[Lowfer] "AH" QRT

[Ralph Hartwell]

> I'm discouraged.  I had friends at 3, 10, and 14 miles listen for "AH"
on
> 1694.7, and it was just as strong as they heard W0AH on 1817.5 last
week when
> I worked 3 stations with 3/4 mw ERP and was heard by several others-
using
> the same setup- just a different crystal and loading coil tap.  I
thought
> that with QRSS, it would be easy to hear.  Maybe it was just
conditions

<snip>

Now, now; don't get your feeders in an uproar! <G>

Like you, I was amazed at how weak my signal was when I got a few miles
away from my antenna.  I figured that with 400 watts and a resonant - if
short - antenna, it should be pretty strong all around town.  Imagine my
surprise when I took my Sony radio (which sucks in the local DNB's like
crazy) across town and found that my signal was all but inaudible!  What
was wrong??  I ran back home, and found that the signal apparently
dropped off alarmingly just a block away from the antenna.  I was SURE
that there was something terribly wrong with my setup.  It wasn't until
I got a report from WA4LIP some 100+ miles away that I knew it was
working.  It's just that my short antenna converts so little of the
transmitters RF into a usable signal that it's disconcerting, to say the
least.  Not at all like the HF bands, where a wet noodle will work
pretty well.  You'll find, as I did, that a period of tweaking is
necessary to optimize the antenna system.  Then the good reports will
start coming in.

Good luck!!

73,

Ralph   W5JGV / WC2XSR / 13

(Still tweaking!)

The current On-The-Air status of WC2XSR/13 is available at:
http://home.att.net/~shmrg/wc2xsr-13_log.htm

My 600 Meter Research Group files are at:
http://home.att.net/~shmrg

My Home Page is at:
http://home.att.net/~ralph.hartwell
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