n0iop
Member
I've had my ticket for 30 years and have played around with VHF and UHF. I was responsible for the care and feeding of a 1000 watt broadcast FM plant while in school. My day job has often involved radio with ever higher frequencies. I'm currently working on a millimeter wave project at work.
I've never done much of anything with HF, other than being a guest operator once or twice. It's something I'd like to explore.
The best I can do at my current QTH is a 43' wire antenna up the side of my house (3 stories) and diagonally across the roof, plus ground radials. I'm in a suburban location and expect the noise floor to be high. I'm thinking in terms of 100 watts. I understand what I need to do to make this all work and get it tuned right and keep the RF out of my shack and so on. I also understand how to base load the antenna for 80m and 160m.
My main interests are ragchewing and other longer contacts and a better understanding of propagation and operating technique. I have zero interest in contests. My interest in CW is limited and I realize I will have to upgrade my license to general before proceeding.
My question is whether this is going to be worth it given my limited antenna options and high noise environment. I don't want to build everything up and find out that I can't get out of my own zip code.
Advice welcome.
The 43' wire is the very best I can do for HF for various reasons I don't want to go into. I can do better at 10 meters and up but I'm not sure that's interesting.
Thanks in advance for the replies
I've never done much of anything with HF, other than being a guest operator once or twice. It's something I'd like to explore.
The best I can do at my current QTH is a 43' wire antenna up the side of my house (3 stories) and diagonally across the roof, plus ground radials. I'm in a suburban location and expect the noise floor to be high. I'm thinking in terms of 100 watts. I understand what I need to do to make this all work and get it tuned right and keep the RF out of my shack and so on. I also understand how to base load the antenna for 80m and 160m.
My main interests are ragchewing and other longer contacts and a better understanding of propagation and operating technique. I have zero interest in contests. My interest in CW is limited and I realize I will have to upgrade my license to general before proceeding.
My question is whether this is going to be worth it given my limited antenna options and high noise environment. I don't want to build everything up and find out that I can't get out of my own zip code.
Advice welcome.
The 43' wire is the very best I can do for HF for various reasons I don't want to go into. I can do better at 10 meters and up but I'm not sure that's interesting.
Thanks in advance for the replies