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New DXer Needs Help
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 |
Good morning Dan,
Welcome to Ham radio. I notice that you have a Technician License and the pretty much restricts you to ten meters for HF. The HTX-10 is a fairly good radio and it sounds like you do have it hooked up moderately well. As mentioned in another response at this point in the sunspot cycle ten meter propagation is poor and becoming poorer for the next few years. It will POP open on some occasions and really give you a surprise. I have 97 countries on 10 meters with 15 watts in a mobile [it was done during my college days a long time ago]. The 10 meter band will start to improve in about 2 to 3 years and in the late 2000's to 2011 it will be wide open world wide 24 hours a day and low power stations can and will work the world. Have you considered upgrading to General? It will give many more HF options and much much more fun. Deacon Dave, W1MCE for 50 years :-) Dan wrote: I have had my htx-10 for a few days now and have not heard anything. No CW, no beacons, nothing. SNIP Can anyone offer any suggestions? Thanks, Dan KE5BCC |
Good morning Dan,
Welcome to Ham radio. I notice that you have a Technician License and the pretty much restricts you to ten meters for HF. The HTX-10 is a fairly good radio and it sounds like you do have it hooked up moderately well. As mentioned in another response at this point in the sunspot cycle ten meter propagation is poor and becoming poorer for the next few years. It will POP open on some occasions and really give you a surprise. I have 97 countries on 10 meters with 15 watts in a mobile [it was done during my college days a long time ago]. The 10 meter band will start to improve in about 2 to 3 years and in the late 2000's to 2011 it will be wide open world wide 24 hours a day and low power stations can and will work the world. Have you considered upgrading to General? It will give many more HF options and much much more fun. Deacon Dave, W1MCE for 50 years :-) Dan wrote: I have had my htx-10 for a few days now and have not heard anything. No CW, no beacons, nothing. SNIP Can anyone offer any suggestions? Thanks, Dan KE5BCC |
Dan wrote:
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? Walt and Dave gave you some good advice. One other thing I'd try... When you're home and doing something else, leave the radio squelched on FM. 29.600 FM is the FM calling frequency and a good frequency to monitor. A better frequency to monitor might be 28.490 FM. The stations on that frequency will be using USB, so they won't be intelligible with your radio in FM mode. But they will "make some noise", so you'll know there are signals present. And in FM mode, your radio has a wider IF filter -- it will hear signals that aren't on exactly 28.490, so you stand a chance of hearing someone who decides to fire up on, say, 28.485. When the squelch opens and you start hearing unintelligible "monkey chatter", switch to USB and tune around to find the station in question. If you have a TV with an antenna on it, leave it on and tuned to an open channel between 2 and 6. When you start seeing stations on channels that are normally empty, there's probably "short skip" in - this is also very good for 10 meters. Short skip should become relatively commonplace as we enter May. It won't deliver much foreign DX (it's good for a maximum of about 2,000 miles in most cases) but you'll make plenty of American QSOs, and you may work a few stations from the Caribbean and Central America. -- Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com |
Dan wrote:
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? Walt and Dave gave you some good advice. One other thing I'd try... When you're home and doing something else, leave the radio squelched on FM. 29.600 FM is the FM calling frequency and a good frequency to monitor. A better frequency to monitor might be 28.490 FM. The stations on that frequency will be using USB, so they won't be intelligible with your radio in FM mode. But they will "make some noise", so you'll know there are signals present. And in FM mode, your radio has a wider IF filter -- it will hear signals that aren't on exactly 28.490, so you stand a chance of hearing someone who decides to fire up on, say, 28.485. When the squelch opens and you start hearing unintelligible "monkey chatter", switch to USB and tune around to find the station in question. If you have a TV with an antenna on it, leave it on and tuned to an open channel between 2 and 6. When you start seeing stations on channels that are normally empty, there's probably "short skip" in - this is also very good for 10 meters. Short skip should become relatively commonplace as we enter May. It won't deliver much foreign DX (it's good for a maximum of about 2,000 miles in most cases) but you'll make plenty of American QSOs, and you may work a few stations from the Caribbean and Central America. -- Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com |
"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 I agree with the other responders that it is the sunspot cycle not your setup. You might get some north/south propagation in mid to late afternoon if you are lucky. Check to see if there are any upcoming contests and see if you can hear the Caribbean or South America during the late afternoon during them. I personally haven't heard anything on 10m since early April but when I did, it was a good one (S. Cook Island). Also note that 10m is an interesting band in several ways. One could consider it a transition band between HF and VHF. When the solar flux is low, it acts pretty much like VHF although seldom affected by tropospheric ducting. Basically it becomes "line of sight" so your distance will depend on the height and directivity of the sending and receiving antennas and power output of your station. When solar flux is high, you can work the world "on a wet noodle and no power" and have a booming signal at the receiving station. Since you have passed the code already to have HF privileges on 10m, you just need to pass the written test to get your General so long as you do so within 365 days of having passed your code. The General test is only a little harder than your Tech was so if you grab a study guide right now while the Tech material is still fairly fresh in your mind, you should be able to charge right through it in a month or so and get your upgrade fairly quickly. As you work through the guide, check your progress using the online sample tests at www.qrz.com and www.eham.net The question pool is scheduled to change July 1 but you should be able to get ready for the test well before that. So good luck and go after that upgrade. 73s Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
