[Elecraft] Amazing!

[Mike Morrow]

Gary wrote:

> I thought I would share my story of what happened over the holidays.
> I took my K2 and a home brewed magnetic loop antenna.  The mag loop is
> about three feet in diameter and sits three feet off the ground...I
> operated mostly 15 meters and some 17 meters at 5 watts QRP.

I'd suggest trying a simple dipole.  A 15m dipole is only 22 feet end-to-end,
and it is very easily set up almost anywhere.  I was living in an apartment in
the 1980 and 1990 periods of solar activity, so I'd set up such an antenna on
the balcony, with a 10m element arranged "bow-tie" from the common center
insulator.

> One morning I fired up the K2, set it for 5 watts and started calling CQ.  A 
> faint signal came back.  It was a ham in Scotland!!!  For those of you that 
> have beams, it's probably no big deal.  We were both running 5w and he was 
> using a K1.

There's that K1 advantage...one of the few small QRP rigs that can perform on
15 meters (and higher, if you roll your own filter board).

> I know that most of it has to do with propagation and the antenna.  In this 
> case mostly propagation.

I'd say that you are correct.  The antenna you describe would be outclassed
on transmit and receive by a resonant dipole by several S-units at least.
Set up both at a location and experience the gross difference you'll get as
you switch from one to the other!  Guaranteed!

73,
Mike / KK5F