Re: Topband: Remotes
Steve, I thought that train left the station about 10 years ago. Remote stations DXing is well established. Is it really any different than someone that used to live in W6 and now lives in W1 that has 9M2 previously worked and confirmed and didn't restart their 160M DXCC total with the move? Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: HF Antenna question
Dan, sounds like fun. A couple of things to think about: A roof 3 stories up is not "high in the air" typically as the roof under the antenna may be a nice ground plain - think reinforced concrete or metal roofs. So you should plan to install some radials under it. Ideal is if you can run some RG58 out to the beach and plunk it next to the water. Also use 4 radials there. Enjoy. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: ARRL 160
I had the same occurrence on both CQ WW and ARRL 160. On 160 I moved after 10 Dupes in a row. In CQ WW, one of the callers asked whether I was N1URF. So after the contest I looked for any manual spots for N1URF and didn't find any. So it was a busted Skimmer spot I assume. People seem to be trusting what they see on the screen and its guaranteed that they will be wrong some of the time doing that. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: J28MD, conditions
Those that think that the other end of their 160 or 80 FT8 QSO is a dedicated operator "working them" like the old days just using this new mode are seriously kidding themselves. It is well known and not even hidden any more, that the "lesser rate" bands are a 2nd radio to the active operator who takes a minute every 10 - 20 minutes and clicks on all the calls being decoded and goes back to whatever other mode band he is actually operating on. This routinely occurs and is now part of the strategy for DXpeditions. This is a big reason why there is almost no 160 or 6 CW coming out of them. Is the 160 Q actually while the operator is sleeping. Sure its possible. At a minimum it could be he clicked on all the decoded signals just before going to bed and the next 30 - 60 minutes on 160 were as he/she was sleeping. That's if its attempting to be fully legit to the ARRL DX rules, which are simply their rules and no-one else. How pervasive is the "robot mode" while a 6 hour sleep break is taken. Not sure. But to say its not possible just because the out of the box FT8 software doesn't allow it is the height of naivety. Software is changed by the user all the time. And macros are used routinely. Its been proven already its very doable. The only question is "how pervasive is it" and will the Dxpeditioners come clean if they are? I used to love 160 and 80 DX chasing. I have completely given up on it. Can't get excited about a DXpedition constantly and then be disappointed that it never shows up on 160 and 80CW - which I find to be about 75% of the time now on 80 and about 90% of the time on 160. I don't do 6 but hear its virtually 100% there. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Beverage upgrade question
I also experimented with phased beverages to EU from my location. Separation was not huge - about 40 ft. Length was about 900 ft. I have to say I was underwhelmed by the increase in gain. However, what is a killer is the front to back ratio improvement. It does a fabulous job on 40 and 80 nulling out stateside stations as I listen to EU from my Vermont location. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Region One stations below 1810 kHz
I have an idea, just to make it "fair", let's restrict all operators from around the world to the US Phone Bands on 20M and 40M in contests as well. After all, it's only fair. Just stick to the rules folks. Ed N1UR "Hey Everything can be solved simply. To approve the rules for the whole World ( only for contest) - it is impossible to work until 1810. It will be fair." _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Beverage directivity
I see differences on 80 and 40 for my beverages that I don't normally see on 160M. It looks related to the angle of radiation - the more its coming down on the wire vs towards the wire (low angle) - the less the directivity. You may find that this is related. I have 8 beverages in various directions and it is often surprising which one "hears a station the best". But that's a function of S/N ratio so it's a combo of null noise and gaining target signal. Is your ground conductivity really good? If so, that may be affecting it as well. Mine is very poor in Vermont. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: : Twin Sloper
Ed, What frequency are we talking about? I use center fed loaded slopers on my 70 ft tower for 80M. Some people use the tower (shield) and sloping wire (center). I have not had as much success with this method. Others use a sloping wire fed at the bottom and a few ground radials - essentially using the tower as a support. Which direction are you thinking? Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: s meter
I usually set my receiver gain/attenuation to get the S Meter noise floor on 160M to equal roughly S= 1. There are times that I can be listening on my transmit antenna (2 el vert array) with no preamp and no attenuation and get that result (very quiet in the winter on CW). There are other times that even on the beverages - I have to drop in some attenuation to get there (SSB in the summer). I find this technique offers excellent receiving capability and minimizes operator fatigue. The S Meter reading is meaningless across all of those variances. 73 Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Inverted J antennas?
