to turn up the power when you are not heard or start to have difficulty during a contact. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Keith, KD1E wrote: K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - The difference between 10 and 100 watts (10 dB) is about 1.5 S units on most receivers. Band conditions changing from hour to hour will cause a much bigger variation that that. The biggest difference will depend upon whether you focus on working DX as you primary activity. Overall, signal strengths will tend to be slightly lower than we see on 10 meters during the sunspot maxima, so it is true that QRP may suffer slightly. Unless you're trying to bust a pileup for a rare DX station you shouldn't notice a lot of difference in your ability to make contacts, even good stable contacts for long-winded rag chews if you want, as long as you adjust the bands your using to follow the changes in propagation and the maximum usable frequency (MUF). What you will notice about the sunspot minimum is that the 10 through 18 meter bands will be open less often than they were. Indeed, in the years around the minimum, you may find that 10 meters is open only sporadically for short periods of time. Even 20 and occasionally 40 may shut down to long skip for days. The issue isn't whether a particular band is 'open' but rather the maximum usable frequency (MUF). Fifteen and ten meters have been great DX bands during the sunspot maxima because they're typically close to the MUF. On occasion the MUF even gets as high as 6 meters, and long skip contacts suddenly become easy there. During the sunspot minima the MUF will drop down to 14 MHz and, on occasion, even 7 MHz. When that happens those bands are roaring with DX much like 10 has for years throughout the sunspot maxima, and the higher frequency bands will be quiet except for locals. Still, there's a couple of big differences. First, the ionization of the lower atmosphere affects lower-frequency signals more. That's why you don't hear daytime DX on the AM standard broadcast band (550 - 1700 kHz) but it often booms in at night. The ions produced in the lower atmosphere by the sun absorb those frequencies, but as soon as the sun sets those ions dissipate and the atmosphere becomes transparent to RF. That effect extends up to, typically, somewhere between 7 and 15 MHz. As the frequency goes up the absorption drops. That's why you can work distances with 5 watts on 80, 40 or 20 in the day that no amount of power from a station in the broadcast band will cover, and the DX gets better as you go up in frequency (as long as you stay below the MUF). That's also a large part of the reason why, after dark, better and better DX starts being heard on 160, 80 and 40 meters. The other big difference is that the typical Ham antenna is much less efficient for DX work at the lower frequencies. Vertical antennas suffer greater ground losses and, typically, horizontal antennas are too low for best DX. A horizontally polarized antenna, no matter the type, needs to be close to 1/2 wave or higher above the effective ground for best DX coverage. Most Ham antennas meet that criteria at 14 MHz and above. An antenna 35 feet up is a full half wave high on 20 meters, for example. Down at 7 or 3.5 MHz, the antenna needs to be 60 to 120 feet up to be an equivalent electrical height! That's above what most Hams can manage. Still, lower antennas are excellent for short skip out to 1,000 or 2,000 miles. They can even do better than antennas mounted higher up. So, no matter the power, if you're looking for consistent DX performance with a typical Ham installation, your bands of choice will shift down toward 20 and 40 meters instead of the higher frequencies during the sunspot minima, and your DX opportunities will appear more commonly along the gray line or during the hours of darkness when atmospheric absorption is a its lowest. For casual contacts and rag chewing, 80 will start to act a lot more like 40 meters has in the past and even 40, 30, and 20 meters will see a lot of stable short skip at times. A little extra power is always a help, but it's often only a psychological help. My K2/100 is at 100 watts a lot simply because in working a lot of stations, they like to know that I'm running a comparable power because they hate digging for signals near the noise. My power is always down at QRP levels when I'm around the QRP calling frequencies (7040, 14060, etc.) One time I called an OT retired radio operator I know and we had a nice long rag chew. Predictably, he thanked me for running decent power, grumbling about all those QRPers who expect him to try
