[Lowfer] TA A-OK in KS

[W3HMS at aol.com]

Hi John....well, I read your LOWFER columns each month so know of your  
ground system. I believe this HI Z to 50 ohm buffer amp was just described in 
ur  Lowfer column? QSL on ur planned loops, an ambitious project indeed. Here 
I have  a Clifton Labs Act ant, Todd Roberts converter, SDR IQ rcvr to PC 
with HDSDR  software. And yes, I remember SEK winds...I prefer our PA winds. 
Can I recommend  the below info for your column as I suspect others would 
have same questions.  Tnx es 73, John, W3HMS, 1 Jan 12
 
PS Did you have any contact with KGGF in the  50-60s?    
 
In a message dated 12/31/2011 2:58:13 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
listread at lwca.org writes:
 
>>>...what antenna gave you FI at that level.....S9 +15  dB....Wow!!! I  
like 
>>>to listen to France Inter 162 but  never hear it that well....

Hi John.  That was my 40 foot vertical  with modest top hat that will 
(presumably) be my LowFER antenna some day,  with a homebrew Hi-Z to 50 ohm 
buffer amp at the base, driving coaxial  cable to my nearby automotive 
listening post, all battery  powered.

Most nights aren't quite that good for any of the  transatlantic LF 
broadcasters here, but even so, I've generally been  hearing FI around S9 
for 
a while in the early evening this season, and the  others usually a little 
weaker.  Conditions normally begin to  deteriorate a couple of hours after 
sunset, but that didn't happen until  after 2 AM local last night.

Last night's delightful 136 kHz TA  reception might have been much cleaner 
and the LWBC reception more  enjoyable were it nor for all the distant 
lightning static (presumably  from the Caribbean, Central America, and/or 
South Atlantic).  Between  naps in the car overnight, I got to thinking how 
I 
might be able to  improvise a large single-turn loop antenna today, mostly 
from materials on  hand.

This morning, I was able to confirm the Great Circle path would  let me use 
a 
50-230 degree alignment (give or take about 5 degrees) to  include eastern 
Canada, Europe, New England, and the mid-Atlantic (and/or  the southwestern 
US) in one beam that would nicely null the  Caribbean...and, as it turns 
out, 
another loop in quadrature with that one  would just happen to be exactly 
the 
right alignment for western Canada and  Japan!  I could call the first one 
Euroloop and the second one  Canloop (redolent of Kamloops, which would 
indeed be in line).  But  when I went to get the few additional items I'd 
need to throw together a  trial run of the first loop, I found our local 
hardware store (a) had very  few of the items I still needed, and (b) was 
about to close early for the  holiday.

Well, I already wasn't eager to travel out of town on New  Year's Eve.  And 
then the wind came up...you remember SEK winds, no  doubt...30 MPH 
sustained, 
gusts to above 50 this afternoon.  So,  discretion being the better part of 
valor, I decided there are enough  targets I can pursue this afternoon and 
tonight, and I'll start on the  receive loops next week.  There may be just 
enough time to get them  both in operation before serious winter weather 
sets 
in.

73
John  


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