And, it's been great thus far. I've been able to reconnect with my local friends via APRS.
But, I still have an HF deficiency in the antenna department. The loop I tried out run along my ceilings turned out to be a dismal failure. It does, however, pick up noise like a CHAMP.
With the recommendation of some very nice people from the QRP-L, I tried out a 26' random wire tossed out haphazardly out my bathroom window. And once loaded with the tuner, I was able to call CQ and be picked up by the Reverse Beacon Network.
So, in essence, it's getting better.
Still, no QRP CW QSOs from the new QTH.
I have been looking into an antenna similar to the Barker&Williamson AP-10/MFJ-1622/Airtronix PV-7/SuperAntenna MP1. They are ALL related in that they are a shortened vertical antenna, complete with a coil/wander-lead with alligator clip, and a length of telescoping whip at the top. Some whips are shorter, like the MFJ-1622 at 5.5', and some are longer. In fact, this design is similar to even the Hy-Gain AV-18VS "base" antenna. So, there is a history behind this design. And for my situation, it is about all I can do.
I was planning on installing a PAR EF-10/20/40MkII, but I'm lacking even a nearby support for one end of it...and I doubt that it would perform "as it should" stapled to a low overhang (my building is single-story in height).
I have a warehouse filled with materials to build a copy of this antenna, and Keith WB2VUO even has whips and mast pieces to make the process a little easier. Since I managed to build an eggbeater that was quite sturdy, I'm sure that I can build this antenna in a similar fashion.
Last weekend, I even read a QST article where a ham built one of these, with the exception that he's using it mobile, and in the article it was stated that dimensions aren't critical, since it's the wander-lead-to-coil and the counterpoise that make the antenna resonate.
Here's hoping!
4 comments:
Congrats on completing your move. As your building is one-story in height, I presume that you are in a "flat" of a private home or in some sort of town-house. Twenty-nine feet is considered a minimim length for a LW wire antenna. The MP-1 is a good antenna, but heavy attached to a window-sill at an angle. Have you considered a Buddistick? The company now has a smaller 10-20 meter band coil. That coil with one of their longer whips and a couple of their arms might do well. Need a single counterpoise. You will have to jury-rig all to your window ledge. I use something similar at my USA apartment. I would concentrate on 20 meters.
73
So I heard! I was told by some folks on the QRP-L about 26 (29) feet for a random, and I tried it. I simply ran it through the apartment at the ceiling, and then out my back bathroom window. It slopes to the ground...and I have it "tied off" to a ground stake from a tent. That being said, I am pretty surprised what it can hear.
Yesterday, between service calls, I stopped in at WB2VUO's QTH. His shack is like going to the old radio shops in NYC after WWII. He has EVERYTHING! He gave me a B&W coil that was built specifically FOR this type of antenna (the multi-tapped whip short vertical). I have ALL of the hardware in the warehouse here at work to build the brackets, and for the whip, I am going to use a 96" section of measuring tape...I even have OD Green heatshrink...it'll feel just like my USAFR days!
Great. I was working in NYC just before Radio Row was demolished to make room for the twin towers. I was a radio op in the USAF. 1st AACS Mobile home based in Japan but frequently "on the road".
GL
Good luck with your projects. I remember Radio Row in NYC just before it came down to make room for the Twin Towers. I was USAF radio op late 1950s. 1st AACS Mobile.
73
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