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Old April 25th 04, 04:04 PM
Incognito
 
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Being we are on the downslide of the solar cycle and the current numbers are
Current Solar Flux report:
SFI: 112 A-index: 11 K-Index: 3

Conditions on 10M are poor at the moment.

Two places to look for propagation conditions --

1. ARRL prop charts at URL:
http://www.arrl.org/qst/propcharts/
Shows predicted propagation by time and locations
This will help optimize you calling times.

2. The NCDXF/IARU Beacons at URL:
http://www.ncdxf.org/Beacon/intro.html

For the NCDXF 10M beacons from around the world -- tune to 28.200 megaHertz
Programs are available to ID the beacon locations since the ID's are sent at
22 WPM in Morse.
Great real time propagation aid.

Being in the downside of the solar cycle 23 -- it will get worse and hit
bottom around 2006 with cycle 24 peaking in 2010 !

So would suggest you upgrade and use the lower frequency bands.

There may be some Sporadic E openings on 10M in a month or two so you can
work several hundred miles via sporadic E
WHEN it occurs -- but as the name implies it is sporadic. Check a DX packet
cluster for openings URL:
http://ac6v.com/dxcluster.htm

Good Luck and Gd DX

--
Incognito By Necessity (:-(

If you can't convince them, confuse them.
- - -Harry S Truman




"Dan" wrote in message
om...
I have had my htx-10 for a few days now and have not heard anything.
No CW, no beacons, nothing. Tried calling CQ about a hundred times
but no answer. I have tried two different antenna configurations..
First, a dipole with about 8' of wire on both ends, and then a
magnetic mount CB/Ham antenna from radio shack. I trimmed both of
them using a SWR meter (I get about 1.2-1.3 on both of them). Using
RG58 cable. I have read many posts by people using the same exact
configuration who were able to make contacts within 1 hour of hooking
it up. I am able to hit the local 10M repeater 35 miles away but that
is about it. I keep my RF gain all the way up and have my mic gain at
about 1 o'clock. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks,
Dan
KE5BCC



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Old April 26th 04, 05:08 AM
Hank Oredson
 
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"Dan" wrote in message
om...
I have had my htx-10 for a few days now and have not heard anything.
No CW, no beacons, nothing. Tried calling CQ about a hundred times
but no answer. I have tried two different antenna configurations..
First, a dipole with about 8' of wire on both ends, and then a
magnetic mount CB/Ham antenna from radio shack. I trimmed both of
them using a SWR meter (I get about 1.2-1.3 on both of them). Using
RG58 cable. I have read many posts by people using the same exact
configuration who were able to make contacts within 1 hour of hooking
it up. I am able to hit the local 10M repeater 35 miles away but that
is about it. I keep my RF gain all the way up and have my mic gain at
about 1 o'clock. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks,
Dan
KE5BCC


Although ten is not open very often nowdays, I worked a whole
bunch of Florida stations this morning ... the Florida QSO party
was going on. In the midst of that, a signal with a distinct British
accent appeared on 28.495. Turned out to be VP8DIJ in the
Falkland Islands ... ten is fun, you never know what might happen.

Ten has been my favorite band for over 50 years ...

--

... Hank

http://horedson.home.att.net
http://w0rli.home.att.net


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Old April 26th 04, 05:08 AM
Hank Oredson
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Dan" wrote in message
om...
I have had my htx-10 for a few days now and have not heard anything.
No CW, no beacons, nothing. Tried calling CQ about a hundred times
but no answer. I have tried two different antenna configurations..
First, a dipole with about 8' of wire on both ends, and then a
magnetic mount CB/Ham antenna from radio shack. I trimmed both of
them using a SWR meter (I get about 1.2-1.3 on both of them). Using
RG58 cable. I have read many posts by people using the same exact
configuration who were able to make contacts within 1 hour of hooking
it up. I am able to hit the local 10M repeater 35 miles away but that
is about it. I keep my RF gain all the way up and have my mic gain at
about 1 o'clock. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks,
Dan
KE5BCC


Although ten is not open very often nowdays, I worked a whole
bunch of Florida stations this morning ... the Florida QSO party
was going on. In the midst of that, a signal with a distinct British
accent appeared on 28.495. Turned out to be VP8DIJ in the
Falkland Islands ... ten is fun, you never know what might happen.