"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 I agree with the other responders that it is the sunspot cycle not your setup. You might get some north/south propagation in mid to late afternoon if you are lucky. Check to see if there are any upcoming contests and see if you can hear the Caribbean or South America during the late afternoon during them. I personally haven't heard anything on 10m since early April but when I did, it was a good one (S. Cook Island). Also note that 10m is an interesting band in several ways. One could consider it a transition band between HF and VHF. When the solar flux is low, it acts pretty much like VHF although seldom affected by tropospheric ducting. Basically it becomes "line of sight" so your distance will depend on the height and directivity of the sending and receiving antennas and power output of your station. When solar flux is high, you can work the world "on a wet noodle and no power" and have a booming signal at the receiving station. Since you have passed the code already to have HF privileges on 10m, you just need to pass the written test to get your General so long as you do so within 365 days of having passed your code. The General test is only a little harder than your Tech was so if you grab a study guide right now while the Tech material is still fairly fresh in your mind, you should be able to charge right through it in a month or so and get your upgrade fairly quickly. As you work through the guide, check your progress using the online sample tests at www.qrz.com and www.eham.net The question pool is scheduled to change July 1 but you should be able to get ready for the test well before that. So good luck and go after that upgrade. 73s Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
"Doug Smith W9WI" wrote in message ... Dan wrote: 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? Walt and Dave gave you some good advice. One other thing I'd try... When you're home and doing something else, leave the radio squelched on FM. 29.600 FM is the FM calling frequency and a good frequency to monitor. A better frequency to monitor might be 28.490 FM. The stations on that frequency will be using USB, so they won't be intelligible with your radio in FM mode. But they will "make some noise", so you'll know there are signals present. And in FM mode, your radio has a wider IF filter -- it will hear signals that aren't on exactly 28.490, so you stand a chance of hearing someone who decides to fire up on, say, 28.485. When the squelch opens and you start hearing unintelligible "monkey chatter", switch to USB and tune around to find the station in question. If you have a TV with an antenna on it, leave it on and tuned to an open channel between 2 and 6. When you start seeing stations on channels that are normally empty, there's probably "short skip" in - this is also very good for 10 meters. Short skip should become relatively commonplace as we enter May. It won't deliver much foreign DX (it's good for a maximum of about 2,000 miles in most cases) but you'll make plenty of American QSOs, and you may work a few stations from the Caribbean and Central America. -- Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com You might also monitor the FM repeaters in the Caribbean. They are listed in the ARRL repeater directory. Although being in Texas, you might be too close to hear them via ionospheric propagation even when the band opens up. However if you do hear them, then that's the time to drop down into the area where you have privileges and try calling CQ. Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
"Doug Smith W9WI" wrote in message ... Dan wrote: 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? Walt and Dave gave you some good advice. One other thing I'd try... When you're home and doing something else, leave the radio squelched on FM. 29.600 FM is the FM calling frequency and a good frequency to monitor. A better frequency to monitor might be 28.490 FM. The stations on that frequency will be using USB, so they won't be intelligible with your radio in FM mode. But they will "make some noise", so you'll know there are signals present. And in FM mode, your radio has a wider IF filter -- it will hear signals that aren't on exactly 28.490, so you stand a chance of hearing someone who decides to fire up on, say, 28.485. When the squelch opens and you start hearing unintelligible "monkey chatter", switch to USB and tune around to find the station in question. If you have a TV with an antenna on it, leave it on and tuned to an open channel between 2 and 6. When you start seeing stations on channels that are normally empty, there's probably "short skip" in - this is also very good for 10 meters. Short skip should become relatively commonplace as we enter May. It won't deliver much foreign DX (it's good for a maximum of about 2,000 miles in most cases) but you'll make plenty of American QSOs, and you may work a few stations from the Caribbean and Central America. -- Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com You might also monitor the FM repeaters in the Caribbean. They are listed in the ARRL repeater directory. Although being in Texas, you might be too close to hear them via ionospheric propagation even when the band opens up. However if you do hear them, then that's the time to drop down into the area where you have privileges and try calling CQ. Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
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 |
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 |
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? Thanks, KE5BCC (Dan) wrote in message . com... 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 |
"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 |
"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 |
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 |
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 |
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. |
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. |
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 |
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 |
"Dan" wrote in message om... 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 Dan, If you can afford an outside antenna, try an I-Max 2000. For about $70.00. This antenna can't be beat on 10 Meters. I have 80 confirmed countries using this setup. Good luck. KC2HBS |
"Dan" wrote in message om... 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 Dan, If you can afford an outside antenna, try an I-Max 2000. For about $70.00. This antenna can't be beat on 10 Meters. I have 80 confirmed countries using this setup. Good luck. KC2HBS |
I'll submit my two cents because I live on the other side of the
Metroplex from you. Nobody has mentioned when 10 MIGHT be open. Your best chances of working any stations would be in the late morning to mid/late afternoon. The band will die at your sunset. Best propogation is most likely in a north-south direction, so string your dipole so that is comes as close as possible to being stretched east-west and being broadside to the north-south path. Because you have a radio, if memory serves, puts out only 25 watts (?) your best bet is to work on the antenna a bit-perhaps lengthen it to a resonant point near a full wave length to improve both the receive and transmit capacity of your radio. Gary AB5RM 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. 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. |
I'll submit my two cents because I live on the other side of the
Metroplex from you. Nobody has mentioned when 10 MIGHT be open. Your best chances of working any stations would be in the late morning to mid/late afternoon. The band will die at your sunset. Best propogation is most likely in a north-south direction, so string your dipole so that is comes as close as possible to being stretched east-west and being broadside to the north-south path. Because you have a radio, if memory serves, puts out only 25 watts (?) your best bet is to work on the antenna a bit-perhaps lengthen it to a resonant point near a full wave length to improve both the receive and transmit capacity of your radio. Gary AB5RM 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. 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. |
(Dan) wrote in message . com...
