[Lowfer] DX record?

[Les Rayburn]

As usual, Lyle makes some excellent points. The lowfer hobby does indeed
mean many things to many people, and that is part of what makes it
so interesting. Some do indeed still enjoy CW and look forward to the
day when two-way QSO's might be the norm on the band.

For others, like myself, the primary interest is in weak signal
detection. To this end, distance and power levels are perhaps
the only useful measurements. For some of us, it also
amounts to the most fun. If I want to have a CW QSO, I usually
migrate to the low end of the 160 meter band but everyone
has different ideas. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm still amazed at how little we really know about propagation
on this band, despite years of operating. For me, that may
be the next logical "project" is joining up with someone
who can only receive the beacon on skywave and doing
meaningful measurements and correlate them with
solar data, etc. Anyone up for this next season?

So, if your interest is in weak signals, propagation,
rag chewing, CW nets, or whatever, I hope there
will always be a place on LF for you. But if you're
going to claim reception distances, then I think
you have an obligation to be open about what
was used to achieve them.

I closely monitor my power to insure it's at 1 watt or less, but
I think the FCC would consider my antenna to be illegal. The point
is that I don't hide it. There are pictures and descriptions for all
to see. I just think those who operate at higher power levels
should do the same. [You know who you are]

Like Lyle, I don't think that high power operations are
bad for the hobby...in fact, without Vince Pinto's QRO
operations in the 70's and 80s' I doubt that the hobby as
we know it now would even exist. Most hams who had
tried the band prior to that had given up after becoming
frustrated with the lack of useable distances achieved.

It should also be pointed out that Vince and others
who ran high power beacons also pioneered many
circuits, techniques, and approaches that contributed
to their success at least as much as the amplifiers did.

Lyle also correctly points out that power is no guarantee of
DX success. Many high power stations (past and current)
can barely be copied on skywave. But now, as then,
some are very well received and many listeners mistakenly
think they've detected a 1 watt signal from great distances...
unfortunately, that isn't always true.

73,

Les Rayburn, N1LF




>I'm going to give a LowFER presentation at the Fargo, ND hamfest in
>mid-March. The idea of detecting a signal way below the noise level will be
>fascinating to at least some of the audience. Others will wonder what is the
>point of taking all night to receive a couple of characters on a screen.
>Although ham radio has many aspects, the dominant interest is real-time,
>person-to-person communication in one form or another. So while much of my
>talk (and of necessity, any actual receiving demonstrations in a noisy
>environment 200 miles from the nearest LowFER) will focus on digital modes,
>I'll also take along some recordings of CW signals that the audience can
>actually relate to.
>
>The LowFER hobby isn't necessarily about DX records, it's about having fun
>and getting the most out of the limited ERP we have available. "Getting the
>most" means different things to different people. Raw distance is
>irrelevant. It's a known fact that if you integrate a signal long enough,
>eventually it will be detectable in the noise. The trick is to find the
>technique that best meets your own personal interests. A few years ago, my
>son, a couple of other local LowFERs, and I used to exchange CW messages by
>recording them and cycling them repeatedly until the other station sent a
>reply and a new message. The distances involved were only about 100 miles,
>but it was the most fun I've had on LF!
>
>Lyle, K0LR
>
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Les Rayburn, director
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