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Keith - I was reading that the predicted low of the current cycle supposedly takes place this September. Using my K1 @ 5W there has been an opening to Europe every day for the past two weeks on 15MI was impressed that there were any stations outside of the usual North/South paths during sunspot minimums. I worked 12 different countries on 15M sometimes hammering out the QSO in a pileup with other higher power stations in the US. I'm REALLY impressed with ANYONE running under 100W on 160M!! 5W WAS on 160M with a 50ft vertical is SUPER-IMPRESSIVE! Congrats to N6WG. As others point out 40 and 20 are great havens for QRP operation with very little frustration and lots of QSO's. Definitely go for the K2 and upgrade as the need or urge arrives. 73 de Tom K2TA - Original Message - From: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 12:19 PM Subject: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Keith: As you have no doubt seen from the other posts, you can do a lot with QRP on the low bands. As is clear from such feats as working intercontinental DX with 5 W on 160 m, QRP is limiting, but not severely so. I've done some NVIS calculations for New England. If you're interested in working stations within 200 miles, you can do so practically every night on 80 meters with 5 Watts to an inverted-V 20 feet high at the apex. If you're interested in DX, it is slightly more difficult, but far from impossible. If you could get up a full-size 40m dipole 30 feet or more off the ground, you'd be able to work Europe on 40 m QRP most (but not all) evenings. (Caution: 40 has a tendency to go dead between about midnight and sunrise. The flux is presently so low that the MUF to most locations drops below 7 MHz late at night. In that case you cannot work DX on 40 no matter how much power you run.) On 80 meters I have a dipole up about 40 feet. My experience this winter is that about two nights out of a week, the 80 meter DX opening at sunrise in Europe is strong enough that I can make contacts with 5 Watts. A couple of practical thoughts: Back when I worked in the RF Group at Oak Ridge National lab, we had a sign on the wall that said, A dB is a dB is a dB, and every one is just as good as all the others, no matter where they come from. With that in mind, and considering that you're giving up 13 dB by reducing transmitter power from 100 to 5 Watts, you need to think about were else you can pick up some extra dBs. For example: 1) Put up the biggest highest antenna that you can. If you have a 20 foot high antenna, but could raise it to 25 feet, do so. It is worth the trouble doing. 2) If you cannot make your antenna system work for you, at least try to get it where it does not work against you. Avoid wave traps and tuning networks if possible. If you must use a Tuner or a matching network, make it out of the heaviest components you can; you want to minimize losses. Use the biggest transmission line you can afford and run it with the lowest SWR you can achieve. Make as direct a run from the transmitter to the antenna as possible, with as few breaks in the line and as few items inserted into the line (filters, directional couplers, ferrite baluns/isolators, etc.) as you can get away with. 3) In keeping with the above principle, you might want to try to set up dedicated 80 and 40 meter antennas and not worry about the high bands for the next couple of years. Multiband antennas will always be lossier than single band antennas. 4) Listen for the very loudest DX signal you can find and call that one. If one DX station is is markedly louder than the other DX, he's likely using a high gain antenna. One of the best tricks in QRP DX is making the other guy's high gain antenna work for you. 5) Your biggest source of extra dBs is the ionosphere. Use VOACAP to compute when the strongest openings from your location will occur, and operate at those times. (VOACAP is downloadable for free. It is well documented and easy to learn. To find out more, simply Google VOACAP.) 73, Steve AA4AK At 12:19 PM 1/11/2006, Darwin, Keith wrote: K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Fear not the sunspot cycle, Darwin. In the past 18 months, I have completed WAS with 5w and a dipole. I currently have 49 states with 1 watt, and 44 states with 100mW. I think I enjoy the challenge of the sunspot trough more than shooting fish in a barrel during the sunspot peak. The feeling of accomplishment is greater. Just be patient, and when the bands are good, get on and make some QSO's. When condx are poor, read up on what makes for good propagation conditions. 72 es good luck, ed - k9ew ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