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 Dan, 10M is where I had my first successful HF experiences. It is kind of quirky, and you need to understand it. We are currently between sunspot maximums, and 10M propogation is likely to be during daily solar noon, +/- a few hours. Count on the band to shut down at sundown. During Sunspot maximum, the band will stay open long after sundown and can provide some of the longest DXing available. Having said that, there is so little activity on 10M that the band might be open and no one knows it. There was a nice QST(?) article written about a decade ago by a ham that kept meticulous records. Over several years, he managed to make daily contacts even when the band was "dead." So you best bet is to know where the activity is. Various groups have daily and/or weekly nets on 10M. Find a list of nets and try to listen in. If you hear them, make a call. Also, you need to watch for contests specifically on 10M or contests that opearate all-bands. These are primarily on weekends. Finally, check the some of the DX Clusters on the web and watch for 10M spots. Even if you can't hear the DX, operate put yourself about 15kc away from the DX and call CQ yourself. Some of the crowd is likely to hear you and come back to you. North-South propogation is best at this time of year, and thunderstorm static crashes will make life hell from great distances. But from Fort Worth, you should have daily propogation into the Dakotas and South America. Fall and Winter are my favorite operating seasons because they are so much quieter. FWIW, the major contests are in the Fall-Winter-Spring, and that is a great time to snag some DX even if the contest isn't your thing. Just be prepared to give the correct contest exchange so that you don't jam up the works ;^) A dipole antenna is more than adequate for casual DXing. A vertical antenna is also simple and typically has a lower angel of radiation (dx comes in at low angles), so might work better. If you can get both up and use an antenna switch, use the one that is giving the best signal at any given time. Ten-Ten International has tons of 10M interest links. http://www.ten-ten.org/main.html Finally, watch your license authorizations. Sometimes DX hangs out just above 28.500 MHz and torments you, but there's not much you can do except call from the just inside your band edge. Consider going for General. If you've already got Tech with Code, General is just one test away, and it gives you all of 10M - even the repeaters. Best of Luck. bb |
(Dan) wrote in message . com...
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 Dan, 10M is where I had my first successful HF experiences. It is kind of quirky, and you need to understand it. We are currently between sunspot maximums, and 10M propogation is likely to be during daily solar noon, +/- a few hours. Count on the band to shut down at sundown. During Sunspot maximum, the band will stay open long after sundown and can provide some of the longest DXing available. Having said that, there is so little activity on 10M that the band might be open and no one knows it. There was a nice QST(?) article written about a decade ago by a ham that kept meticulous records. Over several years, he managed to make daily contacts even when the band was "dead." So you best bet is to know where the activity is. Various groups have daily and/or weekly nets on 10M. Find a list of nets and try to listen in. If you hear them, make a call. Also, you need to watch for contests specifically on 10M or contests that opearate all-bands. These are primarily on weekends. Finally, check the some of the DX Clusters on the web and watch for 10M spots. Even if you can't hear the DX, operate put yourself about 15kc away from the DX and call CQ yourself. Some of the crowd is likely to hear you and come back to you. North-South propogation is best at this time of year, and thunderstorm static crashes will make life hell from great distances. But from Fort Worth, you should have daily propogation into the Dakotas and South America. Fall and Winter are my favorite operating seasons because they are so much quieter. FWIW, the major contests are in the Fall-Winter-Spring, and that is a great time to snag some DX even if the contest isn't your thing. Just be prepared to give the correct contest exchange so that you don't jam up the works ;^) A dipole antenna is more than adequate for casual DXing. A vertical antenna is also simple and typically has a lower angel of radiation (dx comes in at low angles), so might work better. If you can get both up and use an antenna switch, use the one that is giving the best signal at any given time. Ten-Ten International has tons of 10M interest links. http://www.ten-ten.org/main.html Finally, watch your license authorizations. Sometimes DX hangs out just above 28.500 MHz and torments you, but there's not much you can do except call from the just inside your band edge. Consider going for General. If you've already got Tech with Code, General is just one test away, and it gives you all of 10M - even the repeaters. Best of Luck. bb |
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