[OKDXA] DX, on 160

[Nelson Derks]

Yo... Clifster:

160 is a whole 'nuther ball game. I've made maybe two Q's on the band back
when I had a terminated longwire slung over the chimney, but I do have some
experience on the RX side from my continuing fascination with AM BCB
DX'ing... This past Tuesday night / early Wednesday morning the band was
running 'long'. WOAI in San Antonio was non-existant (rare) and even KFAB in
Omaha was puny, but KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA was at least a Q-4 plus a little
change. Betcha' some 160 guys did well that night.

I don't have a dedicated low-band RX wire, but if I did, it would probably
be a rotateable loop. Think about an X-Frame (no, I'm not going to go
there...) built from PVC pipe with each arm in the 4' range (not critical)
with plumbing T's on the ends. Wrap maybe 12-16 turns of 22 ga. enameled
wire scrounged from a solenoid, transformer or TV yoke around the outside of
the frame and connect the ends to a trimmer cap in the 200 pf range. You may
need to parallel a small value ceramic or mica fixed cap in the 120 pf range
with the trimmer to set the tuning range where you need it. None of this is
critical, it's all southern-engineered.

Wrap a single-turn loop of insulated hook-up wire around the middle of the
first loop and run the wire back to your rig through a 1:1 balun and coax or
a twisted pair. A pre-amp is optional depending on how well the loop works
for you, and you'll find plenty of one and two transistor pre-amp schematics
on the Web. But, most of the newer J-FET op-amps like a TL-082 or TL-072 are
good through 2 MHz and could be the better choice... fewer parts, lower
noise and more stable at high gain.

Tweak the trimmer cap for maximum noise in your favorite band segment, then
wait for darkness...

- AC5UP