Mike, All ¼ wave verticals have the same elevation angles. The question is what is the feedpoint efficiency which is dominated by the ground. That ground is a combination of your soil characteristics and the radial field design. In my opinion, 2 elevated radials about 5 ft above the ground is a poor ground system for good performance. Elevated 160M radials really need to be more like 20 25 ft above the ground to be efficient. Otherwise, my experience has been you are way better off putting a lot of them on the ground vs a few in the air below 10 ft. One thing to try is take a Z + R reading at the actual feedpoint as it is now and add 2 more radials. If the R drops by more than 0.5 Ohm, then keep adding. I started with an R of about 24 Ohms with 4 radials on the ground and got it down to 12 Ohms by adding radials. I have 44. I could not see any difference with the last 4 so I stopped. I have 2 T top verticals in phase and they are 260 ft apart. And the same result occurred on both. That is highly a function of my rocky (Granite) soil here. 73 Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Beverages and Noise
I have very little noise here and lots of beverages. Because of the low noise floor, I can pick up a couple of solar arrays on properties about 2,000 feet away. The beverage - very efficiently - hears that noise when it is pointed at it. In fact, one of them is in the direction of EU and I sometimes use my 30deg bev instead of my 60 deg bev to hear a very weak signal on a very quiet band because that interference IS the noise floor. Conclusion from here? Bevs won't help you kill local hash unless its just part of the radiation pattern and in fact could make it louder if the beverage is pointed at the offender. I have ZERO VDSL hash here that I can detect as an FYI. And my noise floor is typically S0 to S1 on topband. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Low Dipoles
I have a "really low" NVIS dipole that is at 40ft elevation - ends at 20 ft. I put it up for very local communication and to experiment with DX angles. I have only found it to be "okay" at sunset to maybe 30 - 45 mins after, where, at times, its equal to my 2 el T top phased array to EU. Its NEVER stronger to EU that I have seen so far. I have observed it being 10db stronger during that same period than my omni directional T vertical to stations about 500 miles out. But within an hour, it loses out to the vertical. 73 Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Topband: FW: Re: Rohn 25 Vertical questions - C6AGU
I believe the top output power in C6 is 250W. As someone who first did in band receiving on many bands up to 200W and then "graduated it" to 1.5kW, it a horse of a different color. I don't disagree with any of the comments made or engineering suggested, but my 200W system needed improvement to be practical with 1500W output. I use lone beverages - strategically located vs the pattern on 160 - 40M for inband receive at 1500W. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Topband: IARU This Weekend
Hello all. If you are participating in the IARU contest this weekend, in addition to the 160M CW band, please also venture up to the SSB portion as well. It is often very difficult to get SSB Qs on 160M in this contest. I hope to hear many of you on. 73 Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Slightly OT - amplifier noise
I remember having some experience with that MFJ-1026 a number of years ago and found the trade off of increased noise floor vs cancelling not worth the effort. Trading one evil for another evil. Obviously, when confronted with noise mitigation, everything is on the table. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Topband: NVIS Antenna
I was reminded of my interest in re-installing a low 160M antenna to supplement by 2 el vertical phased array. And since there was no where to go this weekend and no College Hoops to watch, I thought, hey, I could get something up and play around with it in the Spring Stew. And that what I did. I put up a 160M full size inverted vee. Top at about 55ft and ends at around 15 feet. Just high enough to decouple some of the ground losses but other than that, straight up radiation for the most part. I compared that to my 2 element T top vertical phased array that is half wave spaced and fed in phase or 180 out of phase for an E/W or N/S pattern. At about 2 hours before sunset I started tuning around and listening to stations. Understand from my location in Vermont there is literally no one on within 100 miles of me almost all the time. Unless W1SJ or K2LE are on (SJ is 40 miles and LE is 80 miles). I was interested to hear that until about 30 mins before sunset - NONE of the signals we better on the NVIS inv vee - in fact virtually all were down by 5 - 15db. Then around that time I started to notice that the 200 mile out stations and as well the closer stations started being equal on the NVIS and a few louder by maybe 5dB. Then from Sunset for a good hour or more, MOST of the up to 200 mile out stations were 5 - 15dB louder on the NVIS inverted vee. Propagation is fascinating. It's a keeper to have in the arsenal for the selected need of 200 - 250 miles out from an hour before to maybe 1 - 2 hours after sunset on 160M. Comments welcome. 73 Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: Inverted L with elevated radials for topband
I havent experimented on top band but I have tried elevated radials on 80M ¼ verticals. I had one in Houston Texas that worked wonderfully elevated 8 radials at about 10 ft. Ground conductivity in Houston was about as good as anywhere in the US. I tried doing the same thing at 2 different QTHs in Vermont and both were very disappointing. I gave up on elevated radials for 80 and 160M. My experience has been that ground conductivity matters for a small number of elevated radials. I have been much happier with 48 ¼ wave ground radials. Ed N1UR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
