[K6BW] Sage Advice - QRP Contacts

[Bill Smith]

Shamelessly stolen from QRP-L, author Curt Milton, who responds to a comment
regarding a difficulty with establishing DX contacts.

Matthew

I am kinda puzzled by your disappointing results, so it is worth some
examination.

First note the difference between 100 and 5 watts.  13 dB which should be
around 2 or 3 S-units.  it should strike you that in competition it will
matter, but not on a clear frequency unless QRN is terrible.

Last nite i casually fired up a QRP toy on 20m.  A station HB0/DL ... could
not hear me - maybe his portable location antenna is a compromise.  But 4O3A
heard me easily .... my antenna is horizontal and not very high.  i also use
verticals so they can work.

First, i wonder about your antenna efficiency.  Note that a vertical with a
wider-than-real VSWR bandwidth is a dummy load - a short vertical (with
sufficient radials if its design requires them) should have a narrow VSWR
bandwidth.  My first guess is your antenna might need attention.
How many radials does your roof mounted antenna have ?  For this kinda
installation, the radials need to be around a quarter wave for each band of
operation (on the ground this is less vital).  Note verticals do not have to
be high above ground for DX !  But they must be reasonably efficient.

Second, evaluate how well the band is doing to see if stations are coming in
strong and making QSO's with each other.  Certainly prioritize stations with
S5 or higher signals to trying calling.  A few ops get stuck up on not
having QSO's with signals that dont tickle their s-meter enoough -- just
keep tuning.  If your antenna is working, strong DX stations should hear you
and call you (if no one with a bigger signal calls them) as well as domestic
stations operating between 7030 and 7060 for example.

Do note that 20m propagation varies a lot.  40m remains a steady
opportunity.

No practical reason your 10 wpm and 5 watts cannot make plenty of QSOs with
a reasonable antenna with reasonable operators.