I use the beacons as a propagation tool. Recently there have been many days when I can hear very few and no strong beacon signals on any band. On days like these you will be hard pressed to work dx on any band at any power. However from time to time at QRO you can make some surprising contacts. One I was pleased with lately was Singapore on 80m at sunset. That contact could not have been made at QRP. Interestingly enough the view of 10 years ago that when the HF bands are at their worst due to an inactive sun, 160m-40m will be at their best. This certainly seemed to be true a number of cycles back, but not in the last two cycles. During good propagation conditions it is possible to work good DX on 160m with 100W or somewhat less, but if you look at the leaders on the band they are nearly all QRO. I tend to park my QRP gear when the cycle goes sour and to use it a lot in better parts of a decent cycle. Nothing like the thrill of a long haul DX contact with QRP, but you may want to haul out a bigger rig or amp on many days till the sun starts being more active. Bob W2WG -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:07 PM To: Darwin, Keith Cc: Elecraft Discussion List Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? Keith, If you want to hear how strong signals from a 100, 10 , 1 or 0.1 watt transmitter can be in real time, take a listen to the International Beacon Project stations on 20m through 10m. These beacons are located across the world, and transmit in sequence on each band. When it is a particular beacon's turn to transmit, it sends its call in CW followed by four long dashes - one at 100w followed by one at 10w, one at 1w and lastly one at 0.1mW. Then the next beacon does the same. Each beacon is given 10 seconds transmission time. The transmitters operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and somewhere I have the details of their antennas which I think are all omnidirectional verticals. Their frequencies are 14100, 18110, 21150, 24930 and 28200 kHz , and these beacons are a very useful 'tool' for catching band openings especially on 12m and 10m at this point in the solar cycle. It is surprising how often 10m is open even now but no ham signals are heard because everybody is listening, or is elsewhere. It is my belief that in working DX a very important thing is a good calling technique. A continental friend of mine runs 100mW, works DX on 40m, and it is a treat to hear him drop in his call whilst the mob catches its breath. 73, Geoff GM4ESD Keith, KD1E, wrote on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 5:19 PM K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Thanks for the replies. Much of it is info that I do already know, having worked QRP for a number of years. The thing I DON'T have is the experience of working QRP during various phases of the sunspot cycle. My ham activity has always gone in blips and blops and has been mostly out of phase with the 11 yr solar cycle. In other words, I get interested and active when we're near a low point and become inactive during the peaks. I've done it that way since the early 1980s :-) I find as I work folks on 40, I'm glad to have a full 80 watts. Noise level is high, QSB is an issue, QRM is an issue. Yea, 5 watts is only 1.5 S-units down but that makes a difference when conditions are not optimal. Last night, after aligning my rig, I happen to catch HA3MQ (?) on 40 CW. He was fluttery but I could copy so I answered him. We did the usual short exchange. He gave me 559, I gave him 449. Turns out he was running 100 watts to a Yagi at 30 meters. So even when using the other guy's beam, we pretty much needed the power to make the QSO. I don't know, maybe 5 watts would have done it, but I doubt it. I guess the way to find out is to just turn my rig down to 5 watts for a few weeks and see if I'm still having fun ... 73! - Keith - ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
All the DX is still out there, it's just quieter! Paul K7PM ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
In a message dated 1/11/2006 1:27:55 PM Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Fear not the sunspot cycle, Darwin. In the past 18 months, I have completed WAS with 5w and a dipole. I currently have 49 states with 1 watt, and 44 states with 100mW. Well, I guess that ends me whining about poor propagation and not making many contacts. Thanks for sharing these fantastic achievements--it is truly motivating...72/73, Ci Ci Jones, WU7R K-2 #4615, K-1 #933, KX-1 #957 FISTS #10789 NAQCC #306 ARCI #12163 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Darwin, Keith wrote: K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Keith, Fear not fellow Elecrafter! We QRPers laugh at the sunspot minimum! Sunspots .. who needs 'em? I know, actually we all do. But to be serious as bad as band conditions were in 2005, I managed to make at least one QRP CW QSO everyday in 2005. If you want to check out some of who I worked (and there was a goodly bit of DX mixed in) then please check out: http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209.html My antennas are not much more substantial (if any) than yours. I have a G5RV at 25 feet and a Butternut HF9V vertical which is ground mounted in the backyard. To me it seems that if you don't spend too much time concentrating on what you think are deficiencies; but go out with the aim to just have fun, then you will be amazed at what you can accomplish! 73 de Larry W2LJ K1# 1647, K2# 4090 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
