Well we got the dipole up today. Swr is 1.4/1 with total 100 watts.
Forward power is 99 and reflective is 6. I worked a station in
northwest Arkansas he gave me a report of 5 9 and he sounded as though
he was sitting right beside me. I know northwest Arkansas isn't all
that far but I was so excited to be able to get on that I forgot to log
his info which I regret now because afterall he was my first contact on
hf. We didn't get the vertical up today, weather didn't cooperate and
night time came. While the night time didn't bother me at all my
brother and my dad said they needed to see. I will need about a 50 foot
length of coax to get the vertical up and my son and I can handle that
during the week. Thanks to all who patiently took the time to work with
me on this, I can't thank you enough. Maybe some day I can help others.
It really is neat once it all works. I may try to tune the dipole some
more to see if I can get the swr lower but for now I will sit back and
enjoy it. Also, my new general class appeared in the data base
Gery Gaubert
St. Charles Sheriff's Office Helpdesk Coordinator