As good as it gets...for now?
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Folks,
After a 2+ year hiatus from "RadioActivity", I finished up a K2 build, and tried getting on the air a bit--UGH dismal results! During the recent ARCI Homebrew Sprint I made 3 contacts, 1 in WA and 2 in ID, I'm in OR. Me and a friend back in CO have tried two or three times for a scheduled QSO--no luck we could just barley hear each other. One one of those attepts my freind was using a beam and 100W of power. More troubling is the lack of signals I'm hearing. Before each of the activities I mentioned I would tune around the bands to assess band conditions, I could hear no more than 5 or 6 other stations. I couldn't hear any of the NCDXF beacons--Are they still operational? I can hear WWV @ 10MHz 5x9. Set up here is QRP K2, and a Superantennas PW-1. Now before everybody jumps on the PW-1--NO PW-1/ANY OTHER ANTENNA BASHING!!! I mean it! :-) I had a PW-1 in CO and it worked great! ( see <http://www.elecraft.com/PictureGallery/NewPics/n0rc_vw_foxhound_front.jpg> for one example) Do I have a problem with my K2--I'm thinking not. With an XG-1 signal generator set to 1uV I can hear it fine on 40, and the harmonics on 20 and 15m. Is it my QTH? I have a city lot, the back yard is only 9m x 6m (30' X 20'), surrounded by one story houses on each side. The PW-1 in placed in the center. Further, I live in a river valley abt 275m (900Ft) ASL. The valley is surrounded by low mountains 900-1200m (3-4k Ft) AL abt 10 miles away. I have no other radio equipment, (or access to) to try A/B comparisons. I can not and will not change my antenna setup, I want nothing permanent outside. I have no room to set up take down temporary wire antennas. I WILL NOT MOVE TO A DIFFERENT QTH. I WILL NOT SPEND ANYMORE MONEY ON RADIO EQUIPMENT--I am at an economic/financial sweet spot all things [radio/non-radio] considered. So given my circumstances and the current lull in solar activity... Is this as good as it gets? -- 73 Rod, Ai7NN ~*~*~Happy Holidays~*~*~ _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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: As good as it gets...for now?
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Rod,
With the current situation - in the sunspot cycle low point, that may be as good as it gets. Your PW-1 antenna may perform OK on 30 meters and above, but on the lower bands it simply does not have adequate capture area to be effective (the same is true of most any small antenna). The most active bands right now are 40, 80 and 160 although there is usually some activity on 20 during the daylight hours. Wait a year or two and you will begin to find more stations on the higher bands. During the current period, unless you are willing to do something like add a wire extension to the top of your PW-1 antenna, you are not likely to hear (and work) very much on the lower bands. That is just the way of things - the low bands require larger antennas to be effective. 73, Don W3FPR [hidden email] wrote: > Folks, > > > Set up here is QRP K2, and a Superantennas PW-1. Now before everybody > jumps on the PW-1--NO PW-1/ANY OTHER ANTENNA BASHING!!! I mean it! > :-) I had a PW-1 in CO and it worked great! ( see > <http://www.elecraft.com/PictureGallery/NewPics/n0rc_vw_foxhound_front.jpg> > for one example) > > Do I have a problem with my K2--I'm thinking not. With an XG-1 signal > generator set to 1uV I can hear it fine on 40, and the harmonics on 20 > and 15m. > > Is it my QTH? I have a city lot, the back yard is only 9m x 6m (30' X > 20'), surrounded by one story houses on each side. The PW-1 in placed > in the center. Further, I live in a river valley abt 275m (900Ft) ASL. > The valley is surrounded by low mountains 900-1200m (3-4k Ft) AL abt > 10 miles away. > > I have no other radio equipment, (or access to) to try A/B > comparisons. I can not and will not change my antenna setup, I want > nothing permanent outside. I have no room to set up take down > temporary wire antennas. I WILL NOT MOVE TO A DIFFERENT QTH. I WILL > NOT SPEND ANYMORE MONEY ON RADIO EQUIPMENT--I am at an > economic/financial sweet spot all things [radio/non-radio] considered. > > So given my circumstances and the current lull in solar activity... > > Is this as good as it gets? > -- > 73 Rod, Ai7NN ~*~*~Happy Holidays~*~*~ > > Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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 |
