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Today Hanz, W1JSB, and I hiked on Johnson Road and setup next to each other. We worked Italy, Russia, the Netherlands, and Florida. Before packing up we each called CQ and compared received signals on the Reverse Beacon Net. The results were surprising.

For these experiments we used nearly identical rigs. Hanz had the HB-1A, and I had the HB-1B. Both roughly 4 watts with similar power supplies.

The Antennas

Hanz ran the Par Electronics half-wave end fed wire straight up to a branch. It was perfectly vertical. This is the antenna that I’ve been running for almost 5 years. I thought it was probably the best portable DXer I could use. Perhaps I was wrong.

I ran a 66 foot wire configured as an inverted Vee with a 33 foot counterpoise and an Elecraft T-1 tuner. Here’s a rough diagram of the antenna that I used. It’s supported at the apex by a tree branch. The ends are a few inches above ground level.

I am sitting at the spot marked “X” on the above diagram.

The QSOs

We each worked the same stations on 20 meters. First we worked N4KXG, Pete in Florida. I received a 589 and Hanz received a 579. I expected that my antenna might be better than Hanz’s for relatively near stations. I was correct. We got a hint of something unpredicted with the next QSO.

We worked RA6CA in Russia. Pavel gave both Hanz and me a 589. I would have expected Hanz to be stronger with the vertical. Of course this is subjective. Next we worked IZ2UE in Italy. Andrea gave me a 559 and gave Hanz the same 559. Again… a surprise. The last station was PA3GEG, Gerald in the Netherlands. I received a 579 and Hanz received a 599. That would be expected.The next test shattered all my preconceptions.

Before packing up our gear, Hanz suggested that we both call CQ and check our signals on the Reverse Beacon Net. That was a stunning idea. Here are the results. I was heard by six stations. Hanz was heard by 10 stations. Four stations recorded signals from both of us.

The Results

Stations Hanz Jim
—————————————–
DL1EMY 13 db 17 db
AA4VV 18 db 27 db
W3OA 11 db 16 db
DL1GTB 6 db 10 db

In each case my signal was consistently stronger than Hanz’s. Same rig. Same location. Sent within a minute of each other.

I have to say I’m really surprised. I thought the end fed vertical could not be improved upon for a portable wire antenna. We will definitely do more testing.

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

So another QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party has come and gone.  It was definitely fun.  As strictly a “Giver of Points”, I had set a personal goal to make more than 50 contacts between chores and other commitments (you can tell I’m not a big time contester, eh?)  I beat that!  I got a chance to sit in the chair for just a little bit more time today and I finished up with 62 QSOs in the log.

The highlights today were:

1) Working EA4CWN on both 15 and 20 Meters.  Alfonso was operating at the 2 Watt level, so that was way cool.  He was 559 on 15 Meters; but with the same power was 599 on 20 Meters.  I tried real hard to work DL2BZG (I think that was his call) on 15 Meters, but he just wasn’t hearing me.  EA2LU, EA4CWN, HB9DAX and almost this DL2 station – I’m not used to hearing this much DX in a QRP ARCI contest!

2) Working my good bud, Bob W3BBO on 40 Meters.  I think this might have been our first KX3 to K3 QSO.  Last time I worked him with my KX3, I think Bob still had his Yaesu.

3) Working Lloyd K3ESE on 40 Meters. Lloyd has gotten away from the hobby. He used to be a steady standby in the QRP Fox hunts. I haven’t heard him in years, so it was good to hear his CW again.

Oh, and Hans W1JSB did a video of our QSO last night.  Here’s how I sounded in New Hampshire (neat radio he has there!)

Thanks for the QSO and the video, Hans!  It’s always cool to hear what you sound like from the other end. And I didn’t flub the exchange, either (whew!).

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

So here we are....it's the weekend and time to get some radio time in as during the week I find it very hard to get into the shack once all the household chores are done. I have been trying to get a good score for the Marathon challenge this weekend. It is a QRP type challenge that involves you contacting stations via the lowest possible QRP power. I have come to learn that if the station you contact is also QRP you get more bang for the buck when it comes to scoring in this challenge. This leads me to my post today......I have been hanging out at the QRP calling frequencies and on 10m, 15m and 20m there has been lots of action. Now the action I speak of is not a QRP station calling CQ BUT  stations who is in a QRP contest calling CQ contest on QRP calling frequencies!! Maybe I am way off base here but.....a little bird in my head is telling me that this is not right. What's your feedback...if you are QRP is it good to call CQ as well as CQ contest on QRP calling frequencies??
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

I have seen the flux and sunspot numbers on the rise throughout the week and have been wanting to get on the radio to test the waters! This weekend I have decided to join in on the QRP DX Marathon than runs for the month of April. Fellow blogger Larry W2LJ is also involved in the Marathon and has posted great results. This is a QRP event were you are allowed make contacts using anywhere from 1 watt to 5 watts. There is a formula at the Marathon site that allows you to figure out your miles per watt. What makes this event a challenge is formula that is used to come up with your miles per watt. It seems to me that not only is your QRP power taken into the mix but the station you are contacting also counts toward your miles per watt outcome. So if you have a QRP to QRP contact then you earn a higher score. I found this out the hard way yesterday when I made contact with SP8FHK from Poland with 1 watt...but he was running 1KW and that really hurt my score!! At this point I am number 23.
Today I am at it again but so far no luck, I have been finding stations such as F7HKA, HB9TN and IK5ZWU all on 24 mhz but no luck in contacting them. I start out calling them at 1 watt and move my way up to 5 watts. I have not been able to hit the 5 watt level as they seem to fade into the noise level before then. The day is still young and opportunity awaits me on the bands.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Six Episode Seven of the ICQ Podcast has been released. News Stories include :-

• UK Budget to impact Ham Radio?
• National broadcasters reduce shortwave broadcast
• Looming loss of 2300-2302 MHz
• PLC for Smart Meters?
• Fall in UK amateur radio exams
• Raspberry Pi as WSPR transmitter up to 250 MHz
• 2000km DX using the Raspberry Pi
• World Amateur Radio Day 2013
• Radio Ham wins AF Harvey Engineering Research Prize
• Lighthouses having their first activation
• VK National Field Day

Listener mailbag feedback and Martin Butler (M1MRB & W9ICQ) discusses amateur / ham radio scanners.

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Six Episode Seven of the ICQ Podcast has been released. News Stories include :-

• UK Budget to impact Ham Radio?
• National broadcasters reduce shortwave broadcast
• Looming loss of 2300-2302 MHz
• PLC for Smart Meters?
• Fall in UK amateur radio exams
• Raspberry Pi as WSPR transmitter up to 250 MHz
• 2000km DX using the Raspberry Pi
• World Amateur Radio Day 2013
• Radio Ham wins AF Harvey Engineering Research Prize
• Lighthouses having their first activation
• VK National Field Day

Listener mailbag feedback and Martin Butler (M1MRB & W9ICQ) discusses amateur / ham radio scanners.

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Six Episode Seven of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast has been released. The latest news, listener mailbag feedback and Martin Butler (M1MRB & W9ICQ) discusses amateur / ham radio scanners

• UK Budget to impact Ham Radio?
• National broadcasters reduce shortwave broadcast
• Looming loss of 2300-2302 MHz
• PLC for Smart Meters?
• Fall in UK amateur radio exams
• Raspberry Pi as WSPR transmitter up to 250 MHz
• 2000km DX using the Raspberry Pi
• World Amateur Radio Day 2013
• Radio Ham wins AF Harvey Engineering Research Prize
• Lighthouses having their first activation
• VK National Field Day

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].