Requirements for DX

[ND88]

I really appreciate all of the responses.
No, I have not had anyone look at my radio. I don't know anyone who is interested in the hobby in my town other than myself, so I don't have a way to get the radio tuned up. I'm stuck with the factory settings for the time being until I find a tech who can improve my radio.

As for my installation being the problem, it could be. I just have it wired to the fuse panel, grounded under the dash. My power cables are not long enough to wire directly to the battery, but I figured since it's a stock radio and i'm not running any power, this is fine for now. I'm also not getting any engine noise in my receive like I was with my Cobra 19 Ultra III that I upgraded from.
as for the antenna being wrong, It's just a mag mount. stuck it to the center of my roof and I'm getting low SWR readings. hard to mess that one up isn't it?


Today I plan to drive out to an elevated spot and try calling CQ on LSB. I'll let you all know if this improves my luck. Generally I try on 38 where it's the busiest, maybe I need to try a less crowded channel. I have noticed that anytime i drive out on the prairie where it's a lot flatter, It's a lot easier to be heard locally. Sounds cleaner too.

 

[ND88]

Rubbish. I manage contacts all over the world on 10m with 100W mobile despite going up against big gun stations running 1.5kW into beams on towers.




You have a problem with your installation. The other day using just 4W mobile to mobile a friend and I had a conversation over 9 miles over less than flat ground, me using a Sirio 5000 on a magmount, him using a Sirio 3000 on a fixed roof mount. An amp WILL NOT cure your problem. Go to KØBG.COM and read everything then install the mount, antenna and bonding how he says to do it on his website. I've installed my screwdriver antenna the way it says on that website and I get constant "can't believe you're mobile" reports especially talking to the USA from the UK.

This is awesome. Thanks for the link, seems like a great resource. It's a lot to take in for a newbie, i've got a lot to learn when it comes to electrical and radio theory. I'm in the process of studying for my HAM license as well, so this should really help me out in more ways than one.

I plan to install a permanent mount on the lip of my truck bed at some point so I can run a 108" steel whip just as a fun project. I'll definitely follow his advice on the install.

 

[Henry HPSD]

If your into world wide DX:
Look on 27.555 usb.
Thats the international calling freq.
The guys always qsy to another freq...

And you can do a lot from your mobile.
Today there was a mobile station driving in Denmark (47 division)
who worked 33sd132. (alaska)
And i have worked many of mobile stations...including west coast.

Loction is very important !
Google for a map containing soil conductivity in your area.
go to the location where soil conducitivity is "best".
(I sold my previous house and moved to my present location because of it.)
The ground around your antenna up to say about 400 feet is the most important issue to deal with.

If your limited to "bad ground (desert)" focus on horizontal antennas.
Yes, you will need a support mast or something. That is rather common here in Europa, with the bigger mobile dx stations.

Dont think going higher is 'better"..
The best "spot" is actually below the top of the hill.
(search the arrl antenna book for futher reference).

height above sea level is not imporant.
Heigth above the 400 feet radius around you is.

If you do have the option of putting up a static antenna near (on) a cliff.
at height...go for horizontal.
Horizontal antennas, placed higher than (roughly) 20 feet will outperform a vertical.

A nice antenna to play with (for a static location):
Saturn “Bi Square” | CB Antennas

If you want to know what "dx" is going on..
It is adviced to join cluster.dk - the worlds biggest 11-meter radio notification system
A valuable "dxing" tool, and it comes in "app" if needed.

Hope it is of use...

Kind regards,

Henry

Edit:
I just noticed the galaxy is a 40 ch radio...my apologize for the wrong freq indications...but who knows perhaps it is of use in the future.
And for your "power" thing.. yes a bit more output will help.

 

[M0GVZ]

This website is very useful

VOACAP Online - professional-grade high-frequency (3-30 MHz) point-to-point propagation predictions

 

[Road Squawker]

...My question is, what is my next move if I want to get in on all the DXing I hear...
Thanks for any help, sorry if this topic is beat to death!
:bdh:

no need to apologize,....... I'll be honest with you, if you want to work DX,.......

then study a little and get at least a TECH license, there is plenty of DX even in the 10 TECH phone band.<More audio>

 

[GnG8d]

no need to apologize,....... I'll be honest with you, if you want to work DX,.......

then study a little and get at least a TECH license, there is plenty of DX even in the 10 TECH phone band.<More audio>

So it CAN'T be done on 11m?

 

[The Jerk]

Personally, the thing that I noted that made a huge difference for me in DX was building a horizontal dipole. From what I remember, most DX is horizontal whereas most ground plane is vertically polarized.

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[GnG8d]

Personally, the thing that I noted that made a huge difference for me in DX was building a horizontal dipole. From what I remember, most DX is horizontal whereas most ground plane is vertically polarized.

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That doesn't play a huge role as the signal rolls around between the earth and ionosphere.

 

[The Jerk]

Made a huge difference for me...

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[GnG8d]

Made a huge difference for me...

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Maybe, but there are a lot of variables involved in your particular setup too.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Made a huge difference for me...

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Until you have the ability to instantly switch between vert and horz you don't really know how much of a difference it makes. Propagation changes from one minute to tbe next and changing from one antenna to another a week or two later cannot be usec as an accurate measure. I used to run a dual polarity beam and nearly wore the antenna switch out switching back and forth looking for the bezt signal regardless of what tbe polarity was of tbe other station.sometimes vert to vert worked best. Sometimes horz to horz. Sometimes vert to horz worked best and sometimes horz to vert worked best and sometimes it didn't make any difference regardless of the polarity.

 

[M0GVZ]

So it CAN'T be done on 11m?

That's just your opinion. Everyone else in the world seems to manage it.

 

[M0GVZ]

Made a huge difference for me...

Probably because a dipole for 11m 16ft or more above the ground has more gain than vertical single element 11m antennas. Build a simple Moxon beam and be even more impressed.

 

[GnG8d]

That's just your opinion. Everyone else in the world seems to manage it.

That was a sarcastic question. Did you see the "?"

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

That was a sarcastic question. Did you see the "?"

Probably not. It was quite small. There are much bigger things here he fails to see. :laugh: