[Elecraft] Best band for low cost DXing?

[Gary D Krause]

Well, this is the setup that I have.  I have a quarter wave ground plane 
vertical for 40 meters.  Not ground mounted, since a ground plane is more 
efficient.  It is 33 feet tall and made of aluminum tubing.  I  have it on a 
six foot pole because, of hight restrictions due to power lines.  It is 
directly fed with coax and there are no traps or coils.  With a tuner I can 
also work 30 and 17 meters.  I have a quarter wave ground plane vertical for 
20 meters also.  The 40 meter antenna is great for pulling out weak signals on 
20 since the background noise is lower due to the fact that 33 feet is a half 
wave on 20 meters.  Many times I have switched to the 40 meter antenna when 
working on the 20 meter antenna just to pull weak signals out of the noise. 
 So, I can cover those bands with this setup.  I could also work 15 meters on 
the 40 meter vertical put the angle of radiation would be high.  I just worked 
Russia the other night on 20 meters.  I was running my K2 with 15 watts on CW.

I made these antennas from old tubing I had laying around and also from a GAP 
Challenger that came down in the wind earlier this year after one of the guys 
broke.  We get a lot of wind here in Wyoming. :-)

Gary, N7HTS


On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 05:57:34 -0700
  "Darwin, Keith" <Keith.Darwin at goodrich.com> wrote:
> If a person wants to work DX on a shoe string which band should they
> focus on?  I'm assuming it is cheaper to pick one or two bands rather
> than to try to be a big gun on all of them.  Yea, I know you can work DX
> on just about anything but that isn't the point.  The question is which
> band allows you to get the most bang for the buck.  
> 
> - 40 meters.  A vert of 1/4 to 3/8 wave makes you very competitive on
> this band.  A dipole at 1/2 wave high is tough to do.  A Yagi is even
> tougher.  The tall vertical is relatively easy and cheap while providing
> a better low angle signal than a low horizontal antenna.
> 
> - 30 meters.  Again.  3/8 vertical.  The power limit on 30 makes for a
> more level playing field.
> 
> - 15 meters.  Antenna sizes and heights are manageable.  Here a
> mono-band yagi on a 25' pole will work well at a moderate cost.
> 
> Those are my thoughts.  What are yours?
> 
> - Keith N1AS -
> - K2 5411.ssb.100 -
> 
> 
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