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In reply to this post by Rod Ai7NN
In a message dated 12/31/2007 8:49:19 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
[hidden email] writes: Folks, After a 2+ year hiatus from "RadioActivity", I finished up a K2 build, and tried getting on the air a bit--UGH dismal results! During the recent ARCI Homebrew Sprint I made 3 contacts, 1 in WA and 2 in ID, I'm in OR. Me and a friend back in CO have tried two or three times for a scheduled QSO--no luck we could just barley hear each other. One one of those attepts my freind was using a beam and 100W of power. More troubling is the lack of signals I'm hearing. Before each of the activities I mentioned I would tune around the bands to assess band conditions, I could hear no more than 5 or 6 other stations. I couldn't hear any of the NCDXF beacons--Are they still operational? I can hear WWV @ 10MHz 5x9. Set up here is QRP K2, and a Superantennas PW-1. Now before everybody jumps on the PW-1--NO PW-1/ANY OTHER ANTENNA BASHING!!! I mean it! :-) I had a PW-1 in CO and it worked great! ( see <http://www.elecraft.com/PictureGallery/NewPics/n0rc_vw_foxhound_front.jpg> for one example) Do I have a problem with my K2--I'm thinking not. With an XG-1 signal generator set to 1uV I can hear it fine on 40, and the harmonics on 20 and 15m. Is it my QTH? I have a city lot, the back yard is only 9m x 6m (30' X 20'), surrounded by one story houses on each side. The PW-1 in placed in the center. Further, I live in a river valley abt 275m (900Ft) ASL. The valley is surrounded by low mountains 900-1200m (3-4k Ft) AL abt 10 miles away. I have no other radio equipment, (or access to) to try A/B comparisons. I can not and will not change my antenna setup, I want nothing permanent outside. I have no room to set up take down temporary wire antennas. I WILL NOT MOVE TO A DIFFERENT QTH. I WILL NOT SPEND ANYMORE MONEY ON RADIO EQUIPMENT--I am at an economic/financial sweet spot all things [radio/non-radio] considered. So given my circumstances and the current lull in solar activity... Is this as good as it gets? -- 73 Rod, Ai7NN ~*~*~Happy Holidays~*~*~ ______________________________________________ Hang in there, Ron. Yeah!, the bands really are sucking right now, but there are moments. Like just after I got my K3 on the air I worked 60 new countries in the CQWW on my 50 year old mosely vertical. It wasn't just the K3. Sure I could hear them, but so could lots of others, and they could hear me too! My K2 could work them as well. There are a couple good contest weekends coming up this month (Jan) so get ready and maybe we'll be surprised with good activity. Personally, I think so many hams are sold on the premise that there's no one out there, that they don't even try. But the contest activity - not great - demonstrates the contacts can be made. CU there - WA6VNN, Al **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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 |
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In reply to this post by Rod Ai7NN
Rod,
You have pretty much eliminated any physical remedies, so how about an operational solution: The SKCC 2nd Anniversary Special Event takes place the entire month of January. Last year we made some 5,000 QSOs, i believe. Plus there is an online event calendar and also a live scheduling page available to help you find stations. More info here: http://skccgroup.com Condx do seem worse than last year at this time, however I'll be using my low power K2 and 100' wire throughout. Also, don't forget about SKN-- tonight and tomorrow. Should be some band activity then! 73, Drew AF2Z On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:48:33 -0800, Rod, Ai7NN wrote: >Folks, > >After a 2+ year hiatus from "RadioActivity", I finished up a K2 build, >and tried getting on the air a bit--UGH dismal results! During the >recent ARCI Homebrew Sprint I made 3 contacts, 1 in WA and 2 in ID, >I'm in OR. Me and a friend back in CO have tried two or three times _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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: As good as it gets...for now?
