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Newbie Here w/Some DX Questions....

hobie102

hobie102

Active Member
Feb 25, 2014
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Greetings everyone from the frozen tundra of VT (God forsaken H... Hole). I recently picked up a Uniden 980ssb w/a Ranger SRA198 Mic. I built a base antenna off of instructions given by Cryptic Cricket on youtube using a 102" ss whip mounted to the peak of the house. I'm getting a flat 1.0 swr. Reception has been incredible since powering it up this past weekend. I heard some folks from CA as if they were sitting in the room with me as well as BC, New Orleans LA, MO, Lots from FL, Jersey, MN, ME, Montreal and today I listened to a guy in the UK and Spain yesterday. I live in a deep valley with 3000+ ft mountains on either side running north to south. The valley is app' 3/4 of a mile wide. I haven't been able to connect with anyone yet. According to my cheap'o swr/watt meter from Radio Hack I've got a 2 watt deadkey AM with a swing to a solid 4 watts and 10-12 on SB.(Not that the meter is that accurate) I know the swr is spot on as it is the same on the radio.

Please give me your thoughts on whether I will ever be able to transmit to connect living where I do. Also, I have heard that unlocking the clarifier will help. Can someone explain this more? I have a Sirio Turbo 5000 arriving tomorrow and will be mounting it to the CC and heading up high to see what happens. Reception is incredible on this little radio.
Thanks for any input you may have.
 

Yes you should be able to. You're best trying on SSB. The mountains won't really be an issue as to work DX you're bouncing your signal off the ionosphere.

Rule of thumb is you should be able to work stations you can hear at about the same at their end but that is reliant to some extent on having the same power but thats something you don't know.

I won't lie - it'll take a bit of time on low power. You may want to look at building a Moxon Rectangle. Its a beam antenna that's relatively easy to build but has a lot more gain than your antenna does and is directional. If you could get it up around 20ft above the ground it'll have around 8dBi gain more than the vertical which means it gives a radiated signal nearly 8 times the power, i.e the 12W from your radio has an effective radiated power from the Moxon equivalent to transmitting 90W or so into the 102" whip.
 
You need to put that thing on 38-LSB and call out CQ-DX with your numbers until you get a reply. I'd probably try 37LSB and 39LSB as well if that doesn't work out pretty quickly. You should have no problem making contacts with that rig if it is on frequency and you don't sound like Mickey Mouse (or worse) to everyone on SSB. If you can hear them they can probably hear you...along with 150 other people in the pileup. Your best next move is to buy a 2 pill amp and it will make DX considerably easier for you. The mountains don't matter. You are bouncing off the ionosphere when talking skip. Good luck. -305portable.
 
Thanks for the replies folks! I knew it would be worth checking in here. I have spent the past couple of days on 38 LSB listening and attempting to make contacts there. The folks in FL sound really good here. Like they're right next door most of the time when the skip is good.

I will explore the antenna option as well and will keep trying. I've been calling the ritual; cq cqdx with the call # and state. No takers so far.

I'm planning on heading north for more local activity to hopefully make contact with someone. I need to know how the unit sounds on the other end. The mic gain is set on 3 and I just need to know if it sounds good and not splattered distorted garble.
 
Just did a little research on the moxon. Not sure how to construct something like that to sustain the winds we get here. During winter storms we can have winds in excess of 90 mph. A moxon would be torn to shreds unless I could take it down easily. Too flimsy and too much drag. Even in the summer we get winds 50 to 70 in thunderstorms. Tough call.
 
If you want to make a contact try an listen til you here both sides of a conversation , then break or qsk I don't have any scientific facts to back me up been I first started shooting skip 40 years ago (lol ) it worked for me .

Sent from my NB09 using Tapatalk
 
Scroll down and read my thread Requirements for DX. We are in the same boat.
Can hear plenty of DX, can't make a contact. I have been trying every day for about a month, no luck for me either. I've never talked to anyone on SSB. I'm getting a 250 watt amp soon, hoping this will help me.
Good luck to ya.
 
Good Idea 357. I've heard both sides of a conversation a few times. I'll give that a shot. 88, I did take a look at your thread and will watch if something changes for you. I'll be sure and post back here if and when something happens. Thanks for the input!

I am assuming that just because an antenna and radio receive excellent doesn't mean that it will transmit just as well. Correct? I'm leaning toward the obvious. (Moxon) Is the reception on the Moxon just as good as what I have now?
 
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I talked to Birmingham England on 38 LSB an noticed I was barefoot an that's with a bent Anton 99 an a Cobra 140 gtl that's at least 30 yrs old . Just but a tricked out Cobra 2000 that does everything but cut the grass but have not received it yet . Must say I can't wait !

Sent from my NB09 using Tapatalk
 
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Guess I'm a little long winded this am but conditions here in RI have been excellent for 2 months everyday I talk
to Europe , last week New Zealand An South Africa . Talking in a lot of the US has been as easy as talking to you on here ! Just keep trying because believe me if you saw the antique junk I'm working off now you would laugh !

Sent from my NB09 using Tapatalk
 
The antenna I am using has only 2/108" ground planes on the east and west sides of the antenna. Should I add 2 more that run north and south? I would have to find a way to support the south one as the antenna is on the south peak of the house. Thoughts? It's cheap and it wouldn't hurt to try it I suppose.
 
Years ago I started with a 1/4 wave ground plane which is nothing more than what you Plus two more radials so my first thought would be yes ! The more waves you reflect the better you are but I'm no expert , as long as your match is OK your good .

Sent from my NB09 using Tapatalk
 
I been looking at a Dr Dipole $ 21 on eBay they say its great for DX . The ham guys been using these for years , all you need is a couple of trees an living in Vermont you should have that covered . They have another one on eBay to $ 10 probably does the same thing .

Sent from my NB09 using Tapatalk
 
357magnum said:
Guess I'm a little long winded this am but conditions here in RI have been excellent for 2 months everyday I talk
to Europe , last week New Zealand An South Africa . Talking in a lot of the US has been as easy as talking to you on here ! Just keep trying because believe me if you saw the antique junk I'm working off now you would laugh !

Sent from my NB09 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Too funny! I guess as long as it's setup properly it probably doesn't matter what you've got. Kinda like the old adage; "It's not the car, it's the driver".

I heard a guy the other day talking to someone in RI. Couldn't hear the RI contact though. You're probably what, 250 miles from me here in southwestern VT?
 

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