Thanks Wayne. My preferred operating antenna (strictly from a convenience standpoint) has been a vertical wire with 1/4 wave counterpoises for 20, 30, and 40 m tied to a BNC to binding post adapter on the KX-1. Not sure how that would play in this case... If I carry the rig into the hole, I will post after the trip to let everyone know how I fared.
Personally, I was hoping for some directional gain broadside to the gorge courtesy of the Vishnu effect (also documented in the propagation journals as "schist happens"). Unfortunately, I understand that this phenomenon is primarily in play on Wednesdays, which is my travel day. Oh, and by the way, you and Eric keep up the great work. 73, Mike, K4GU -----Original Message----- From: wayne burdick [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:24 AM To: Mike and Alicia Fanning Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: QRP from the bottom of the Grand Canyon Mike Fanning wrote: > Anyone have any experience trying QRP from the bottom of the big hole? > I > will be backpacking the week of September 6-12 in the Grand Canyon, and > would like to take my KX-1... Mike, I think your chances of making contacts is very good. If you have a low dipole or random wire, you'll get some vertical radiation (in fact, most of it :) and with this "NVIS" antenna I'd be surprised if you didn't work a few stations on 40 meters, any time of the day. There's also a form of HF ducting that occurs in long river gorges near the 36th parallel, peaking in the first week of September, often on a Thursday. This is a hazardous time for migratory waterfowl of the Kaibab plateau, whose normal sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic field is disrupted by intense ionization that propagates along the limestone walls. The visual effect, celebrated as "duck-ducting" by Havasu indians, is documented in canyon petroglyphs. Of course it was only hundreds of years later that their descendants, using early radio receivers, were able to truly appreciate the phenomenon across the full spectrum. Apparently it was quite messy. Based on an historical analysis of such reports, I think you can expect long QSOs into Provo, Utah. 73, Wayne N6KR --- http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] 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
