At least you can run wires I am limited even farther I can only run my 102
inch whips in dipole configuration or a vertical because I have power lines
nearby and have to keep away from them I have a Comet CHA250B but it is
still in the box because I need a new portch railing and nobody wants to get
to close to the power lines so may be stuck with the whip dipole for quite
some time
Ed W9JE
-------Original Message-------
From: Tom Behler
Date: 2/19/2012 2:01:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Some thoughts on the ARRL International DX CW Contest
Yup, Phil, I'm sure you're right.
For now, I'm limited to wire antennas, so will just have to live within
those constraints, I guess.
Anyway, I did make 143 contacts, so will look to see if I've worked any new
countries over the next few days here.
73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 2:36 PM
Subject: Re: Some thoughts on the ARRL International DX CW Contest
> If you are going to operate a DX contest running 100 watts, you best be
> having big antennas up super high if you desire to be competitive. The
> louder signal you have in such competition, the better. When I lived in
> western Colorado, I had just wire inverted vees at 30 and 40 feet for 80
> and
> 40. I had clear ground, mostly down hill, in every direction for 20
> miles.
> I had a ground mounted multiple band vertical and the wire antennas.
> During
> off contest times, I could work anything I could hear and to the west,
> southwest, and northwest, signals were always strong. During the contest,
> all bets were off. Running 650 to 700 watts in one contest, I worked just
> 40 meters and made 160 contacts over the weekend. When I was running 1 KW
> here in Denver, with a 2 element 40 meter beam at 70 feet, I worked 403
> contacts in the first 24 hours just on 40 meters alone. I ran a couple of
> good European runs with them calling me and I worked over 200 Japanese
> doing
> runs after midnight till 9 in the morning. Running 100 watts, I could not
> have done any of that. Wait till 10 meters opens wide because then you
> can
> run piles of Europeans most of the day, even with a wire antenna up 30
> feet.
> Louder, bigger, and higher is the name of the game in DX contesting.
>
> Phil.
> K0NX
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tom Behler" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 9:21 AM
> Subject: Some thoughts on the ARRL International DX CW Contest
>
>
>> Hi, all.
>>
>> I suspect I spent approximately 9 hours of operating time this week-end,
>> playing in the ARRL International DX CW contest, and my results were
>> somewhat disappointing.
>>
>> I have some thoughts on the contest, and would like the reactions of
>> others
>> as well.
>>
>> To give you background, I decided to stick to 100 watts, since it was a
>> CW
>> contest. I used my Alpha Delta DXCC antenna, and operated on 10, 15, 20,
>> and 40 meters.
>>
>> Band conditions weren't the greatest, in my opinion, but I have seen
>> worse.
>>
>> Here's where my disappointment comes in:
>>
>> I did mainly S and P work, which is where I got most of my contacts.
>> However, I did spend some time sending out CQ's on the various bands,
>> with
>> only a handful of contacts.
>>
>> To me, the contest seemed like more of a situation where big gun DX
>> stations
>> were competing with one another to get the highest score, with very few
>> DX
>> stations actually roaming out there trying to give contacts to folks like
>> us
>> from the states. It also seemed like there were not terrific numbers of
>> US
>> stations calling CQ.
>>
>> I guess the whole contest environment seemed a bit strange to me.
>>
>> Then again, I'm the first to admit that I'm a relative newby to
>> contesting,
>> and therefore, have very much to learn.
>>
>> Anyway, I'd be interested in the thoughts and experiences of others who
>> might have played in the contest this week-end, or in previous years.
>>
>> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>>
>
|
