[Elecraft] AX-1 -- with and without counterpoise

[Marshall Harrison]

I moved 400 miles north from FL to NC this past weekend and I'm now in a
condo.

I'm curious if anyone has used the AX-1 in an apartment (upstairs) setting?
How did you deploy the conterpoise? How does it work compared to an outdoor
deployment?

I will be using it with my IC-705 and the MAT-705 auto tuner.

Thanks.

*Marshall Harrison, *
*W4MKH*
*https://w4mkh.com <https://w4mkh.com>*







On Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 7:09 AM Gerry leary via Elecraft <
elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> Do you think you would get the same results on receive as you would on
> transmit? I have found in my playing around that yes and 10 is likely a X
> one or a X to work best if the counterpoise is also hanging vertically
> below it, but I have never ever ever been in a situation where the antenna
> worked as well without a counterpoise.
>
> Gerry Leary Wb6ivf
>
> On Sep 25, 2022, at 1:19 PM, David Gilbert <ab7echo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
> To be a proper comparison, the AX1 needs to be out it the clear away from
> anything else, preferable at a height that allows the counterpoise to be
> hanging straight down with the end maybe a foot or two off the ground.
> Measurements should be with the AX1 at the same height above the ground
> without and without the counterpoise. Ideally a KX2 or similar rig should
> used, be battery powered (with very short leads if external), no coax, and
> no body contact to the source of RF.  Signal reports should be in
> microvolts ... the number of contacts isn't really useful and neither is
> SNR if the readings are taken over a lengthy period of time.
>
> If I can get my hands on an AX1, I plan to either climb a tree or set up a
> tall fiberglass step ladder for the AX1 as far away line of sight from my
> home as practical.  I'd use my KX2 for the signal source, using the Tune
> function to put out RF without touching the KX2.  Near my home I'd set up
> the portable vertical antenna I described in an earlier post, and feed that
> to my K3 set to read microvolts.  I'd operate the AX1 (with and without
> counterpoise wire) and any other antenna for comparison, and have a friend
> record the microvolts from the K3 as a blind test.
>
> I would use the tuner in the KX2 to simulate actual use, but that would of
> course introduce a variable for possibly different amounts of loss in the
> tuner depending upon the load.  I don't see a good way to avoid that.
>
> 73,
> Dave   AB7E
>
>
>
> On 9/25/2022 7:06 AM, Ron Gruner wrote:
> > I've just run two tests of my WSPR/AX-1 set-up with and without a
> > counterpoise. Each test ran 24 hours over the last couple of days. Here
> are
> > the results:
> >
> >                                                     COUNTERPOISE?
> >                               YES       NO
> >                           -------  -------
> > Total Contacts                152      129
> > Maximum Distance (km)      15,720   17,276
> > Median Distance             2,137    1,823
> > Median SpotQ                  446      398
> >
> > Where SpotQ = Kilometers / [(2 Watts x (SNR in DB + 36))/36) ]
> >
> > The WSPR circuit's ground and SMA connectors are apparently providing
> > enough of a counterpoise to propagate a respectable signal.
> >
> > Here's a close-up of the rig with no counterpoise:
> > https://gruner.com/k4rhg/wspr_ax-1_nocounterpoise.png
> >
> > 73,
> > Ron Gruner
> > K4RHG
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