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In reply to this post by AJSOENKE
The bands have been very active here on the right coast. Worked a
mobile station in Spain and had a fella from Colorado booming in here today, both on 17m. Most days 17m is active. There is often activity on 20m. Between the RAC contest and the Stew Perry contest, this past weekend, I worked 110 stations, from Saskatchewan to Montenegro. Another idea might be to find a DX cluster on the internet, and watch it for a bit. Watch for spots from your general area, and see if you can hear any of them. - David Wilburn [hidden email] K4DGW K2 S/N 5982 On Mon, 2007-12-31 at 12:31 -0500, [hidden email] wrote: > In a message dated 12/31/2007 8:49:19 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, > [hidden email] writes: > Folks, > > After a 2+ year hiatus from "RadioActivity", I finished up a K2 build, > and tried getting on the air a bit--UGH dismal results! During the > recent ARCI Homebrew Sprint I made 3 contacts, 1 in WA and 2 in ID, > I'm in OR. Me and a friend back in CO have tried two or three times > for a scheduled QSO--no luck we could just barley hear each other. One > one of those attepts my freind was using a beam and 100W of power. > More troubling is the lack of signals I'm hearing. Before each of the > activities I mentioned I would tune around the bands to assess band > conditions, I could hear no more than 5 or 6 other stations. I > couldn't hear any of the NCDXF beacons--Are they still operational? I > can hear WWV @ 10MHz 5x9. > > Set up here is QRP K2, and a Superantennas PW-1. Now before everybody > jumps on the PW-1--NO PW-1/ANY OTHER ANTENNA BASHING!!! I mean it! > :-) I had a PW-1 in CO and it worked great! ( see > <http://www.elecraft.com/PictureGallery/NewPics/n0rc_vw_foxhound_front.jpg> > for one example) > > Do I have a problem with my K2--I'm thinking not. With an XG-1 signal > generator set to 1uV I can hear it fine on 40, and the harmonics on 20 > and 15m. > > Is it my QTH? I have a city lot, the back yard is only 9m x 6m (30' X > 20'), surrounded by one story houses on each side. The PW-1 in placed > in the center. Further, I live in a river valley abt 275m (900Ft) ASL. > The valley is surrounded by low mountains 900-1200m (3-4k Ft) AL abt > 10 miles away. > > I have no other radio equipment, (or access to) to try A/B > comparisons. I can not and will not change my antenna setup, I want > nothing permanent outside. I have no room to set up take down > temporary wire antennas. I WILL NOT MOVE TO A DIFFERENT QTH. I WILL > NOT SPEND ANYMORE MONEY ON RADIO EQUIPMENT--I am at an > economic/financial sweet spot all things [radio/non-radio] considered. > > So given my circumstances and the current lull in solar activity... > > Is this as good as it gets? > -- > 73 Rod, Ai7NN ~*~*~Happy Holidays~*~*~ > ______________________________________________ > > > Hang in there, Ron. Yeah!, the bands really are sucking right now, but there > are moments. Like just after I got my K3 on the air I worked 60 new > countries in the CQWW on my 50 year old mosely vertical. It wasn't just the K3. Sure > I could hear them, but so could lots of others, and they could hear me too! > My K2 could work them as well. There are a couple good contest weekends > coming up this month (Jan) so get ready and maybe we'll be surprised with good > activity. Personally, I think so many hams are sold on the premise that > there's no one out there, that they don't even try. But the contest activity - not > great - demonstrates the contacts can be made. > > CU there - WA6VNN, Al > > > > **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes > (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > 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: [hidden email] 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: As good as it gets...for now?