K9QRG ON 5/12? Just checking :) Tony W7GO - Original Message - From: Larry Makoski W2LJ [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:54 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? Darwin, Keith wrote: K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Keith, Fear not fellow Elecrafter! We QRPers laugh at the sunspot minimum! Sunspots .. who needs 'em? I know, actually we all do. But to be serious as bad as band conditions were in 2005, I managed to make at least one QRP CW QSO everyday in 2005. If you want to check out some of who I worked (and there was a goodly bit of DX mixed in) then please check out: http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209.html My antennas are not much more substantial (if any) than yours. I have a G5RV at 25 feet and a Butternut HF9V vertical which is ground mounted in the backyard. To me it seems that if you don't spend too much time concentrating on what you think are deficiencies; but go out with the aim to just have fun, then you will be amazed at what you can accomplish! 73 de Larry W2LJ K1# 1647, K2# 4090 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Kevin: I think vertical dipoles are wonderful. I have used them on a heavily wooded lot with great success on both 20 and 30 meters. The higher you can get them off the ground the better. It is very desirable to be sure the feedline comes off reasonably perpendicular to the antenna for a quarter wavelength or so. Another effective trick (especially for 80 or 40) is an inverted L fed with coax at the corner. Its almost as good as a vertical dipole. Again, it is very desirable to be sure the feedline comes off reasonably perpendicular to both legs of the antenna for a quarter wavelength or so. However, don't be too enchanted by the low angle pattern, it is also a bit lossy. If you overlay your EZNEC vertical dipole elevation pattern with the EZNEC broadside elevation pattern of a straight dipole at say 5/8 wavelength elevation, you'll see that although the vertical concentrates its energy at low angles, the actual dBi values are not that much better than the horizontal. W4RNL has shown that putting a very elaborate ground screen under your vertical dipole gets you virtually no advantage. The losses are actually from ground losses a few thousand feet from the antenna. For that reason, if you're right on a seashore, you'll get spectacular results in the seaward direction. (This is the Desert Island effect.) I'm located near the coast of Maine, about 4 miles inland; the Desert Island Effect does not help me much. I have both a 20 m vertical dipole (center about 20 feet off the ground) and a 20 m horizontal dipole about 45 feet up. Which one does better depends on propagation conditions. I have worked lots of South Pacific QRP with the vertical. 73 Steve AA4AK At 11:20 PM 1/11/2006, Kevin Shaw wrote: I've been playing around with EZNEC trying to come up with a DX antenna that will work at my QTH. The vertical dipole seems to have a fantastic pattern for DX with low takeoff angles. I may be able to hang a vertical wire dipole in one of my trees and have it nearly invisible. Anyone have experience with vertical dipoles that they could share? Thanks, Kevin N8IQ -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tony Morgan Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 8:39 PM To: Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? K9QRG ON 5/12? Just checking :) Tony W7GO - Original Message - From: Larry Makoski W2LJ [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:54 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? Darwin, Keith wrote: K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Keith, Fear not fellow Elecrafter! We QRPers laugh at the sunspot minimum! Sunspots .. who needs 'em? I know, actually we all do. But to be serious as bad as band conditions were in 2005, I managed to make at least one QRP CW QSO everyday in 2005. If you want to check out some of who I worked (and there was a goodly bit of DX mixed in) then please check out: http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209.html My antennas are not much more substantial (if any) than yours. I have a G5RV at 25 feet and a Butternut HF9V vertical which is ground mounted in the backyard. To me it seems that if you don't spend too much time concentrating on what you think are deficiencies; but go out with the aim to just have fun, then you will be amazed at what you can accomplish! 73 de Larry W2LJ K1# 1647, K2# 4090 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
