Posted: 3/30/2015 9:43:12 AM EDT
|
So after a number of years with a technician license I hooked up a homemade loop antenna built for 10 meters this weekend.
I used a old Kenwood TS-140S and spent about an hour each day figuring out the radio, and then looking up call signs and trying to figure out what all the contesters this weekend were saying. I heard a lot of people in California, got good signal from Minot, ND and even heard a guy in Chile very clearly. I did try a few times within my band allocation as a technician to talk to a couple of the contesters but didn't get a reply. I also tried to call CQ on a few frequencies but had difficulty finding one that I thought was clear enough to use. The calling frequency of 28.400 was out of the question because it was so busy. How much of a signal do you have to not hear on the other end before calling CQ? Oh, and I'm questioning whether my radio is even transmitting. Other than the On-Air light coming on the front, should the meter be telling me my power output on transmit or my SWR? I couldn't figure that part out yet. |
|
If you don't hear anyone for a minute or so, give your call a couple times, ask if the frequency is in use, give you call, ask again, then listen hard for 30 seconds.
Depending on what button you have pressed, it'll show you power output or SWR. Easy way to check is to zip-tie a small fluorescent bulb to your antenna. If you see it light up, it's radiating something. If your power supply has an ammeter, you can check that, or look for a small voltage drop as you key up. A dummy-load with another hf radio tuned to your tx frequency nearby (doesn't even need an antenna) is probably the best way to see if you're actually transmitting. ETA: You're probably transmitting fine, but people are just ignoring you. It happens. There are days when I'm not sure if the HF radio in my car is working because nobody comes back to me. |
|
Ok here's an ASSumption, but I've made a couple mag loops and they usually didn't work very well at all. On the other hand, I've had pretty good luck on 10m using some Wal-Mart 24# speaker wire. Split the wires into a simple dipole, shorten/lengthen it for the least SWR, and string it up somewhere. Even without a balun, tuner, etc. I've made a fair amount of contacts this way. The beauty of a 10m dipole is it's small enough to fit just about anywhere. I used thumbtacks to hold up on my second floor bedroom wall... Keep trying though! Once that faraway station comes back to you, you'll be hooked! |