[CW] Transmitting power

[Ed Tanton]

Hi Don... I have contested at near that... ~ 1400W output (to be safe) on 
20M CW... with an Alpha 78... won a couple of obscure single-band / 
single-op North American pieces of contests (the YO-DX Contest one year and 
the LZ CW Contest). I used my 4 element TET HB-43SP (at abt 30-40 feet) and 
hunt-&-pounce. Naturally, I got anybody I called, usually-but not EVERY 
time-on the 1st call.

I now work almost exclusively either QRP (5W) or sort-of-QRP (it SURE needs 
a category of its own) using my EFJ Ranger II and the current 
receiver-of-choice (presently a 51S-1... but fixing to be either the 75A-4 
or the HRO-60 [if I can get the latter off the chest-high shelf it's stored 
on!!!])

The honest answer you won't (usually) hear about your last question is: not 
most of the time. Frequently, people are amazed at the ability of QRP to 
have solid QSOs. Usually, I can answer most CQs with either 5W or the 
Ranger II's 45W, and get a reply, followed by a solid QSO. But there are 
times and places... where such power is pretty much the only answer. For 
me, such moments mostly occur on 80M or 160M, for serious DX, when it's all 
I can do to hear the other station (and likely vice-versa.)

Bottom line here, and it's a personal thing for each of us, I don't like to 
subject the other guy to receiving-agony he does not DESIRE to go through. 
Lots of guys really enjoy 'pulling one through'... but some don't. If the 
other guy isn't having comfortable copy at 5W... and wants to continue the 
conversation... then I don't mind running the power up a bit. as necessary.

And that's the answer to your query, isn't it? Or, at least, IMHO, it ought 
to be.

P.S. I reluctantly had to sell the Alpha... that no-tune was REALLY nice 
for contesting... but it seems my interests are mainly one-band-at-a-time, 
whether contesting or QSO'ing... and I have both an NCL-2000 and Hammarlund 
HXL-1 (neither of which I have ever even brought up yet)... so there's 
plenty of power available if ever "I feel the need for speed!!!"


73 Ed Tanton N4XY <n4xy@earthlink.net>

Ed Tanton N4XY
189 Pioneer Trail
Marietta, GA 30068-3466

website: http://www.n4xy.com

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