Working the WindoVert.. a
short Marconi antenna in the ARRL 160M contest
Jeff VE1ZAC
More than a year
ago I had occasion, and need, to optimize a 160M antenna for my small urban lot
in
I have had all
kinds of fun working DX with this antenna. However, last weekend, I had
opportunity to spend a few hours working the ARRL 160M contest. This was a
great opportunity to test the antenna and show how well a small antenna like
this can perform. The band is alive with signals over the whole weekend. Many
are from stations with high end antennas , including
beverages, and lots of power who will receive and transmit well. They are
hunting for signals that can come from limited antennas like mine. There are
even more stations using similar limited antennas and low power.
To make a long
story short, I was really thrilled with how well this antenna worked! I ran my new IC7700 at 150 watts and had a
lot of fun. Conditions were good too, which certainly helps. Keep in mind that this is a pretty
inefficient antenna.
Some of my better
catches:
EW1UE
PI4UEN
OM2UL
ON4UN
TM6M
Z52AH
and in the
W2IZL
5K0T San Andres and
I seem to have
less luck with western continental contacts, but that might have a lot to do
with my operating hours, and the fact that I am on the
Not particularly
exotic, but notable was a contact with K9AY, Gary Breed, of the K9AY Loop fame
and noted all around RF guy.
A less than ideal
50 foot top loaded vertical can make some decent contacts !.
Next time there is something like this on, I will try with power ( 600 watts in my case) to see how it performs. I should have
a chance to work some of the Stew Parry Top Band event on Dec 27.