My First Instinct...lower the power

I always have my FT-817 transmit power set to 1 watt.  When I hear a station calling CQ I always make my first attempts at 1W.  I am usually successful but if I am not I will reluctantly bump the power up to the next setting which is 2.5W.  I will do this usually with success but if all else fails I will grudgingly increase to 5W.  This doesn't happen very often which is why I am always so reluctant to increase my power.  Sometimes I even don't bother bumping the power up if it's a continental North American call sign as I know that with 5W I will not be at least 1000 Miles per watt and what's the point.  I know that's an illogical my way of thinking because isn't the whole purpose of ham radio to actually communicate with someone.  That's a flaw in my way of enjoying this hobby but I guess that's why there are so many different ways to enjoy this hobby.

Following the same "logic", as soon as I hear a signal that is fairly strong my first instinct is to drop the power to the 1/2W setting.  I get all excited when I hear the station come back to me knowing that I am using QRPp power.  It's my happiest place to be in.  The signal reports are generally 559 and I am fine with that.  I also do not want to minimize the appreciation I have for the other operators who are willing to work my weak signal.  Without them I would be sitting at my operating position destined to be frustrated.  I thank you all.

One other thing, I believe, that works in my favour is that I have low expectations and I am easily satisfied.  If I can sit down at the radio and make 1 or 2 QSOs I am perfectly happy.  I am not one to sit for hours making contacts which is probably why I am not a contest operator.  Perhaps my attention span is too short...either that or it's because I know I have other chores I know I should be doing.

Cheers,
Scott ve3vvf/qrp

1000 MPW ...Even with Poor Band Conditions

So I turned the radio on this morning for the first time since last September.  My wire dipoles are in a bit of a tangle from a winter of strong blowing winds but the SWR readings are still low so I ventured onto the bands.  I heard a fair bit of activity on 40 but I prefer the WARC bands so I moved to 17M.  The SWR was too high so I moved to 30M.  With the exception of someone already in a ragchew QSO I dialed around and found nothing.  I had my FT-817 set to 1W as usual and called CQ a time or two.  Then I heard a weak response from Roger, W4RFT.  I have him in my log on 20M but not 30.  It was a very brief QSO where we exchanged 559s and then it dropped off.  Roger shows as being 1100+ miles away in Florida so I was very happy that my first QSO in months was over 1000 Miles Per Watt.  I really love this hobby.

I can't wait to work on replacing these 2 fan dipoles (2 bands each) with the same but made from ladder line (see previous post).  I already ordered it from MacFarlane Electronics near Kingston, ON.  To save on the shipping (which is almost half as much as the wire due to the weight) I will be picking it up at the Iroquois Amateur Radio Club's annual Flea Market on the 7th of April in Iroquois, Ontario.

With snow still on the ground and below freezing temperatures I have no rush to start any antenna work just yet anyway.  I can wait a few weeks for the wire and I will never pass up the opportunity to stroll through a flea market...ham radio or otherwise.

Cheers for now,
Scott ve3vvf/qrp

Silent Too Long

Well I went the whole winter without even turning a radio on and I was worried that I had lost my interest.  A lot has been going on which has had my mind on other things but all it took was listening to a couple of episodes of one of my favourite podcasts the QSO Today Podcast to get my mojo back.  I can always count on Eric (4Z1UG) to kindle my interests...especially on the QRP front.  I also believe some of my issue was the havoc the wind has been playing on my inverted vee antennas (not to mention the grim propagation these days).  The tangling that occurs with the fan dipole style of antenna is disappointing.  I need a better solution and I believe I may have found it.  I read an article in the ARRL Wire Antenna book that I bought from Amazon last fall.  The antenna from the article I read has the radiating elements made from ladder line/window line.  I can have a 2-band dipole that will not get tangled because the wires are evenly spaced/separated by the windows.

What is done is the length of the longest leg (34' for 40M) and the length of the shortest leg (24' for 30M) are added together making a 58' piece of ladder line the requirement for a 40/30 fan dipole.  Then you lay the cable out and measure 34' from one end and cut the top conductor.  Measure 34' from the opposite end and cut the bottom conductor.  What you have now, if you cut along the red line as shown below, is 2 pieces that will act as each leg of the dipole.  The long top wire is one side and the long bottom wire flipped over and end for end is the other side.

Then you need to strip the conductors bare at the double wired end and solder them together and attach them to the coax to create the feed point.  One leg connects to the center conductor and the other side to the braid of the coax.

Once this is completed you will have to raise the antenna and tune it for your desired operating frequency as with any dipole antenna.  I plan to build two of these.  One for 40/20 and one for 30/17 and I will post the results including photos of the tuning and testing process.

Cheers and thanks,

Scott, ve3vvf/qrp