Ten has been my favorite band for over 50 years ...

--

... Hank

http://horedson.home.att.net
http://w0rli.home.att.net




  #16   Report Post  
Old April 26th 04, 11:47 AM
Doug Smith W9WI
 
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Dan wrote:
Thanks so much for all the feedback. If I could ask another question,
which antenna configuration do you think I will have the most success
with, the dipole in the attic or the trimmed Radio Shack CB antenna?


Where is the CB antenna, and what do you have it stuck to? How long is it?

Chances are pretty good that the CB antenna is a serious comprimise. I
think you'll probably find the attic dipole a better performer.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

  #17   Report Post  
Old April 26th 04, 11:47 AM
Doug Smith W9WI
 
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Dan wrote:
Thanks so much for all the feedback. If I could ask another question,
which antenna configuration do you think I will have the most success
with, the dipole in the attic or the trimmed Radio Shack CB antenna?


Where is the CB antenna, and what do you have it stuck to? How long is it?

Chances are pretty good that the CB antenna is a serious comprimise. I
think you'll probably find the attic dipole a better performer.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

  #18   Report Post  
Old April 26th 04, 03:38 PM
Dan
 
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The CB/Ham antenna is tuned to 28.4Mhz and is sitting next to a
window. It is 35" or so in height with a loading coil.. Not sure how
much wire is in the loading coil.. Another post I found says 18 turns.

Dan

Doug Smith W9WI wrote in message ...
Dan wrote:
Thanks so much for all the feedback. If I could ask another question,
which antenna configuration do you think I will have the most success
with, the dipole in the attic or the trimmed Radio Shack CB antenna?


Where is the CB antenna, and what do you have it stuck to? How long is it?

Chances are pretty good that the CB antenna is a serious comprimise. I
think you'll probably find the attic dipole a better performer.

  #19   Report Post  
Old April 26th 04, 03:38 PM
Dan
 
Posts: n/a
Default

The CB/Ham antenna is tuned to 28.4Mhz and is sitting next to a
window. It is 35" or so in height with a loading coil.. Not sure how
much wire is in the loading coil.. Another post I found says 18 turns.

Dan

Doug Smith W9WI wrote in message ...
Dan wrote:
Thanks so much for all the feedback. If I could ask another question,
which antenna configuration do you think I will have the most success
with, the dipole in the attic or the trimmed Radio Shack CB antenna?


Where is the CB antenna, and what do you have it stuck to? How long is it?

Chances are pretty good that the CB antenna is a serious comprimise. I
think you'll probably find the attic dipole a better performer.

  #20   Report Post  
Old April 26th 04, 04:42 PM
Doug Smith W9WI
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Dan wrote:
The CB/Ham antenna is tuned to 28.4Mhz and is sitting next to a
window. It is 35" or so in height with a loading coil.. Not sure how
much wire is in the loading coil.. Another post I found says 18 turns.


OK, definitely the dipole should be a better performer.

The loading coil is necessary to provide a reasonable SWR match, but it
doesn't contribute to the efficiency of the antenna. A full
quarter-wave antenna would be roughly 9 feet in length, and would be
close to the dipole in performance.

Also with the CB antenna, the ground system is part of the antenna. Any
losses in the ground are essentially a resistor in series with the
antenna. For your ground to be reasonably efficient, the antenna would
have to be stuck to a rather large piece of metal. (a car would be a
comprimise; I doubt it's practical for you to have anything nearly that
large in your radio roomgrin...)

The *real* test is how strong do you hear the repeater on the two
antennas. (unless, of course, it pins the meter with both in which case
it's hard to tell!)
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

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