[600MRG] It's a start but improvements coming

[Paul N1BUG FN55mf]

Hey folks,

Some of you may have noticed I monitored WSPR and FST4W on 630m night
before last. The SNR reports from my station might seem a little
discouraging, but they will improve. Two factors contributed:

1. The receiver needs a preamp and is deaf by some unknown number of dB.
  there is NO increase in noise with the antenna vs. nothing or a 50 ohm
termination. That is not good! I am building a preamp for it.

2. The big K9AY loop was pointed northeast. That is some unknown but
non-trivial number of dB gone for those to my west and southwest. I will
soon be building hardware to make the antenna switchable so I can
properly listen to the south and west. This is what those toroids I
asked about will be used for.

Things will get better. I am just starting to rebuild using different
receiving hardware from my past activities. Having learned some hard
lessons last time, I am taking a different and more modular approach to
building this time around.

One disheartening thing for me, having not been around the band in three
and a half years, is that activity seems way down from what it was then.
Am I wrong? Maybe I'm just not hearing what is out there. I don't know
to what extent solar activity has affected the band. It certainly takes
a big bite out of 160m but that may be a very different thing.

Similarly, my recent 2200m reports have beem less than optimum, at least
for stations to my west and south. I do have a preamp there (internally
bandpass filtered so it won't work on 630m) but the loop was northeast.
I am CERTAIN activity on that band is way down.

73,
Paul N1BUG FN55mf