A related antenna with a couple dB gain is a half-square. It's like half of a bobtail curtain, or two inverted L's connected at the ends of the horizontal parts (1/2 wave on top, 1/4 wave on the two vertical parts). It has a figure 8 broadside pattern, and is easily fed at one of the upper corners with coax. Larry N8LP Stephen W. Kercel wrote: Kevin: I think vertical dipoles are wonderful. I have used them on a heavily wooded lot with great success on both 20 and 30 meters. The higher you can get them off the ground the better. It is very desirable to be sure the feedline comes off reasonably perpendicular to the antenna for a quarter wavelength or so. Another effective trick (especially for 80 or 40) is an inverted L fed with coax at the corner. Its almost as good as a vertical dipole. Again, it is very desirable to be sure the feedline comes off reasonably perpendicular to both legs of the antenna for a quarter wavelength or so. However, don't be too enchanted by the low angle pattern, it is also a bit lossy. If you overlay your EZNEC vertical dipole elevation pattern with the EZNEC broadside elevation pattern of a straight dipole at say 5/8 wavelength elevation, you'll see that although the vertical concentrates its energy at low angles, the actual dBi values are not that much better than the horizontal. W4RNL has shown that putting a very elaborate ground screen under your vertical dipole gets you virtually no advantage. The losses are actually from ground losses a few thousand feet from the antenna. For that reason, if you're right on a seashore, you'll get spectacular results in the seaward direction. (This is the Desert Island effect.) I'm located near the coast of Maine, about 4 miles inland; the Desert Island Effect does not help me much. I have both a 20 m vertical dipole (center about 20 feet off the ground) and a 20 m horizontal dipole about 45 feet up. Which one does better depends on propagation conditions. I have worked lots of South Pacific QRP with the vertical. 73 Steve AA4AK At 11:20 PM 1/11/2006, Kevin Shaw wrote: I've been playing around with EZNEC trying to come up with a DX antenna that will work at my QTH. The vertical dipole seems to have a fantastic pattern for DX with low takeoff angles. I may be able to hang a vertical wire dipole in one of my trees and have it nearly invisible. Anyone have experience with vertical dipoles that they could share? Thanks, Kevin N8IQ -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tony Morgan Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 8:39 PM To: Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? K9QRG ON 5/12? Just checking :) Tony W7GO - Original Message - From: Larry Makoski W2LJ [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:54 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? Darwin, Keith wrote: K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Keith, Fear not fellow Elecrafter! We QRPers laugh at the sunspot minimum! Sunspots .. who needs 'em? I know, actually we all do. But to be serious as bad as band conditions were in 2005, I managed to make at least one QRP CW QSO everyday in 2005. If you want to check out some of who I worked (and there was a goodly bit of DX mixed in) then please check out: http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209.html My antennas are not much more substantial (if any) than yours. I have a G5RV at 25 feet and a Butternut HF9V vertical which is ground mounted in the backyard. To me it seems that if you don't spend too much time concentrating on what you think are deficiencies; but go out with the aim to just have fun, then you will be amazed at what you can accomplish! 73 de Larry W2LJ K1# 1647, K2# 4090 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman
Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Larry: I've never tried that. Maybe I should. 73, SteveAt 12:47 AM 1/12/2006, Larry Phipps wrote: A related antenna with a couple dB gain is a half-square. It's like half of a bobtail curtain, or two inverted L's connected at the ends of the horizontal parts (1/2 wave on top, 1/4 wave on the two vertical parts). It has a figure 8 broadside pattern, and is easily fed at one of the upper corners with coax. Larry N8LP Stephen W. Kercel wrote: Kevin: I think vertical dipoles are wonderful. I have used them on a heavily wooded lot with great success on both 20 and 30 meters. The higher you can get them off the ground the better. It is very desirable to be sure the feedline comes off reasonably perpendicular to the antenna for a quarter wavelength or so. Another effective trick (especially for 80 or 40) is an inverted L fed with coax at the corner. Its almost as good as a vertical dipole. Again, it is very desirable to be sure the feedline comes off reasonably perpendicular to both legs of the antenna for a quarter wavelength or so. However, don't be too enchanted by the low angle pattern, it is also a bit lossy. If you overlay your EZNEC vertical dipole elevation pattern with the EZNEC broadside elevation pattern of a straight dipole