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In reply to this post by Rod Ai7NN
Rod:
There several things you left unsaid in your message, most critically, the band and time of day on which you have tried and failed to hear signals. BTW, tuning across the band and hearing 5 or 6 signals is not too bad these days. Surely, you should be able to work one of those. By the time you finish that QSO and tune across the band again, you'll still hear 5 or 6 signals, but usually one of the old signals will have faded out and a new one has faded in. I find that I may only hear 5 or 6 signals at any given time on 80 m CW , but somehow end up with a dozen QSOs by the time I decide to pack it in. Even with the current poor solar activity, three QSOs and a failed sked is not as good as it gets. This past weekend, in the RAC test, from my coastal Maine QTH, I made 145 QSOs (including several to W7/VE7 land) with my K2 running 5 Watts out, mostly on 80 meters. I have no notion of what a PW-1 is, but the fact that an antenna works great in one location is no assurance that it will do so in another. That's the reason that the people who hawk verticals as high performance DX antennas usually report results from seaside QTHs. Nevertheless, I doubt that the antenna is your problem. If your antenna were performing poorly, you should be hearing a lot of stations who perversely fail to hear you. Your valley QTH is not a blessing, but neither is it a back breaker. Your chances of hearing the NCDXF beacons above 20 meters are not very great given the low sunspot activity. If you listen very systematically at various times throughout the day, you might hear a few. Even on 20 meters, you will hear only a few of the beacons for only a limited amount of time each day. Given the winter and low solar conditions, 20 meters is typically open only during daylight hours, with a bit of a lull between local noon and 2 pm. Some days 15 meters comes open in the afternoons; I worked a couple of VE6 stations on 15 m during the RAC test. 30 meters is open a lot (as witness your success hearing WWV), especially in the late afternoons, but not too many hams get on there. If you have a receiver that covers the other WWV and CHU frequencies, listen to them as well. CHU is close enough to the 80 and 40 meter band edges that you should be able to hear it on your K2. If you can hear CHU, then you know the low bands are open to the east. Even 40 meters is marginal these days. From about 3:00 to 9:00 pm local time is the best time to hear 40 meter activity. Even then, you need to tune around a lot, and call CQ a lot. There are some amazingly strong signals that pop out of a seemingly dead band. After dark, 80 meters is the currently longest open band; it is usually open to somewhere through all the night-time hours. Again, listen a lot and call CQ a lot. Even if the band is not bristling with signals, there is activity out there. Another thing to remember, follow the daily sunspot activity. Most of the time the flux is below 70, often closer to 65 (64 is supposedly the theoretical minimum). Occasionally a new sunspot appears for a day or two, the flux pops up to about 90, and the band openings become much stronger for that time. BTW my comments apply only to the CW segments of the bands. I have no clue what the level of activity is audible on the phone bands and no interest in finding out. Anyway, your past results are not as good as it gets. Since the QTH, antenna and rig are invariant, to get better results, you might need to become a more serious student of propagation. 73, HNY, and good luck, Steve Kercel AA4AK At 11:48 AM 12/31/2007, [hidden email] wrote: >Folks, > >After a 2+ year hiatus from "RadioActivity", I finished up a K2 build, >and tried getting on the air a bit--UGH dismal results! During the >recent ARCI Homebrew Sprint I made 3 contacts, 1 in WA and 2 in ID, >I'm in OR. Me and a friend back in CO have tried two or three times >for a scheduled QSO--no luck we could just barley hear each other. One >one of those attepts my freind was using a beam and 100W of power. >More troubling is the lack of signals I'm hearing. Before each of the >activities I mentioned I would tune around the bands to assess band >conditions, I could hear no more than 5 or 6 other stations. I >couldn't hear any of the NCDXF beacons--Are they still operational? I >can hear WWV @ 10MHz 5x9. > >Set up here is QRP K2, and a Superantennas PW-1. Now before everybody >jumps on the PW-1--NO PW-1/ANY OTHER ANTENNA BASHING!!! I mean it! >:-) I had a PW-1 in CO and it worked great! ( see ><http://www.elecraft.com/PictureGallery/NewPics/n0rc_vw_foxhound_front.jpg> >for one example) > >Do