[SMCARA] IOTA opportunity

[Clarke, Tom AIR4.0P NATOPS]

Hi Allen,

That sounds like fun!  A couple of hints/personal experience ideas for you.

For Six Meters, try to make a horizontal antenna of some sort, as you will be cross polarized if you use a vertical, so you will lose a lot of signal. A simple dipole can be kludged together easily or a "halo" type.

Some ideas:

http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=10598  Not simple, but a good antenna
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=7505   A Halo type antenna
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=9322   A Moxon type
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=9310   Delta Loop, not too complicated

or  

Just a plain half wave dipole fed in the center will work fine. Doesn't have to be fancy. Try making the elements out of aluminum tubing (salvaged from an old TV or CB antenna) or use fiberglass or wood dowels to support wire elements (tape to dowel or wrap about 1 turn per foot). Get it a wavelength or so up in the air if you can (not less than 1/4 wave, tho)

Since you are essentially QRP, try hanging out on the HFPack watering holes:

40M	7185.5 (also 7296 USB not LSB is rarely used mainly by the "green radio" crowd)
20M	14342.5 (14270 seems to be popular with portables and lighthouses)
17M	18157.5 
15M	21437.5
12M	24977.5
10M	28327.5 (of course the standard 28400 calling freq is always a good place to hang)
 6M	50.162.5 (a better bet on six is to use the 50.125 calling freq.)

If you can do it, try posting a spot to DXSummit (www.dxsummit.fi) and to this reflector, so we know where and when to look for you.

If you want to borrow my "field day special" antenna support (war surplus-fiber poles, triangle base will self support up to about 16 feet, higher with guys) let me know. It is the one I used at FD to support the 2 and 6 meter antennas.

Have fun and we will be looking for you!

73 Tom/W4OKW


Tom Clarke
Wyle, Inc  Aeronautics
P3 Product Lead, PEO(A)
USN/USMC National Airworthiness Office
Naval Air Systems Command, AIR-4.0P
(301) 995-3793/DSN 995-3793
Fax: (301) 342-3776
Cell (301) 904-2053
frederic.clarke at navy.mil

"A good Navy is not a provocation to war. 
It is the surest guaranty of peace."
President Theodore Roosevelt


-----Original Message-----
From: smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Allen Landmann
Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2013 1:48 AM
To: club
Subject: [SMCARA] IOTA opportunity

For all the IOTA hunters our there, I will be operating at NA-139 Assateaque Island from the 18th to the 22nd of this month and will be operating 6m-40m at 20W with a vertical. My operating modes will be SSB and digital, will any mode if requested. I have a sked with japan (wow). 

Allen,
KB3WEY 
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