[Elecraft] New rig, so sigs

[Fred Jensen]

On 6/12/2011 6:34 AM, Iain Haywood wrote:

> However I was last active two sunspot maxima ago, (1983 ish) and found
> it easy to receive on all bands with just a 30 foot length of wire slung
> out my rooms window.

I have a 20' mast in the corner of our deck that is our flag pole.  I 
ran a wire [~35'] into the shack and use it as a RX antenna.  Not as 
good as elevated wire but it does work.
>
> I know its now just passed a solar minima but hell its quiet.
>
> So far I have heard no sigs, although the the receiver seems to be
> working fine, aerial tunes up oK, normal band noise.
>
> About S9 noise on most bands though, without the attenuator switched in,
> NB and NR work well.

S9 is pretty high.  You're not running the preamp on 20 - 80 are you? 
That does suggest you have the filters in the right slots and the right 
antenna selected, however.  What happens when you disconnect the antenna?

Conditions on 30m and down have been extremely crappy the last week or 
so --- low SFI, high A, a couple of low M-class flares, and a CME 
encounter.  In the three CWT's this weekend, the only signal that 
registered on the S-meter for me was N4ZZ on 20m mid-day.  Strange QSB, 
and most CW signals were just a whisper.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2011 Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2011
- www.cqp.org