AM SKIP LINGO

[EricExtreme]

Anythings possible, just not likely.

During sunspot peak you can DX on a fraction of a single watt. I was at a ARRL field day one year and watched a few ham operators DXing on 250mw ( 1/4 of one watt) on the 10 meter band. It’s a common misnomer that you need extra wattage for DXing. I never have any trouble making contacts running barefoot with the galaxy DX 959b on a 102” whip. I frequently turn down the radio to just a few watts on SSB and still have no problem DXing. If someone is DXing on a congested frequency full of people with heavy wattage then a lower power station may have some trouble getting a QSO, but most of my DXing is done on 27.385lsb and I have no trouble at all using only several watts or even less. It’s all in the antenna. Saturday evening I made several DX contacts around 9pm in my car while driving home using a Magnum 1012 walkie talkie hooked up to my 102” whip with a BNC/SO-259 adapter. I had it set on low power which is 2 watts PEP on sideband. That type of power wouldn’t work well on a congested AM frequency where everyone is pumping out hundreds or thousands of watts to “be heard” but on a non congested SSB frequency a few watts is all that you need

 

[338_MtRushmore]

During sunspot peak you can DX on a fraction of a single watt. I was at a ARRL field day one year and watched a few ham operators DXing on 250mw ( 1/4 of one watt) on the 10 meter band. It’s a common misnomer that you need extra wattage for DXing. I never have any trouble making contacts running barefoot with the galaxy DX 959b on a 102” whip. I frequently turn down the radio to just a few watts on SSB and still have no problem DXing. If someone is DXing on a congested frequency full of people with heavy wattage then a lower power station may have some trouble getting a QSO, but most of my DXing is done on 27.385lsb and I have no trouble at all using only several watts or even less. It’s all in the antenna. Saturday evening I made several DX contacts around 9pm in my car while driving home using a Magnum 1012 walkie talkie hooked up to my 102” whip with a BNC/SO-259 adapter. I had it set on low power which is 2 watts PEP on sideband. That type of power wouldn’t work well on a congested AM frequency where everyone is pumping out hundreds or thousands of watts to “be heard” but on a non congested SSB frequency a few watts is all that you need

You are doing exceptionally well for the conditions we have right now. I'm guessing you are the exception, not the rule. I haven't made a true DX contact in a few years on 11 meters. Canada, sure, but 400 watts wont get me over an ocean right now.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Anythings possible, just not likely.

On SSB 12 watts pep will work the world. Maybe not at the bottom of the solar cycle but then again 12000 watts won't create an opening where non already exists. When I first started in 11m all I ever had was about 20 watts pep and used to routinely work all over Europe, the Caribbean, and southern Africa. Europe to me was like shooting fish in a barrel. I stayed at 20 watts for years and years until I made a two tube 6KD6 amplifier to play with. Most of the time it was off. I have never ran any more than 100 watts and worked the world. Literally.

 

[StrangeBrew]

You can always turn off your amp if you don't need it, it can be kind of hard to turn on the amp that you don't have. It's nice to have something in reserve even if it's rarely used.

 

[EricExtreme]

You can always turn off your amp if you don't need it, it can be kind of hard to turn on the amp that you don't have. It's nice to have something in reserve even if it's rarely used.

I do have a radio capable of 175 watts but I had a switched installed on it that allows me to turn off the amp. I rarely use the radio with the amp on. I find that I don’t need it. I only really use it if I am asking for local road reports on 19 and the frequency is hopping with skip. Most of the time my Galaxy DX959b is hooked up to the LMR600 coax connected to a 102” whip. In most cases stock power is all that i ever need.

 

[EricExtreme]

You are doing exceptionally well for the conditions we have right now. I'm guessing you are the exception, not the rule. I haven't made a true DX contact in a few years on 11 meters. Canada, sure, but 400 watts wont get me over an ocean right now.

What are you running for an antenna?

 

[fourstringburn]

Most of the time my Galaxy DX959b is hooked up to the LMR600 coax

You couldn't find any bigger coax?

 

[fourstringburn]

I have never ran any more than 100 watts and worked the world. Literally.

That's great but it doesn't go well with your screen name!

 

[338_MtRushmore]

What are you running for an antenna?

Just an A99 40' to the tip.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

That's great but it doesn't go well with your screen name!

LOL That was given to me by an announcer back in my broadcast days.

 

[Rick330man]

I talk worldwide on a barefoot stock DX959b running 12 watts PEP on SSB... i also DX using a Magnum 1012 walkie talkie on a BNC antenna running 7 watts PEP. You can easily do it without the extra wattage and personally I find that the victory is sweeter for me without the extra fire in the wire.

I'll second that.

I'm running a barefoot Cherokee AH100 SSB walkie talkie hooked up to a 1980's Radio Shack 1/2 wave "Crossbow", which is simply a Shakespeare Big Stick in blue dye. When I really want to throw folks a curve ball, I'll hook up an old Turner +3 base mic to it. The set up gets me respectable performance - local and skip.

To top that, I hop on the boat, take the Cherokee and an old 48" Radio Shack telescoping walkie talkie antenna, sit on a sandbar and start getting skip from all over.

Decent gear with good conditions makes many things possible.

P.S. The only amps I own are for guitars.