[160m] Mike W0BTU

[Gary Haugen]

Hi Mike

I am not an expert on 160 by any means but I can tell you what my
experiences have been for over 20 years on a large city lot.

My first DX station was GM3POI 20 years ago and who I had the honor of
meeting in person in Scotland at the yearly meeting of the GM DX Grout last
year.

 

That QSO got me into 160.  I still need one state and some 10 countries but
I'm still trying.

 

I have tried almost every thing that I can, on my city lot.

 

The 1025 didn't do a thing.  It seems that when the band opens up for me the
noise just goes down.

 

I use a vertical up 25ft with radials cut to freq. but wrapped up at my
fence.  They are umbrella stile 25ft high.  It is very noisy but every Rcv.
Ant and pre amp I have tried is also noisy.  At contest time I have
experienced big signals about 1000 miles around me all of the time here in
S. Calif. But if the band opens the week S1,2,or3 start coming in the noise
goes down and the band is "open" for me. That doesn't always work and the
sun up and sun down doesn't always work either. 

I check the band every night and its been almost a year now that I have
worked Europe.

 

I have cut the noise down to zero with my 1025 but no DX When the band opens
I don't need the 1025 and I can hear better with the vert then any thing
else.  When I say noise I am talking about band noise not your basic QRN
from the house next door.  A good DNF takes care of that.  I use a FT950
with the uTune filters and the 160 one is great but there are still times
when the band noise is S9 and reducing that to zero still no DX.

 

I have worked ON4UN many times and when he is S9 the band is open.

 

Guess what I am saying Mike is that for me when the band is open the band
noise goes down to the point that I can hear them and I have found that
reducing band noise does not improve the band conditions.

 

I hope I made sense for a 70 year old 160 DX nut.

73 Gary K6JAJ