[Elecraft] 600 meters

[Mike Morrow]

It is damnably difficult to radiate *much* power on 600 meters unless
one has a lot of transmitter and real estate for antenna and ground.

The SCR-578 and AN/CRT-3 WWII 'Gibson Girl' lifeboat emergency hand-crank
transmitters (500 kHz, A2) and other later emergency lifeboat stations
typically used a two-watt input transmitter to a balloon- or kite-hoisted
300-foot wire antenna with sinker on braided wire to throw in the water for
the ground.  That actually made a fairly passable 500 kHz antenna system.

Most hams will be lucky to achieve a few milliwatts ERP from a few hundred
watts input power with small antennas not located over salt water.

Up to 25 years ago I kept a receiver in my bedroom tuned to 500 kHz at 
night.  There was once a fascinating world of maritime Morse traffic in
the 420 to 510 kHz band, but it's all been gone since 1999.  I miss it.

I'm not holding my breath for WARC 500 kHz ham authorization, nor for
Elecraft equipment to operate there.  If it happens, I hope that A2 will
sometimes be legal on 500 kHz, just like before 1999.  I am glad the KX3
will be able to receive whatever is on MF well below the 160m band, with
addition of the KXAT3.

73,
Mike / KK5F