I have a problem with my K2--I'm thinking not. With an XG-1 signal >generator set to 1uV I can hear it fine on 40, and the harmonics on 20 >and 15m. > >Is it my QTH? I have a city lot, the back yard is only 9m x 6m (30' X >20'), surrounded by one story houses on each side. The PW-1 in placed >in the center. Further, I live in a river valley abt 275m (900Ft) ASL. >The valley is surrounded by low mountains 900-1200m (3-4k Ft) AL abt >10 miles away. > >I have no other radio equipment, (or access to) to try A/B >comparisons. I can not and will not change my antenna setup, I want >nothing permanent outside. I have no room to set up take down >temporary wire antennas. I WILL NOT MOVE TO A DIFFERENT QTH. I WILL >NOT SPEND ANYMORE MONEY ON RADIO EQUIPMENT--I am at an >economic/financial sweet spot all things [radio/non-radio] considered. > >So given my circumstances and the current lull in solar activity... > >Is this as good as it gets? >-- >73 Rod, Ai7NN ~*~*~Happy Holidays~*~*~ >_______________________________________________ >Elecraft mailing list >Post to: [hidden email] >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: [hidden email] 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 |
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In reply to this post by Rod Ai7NN
"OH MY" what an interesting and diverse set of responses, thank you
all (Well most of you, I'll deal with that in a moment) First off a minor nit, my name is Rod "R", "O", "D". not Ron. You don't have to remember it just copy and paste from signature. :-) Many asked about the radials I am using, I failed to mention that, my apologizes. I'm using the radials that are included with the PW-1. Four wires, each approximately 3-4m (10-13 feet) long. The PW-1 is ground mounted with radials stretched out orthogonal to each other. I also failed to mention the bands that I tried. The were 40, 30 and 20m. The latest QSO attempt with my friend in CO was two days ago between 2200-2230UTC. We started on 20m and worked our way to 40. Before that attempt I tried listening for the NCDXF beacons, I didn't hear any of them. I sure got a lot of comments about how I might improve things and some even skirted around the issue of PW-1 critque. :-) :-) :-) I don't recall asking the question--How can I improve things? I simply asked is this what I can expect given my current situation--I'm attempting establishing a baseline. I know had I asked the question, "How can I improve things?" I would have received ten-fold the number of responses. Not ready for that yet ("...small steps Ellie", small steps..."). One or more persons suggested traveling out of the valley, to higher ground, and giving things a try. That's a good idea, I'll try and follow up on that. Might have to wait till springtime. Traveling in the mountain terrain out here can be dangerous in winter. (A google search of Bear Camp Road will indicate why) Based on what I've read so far, I guess for me, with my setup, it's as good as it gets. I'm OK with that. Operating has become an ever less priority with me. My enjoyment came from the technical aspects of the hobby. Finally, some felt I may be trolling, opened myself up for any kind of answer, or painted myself into a corner because of my constraints.... To those critical of my constraints I simply ask that you accept them, they must be, at least for now. I expect nothing more than simple respect, and will accept nothing less. -- 73 Rod, Ai7NN ~*~*~Happy Holidays~*~*~ On Dec 31, 2007 8:48 AM, <[hidden email]> wrote: > Folks, > > After a 2+ year hiatus from "RadioActivity", I finished up a K2 build, > and tried getting on the air a bit--UGH dismal results! During the > recent ARCI Homebrew Sprint I made 3 contacts, 1 in WA and 2 in ID, _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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: As good as it gets...for now?
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In reply to this post by dave.wilburn
David Wilburn wrote:
> Another idea might be to find a DX cluster on the internet, and watch it > for a bit. Watch for spots from your general area, and see if you can > hear any of them. If you are looking for a DX cluster online, check out DX Summit at http://oh2aq.kolumbus.com/dxs/. -- Cheers! Kevin. http://www.ve3syb.ca/ |"What are we going to do today, Borg?" Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 |"Same thing we always do, Pinkutus: | Try to assimilate the world!" #include <disclaimer/favourite> | -Pinkutus & the Borg _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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 |
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