at say 5/8 wavelength elevation, you'll see that although the vertical concentrates its energy at low angles, the actual dBi values are not that much better than the horizontal. W4RNL has shown that putting a very elaborate ground screen under your vertical dipole gets you virtually no advantage. The losses are actually from ground losses a few thousand feet from the antenna. For that reason, if you're right on a seashore, you'll get spectacular results in the seaward direction. (This is the Desert Island effect.) I'm located near the coast of Maine, about 4 miles inland; the Desert Island Effect does not help me much. I have both a 20 m vertical dipole (center about 20 feet off the ground) and a 20 m horizontal dipole about 45 feet up. Which one does better depends on propagation conditions. I have worked lots of South Pacific QRP with the vertical. 73 Steve AA4AK At 11:20 PM 1/11/2006, Kevin Shaw wrote: I've been playing around with EZNEC trying to come up with a DX antenna that will work at my QTH. The vertical dipole seems to have a fantastic pattern for DX with low takeoff angles. I may be able to hang a vertical wire dipole in one of my trees and have it nearly invisible. Anyone have experience with vertical dipoles that they could share? Thanks, Kevin N8IQ -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tony Morgan Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 8:39 PM To: Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? K9QRG ON 5/12? Just checking :) Tony W7GO - Original Message - From: Larry Makoski W2LJ [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Darwin, Keith [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:54 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min? Darwin, Keith wrote: K1 or K2. Hmmm, the debate continues. But wait, we're approaching a sunspot min. My antennas are pretty limited. I have a 28 foot vertical (fed with a tuner near the base) for 40 thru 15 and a dipole at 25 feet but that is about it. No towers, no high wires, no yagis. How limiting will 5 or 10 watts (even with that Elecraft Mojo) be under current conditions? Are we entering into conditions where QRP with simple antennas will become rather frustrating? Is it K2/100 time? - Keith KD1E - ___ Keith, Fear not fellow Elecrafter! We QRPers laugh at the sunspot minimum! Sunspots .. who needs 'em? I know, actually we all do. But to be serious as bad as band conditions were in 2005, I managed to make at least one QRP CW QSO everyday in 2005. If you want to check out some of who I worked (and there was a goodly bit of DX mixed in) then please check out: http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209.html My antennas are not much more substantial (if any) than yours. I have a G5RV at 25 feet and a Butternut HF9V vertical which is ground mounted in the backyard. To me it seems that if you don't spend too much time concentrating on what you think are deficiencies; but go out with the aim to just have fun, then you will be amazed at what you can accomplish! 73 de Larry W2LJ K1# 1647, K2# 4090 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list
RE: [Elecraft] QRP viability during solar cycle min?
Kevin N8IQ wrote: I've been playing around with EZNEC trying to come up with a DX antenna that will work at my QTH. The vertical dipole seems to have a fantastic pattern for DX with low takeoff angles. I may be able to hang a vertical wire dipole in one of my trees and have it nearly invisible. Anyone have experience with vertical dipoles that they could share? -- Are you modeling over a real earth in EZNEC, Kevin? The limitation verticals face is that vertically-polarized waves induce strong ground currents. In most grounds that means substantial loss of lower angles of radiation. For that reason, most verticals show their maximum lobe at somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees above the horizon. Everything lower is absorbed by the earth. Until the radiator gets so long the patter breaks up (up to about 5.8 wavelength) there is a slight improvement in gain as the radiator is made longer. Using a dipole does eliminate the requirement for a ground for a Marconi type radiator, but it does nothing to reduce the far-field ground losses from what I read. The gain of such a vertical will be about 0 dBi or the same as an isotropic radiator. By comparison, a horizontal antenna 7 MHz, will over 6.5 dBi gain at 20 degrees as long as the horizontal wire is about 1/4 wavelength (33 feet at 40 meters) above the ground. That is equal to a 4:1 power increase just by making the dipole horizontal! Of course, the horizontal requires a lot more horizontal space! That gain comes from just the reverse of the situation that costs a vertical signal. The waves from the horizontal are reflected from the ground to form a sort of two-element beam. Ron AC7AC ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
