[Elecraft] Elecraft 80M SSB Net Report

[Dave New, N8SBE]

Karl,

Sorry we missed you.  80M on a short vertical can be challenging, since 
the efficiency is so low, the ERP will only be a small fraction of the 
power applied to the antenna.

If you can find any way to get a wire in the air, the longer the better. 
  It doesn't have to be full-size 1/2 wave for 80M (130 ft).  I use a 
ZS6BKW in an inverted vee configuration with the center up about 35 feet 
on a telescoping mast which is bracketed to the back of the house.  The 
wires when viewed from the top are only about 90 degrees apart, with one 
leg going SE and the going SW, tied off to the corners of the back yard 
of my small city corner lot.  The ZS6BKW is about 100 ft long, but when 
the legs are sloped down from the center point, it doesn't need all of 
that almost 50 feet in each direction.  The ZS6BKW is fed with about 30 
ft. of window line, which then transitions to 50-ohm coax without a 
balun.  It's recommended to use about 75 ft. of coax to the transmitter 
at that point, and then you can use a tuner at the transmitter to make 
the transmitter happy.  I use this antenna mainly on 80M and 40M, having 
a 2 el. quad for 20M-6M.

Yes, the SWR on the coax is somewhat high, but despite what a lot of 
folks will tell you, you really don't lose a lot of power in that piece 
of coax at 3.8 MHz.  The result is that I get a respectable signal out 
on 80M with that setup, running barefoot 100W with my K3s, or in summer 
conditions on 80M with a lot of summer static, my KPA500 helps to make 
myself heard over the QRN.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

73,

-- Dave, N8SBE

On 2023-01-09 20:29, Karl W Hubbard wrote:

> Hi gang.
> 
> I tried making QSO last night but missed  my last week's  savior relay 
> on RI.
> I could hear Bill in NH and then later Steve in GA and finally Merv on 
> Cape Cod , all 5/9s but unable to work the net with 100W on my KPA100 
> and KX3 portable  with vertical  low band coil Buddipole with SWR at 
> 1.4
> 
> I'm 30 miles from the NE coast of NC so probably can hear FL as well.
> 
> Ugh, this lack of a good antenna like a dipole is killing me. Not sure 
> an EFHW or OCF will cut it either on TX. I wonder if I should just 
> spring for a KPA1500, but I don't think that is comparable with KX3. At 
> cross purposes using  a portable QRP rig with a blaster. I can put any 
> hideous vertical in the parking lot, but 90 feet x 60 feet not big 
> enough for wires.
> 
> 73s
> Karl. AF5LQ
> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone [1]



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