Icom IC R 75. .From Bainbridge island Washington: What can I expect to hear?

[Stavro35]

I've been in Bainbridge island Washington two and a half years. I have an Icom IC R75. At the moment I have a long wire antenna extended in two directions. I have in the past heard plenty .But I'm not hearing much of late. . None of the time stations are coming in at all. at 18:26 local ..

Since i've been here I've heard activity from coast guard stations on both the east and west coast. I've heard Andrews Airforce base. I've heard McChord. AFB here.. Trans Atlantic,Trans pacific. etc etc.

In just dialing up and down the spectrum for broadcast stations,I've not heard any.

I hear the time stations, on 5,10,15 mhz,nothing at the moment.

I have thought of giving up on this aspect of the hobby and just sticking with scanner radios, any thoughts?

 

[ridgescan]

ggees I dont know what to make of your situation! I run a 4-element yagi pointed east (im on the west coast) and my R-75 bustles every evening with a very satisfactory menu of listening! Right now I have hams rollcalling on 3.952 (just before 8 PM pacific) and there's a cluster of SW broadcasts along 5.5-6.5, 11.5-12, etc. Maybe that longwire aint doing it? Maybe I have an advantage here at the ocean? Half the fun is trying different stuff-hook that 75 up to your scanner antnna and see if you get something off that why not? You got a beautiful reciever there-give it a chance!

 

[MrQ]

Possible causes you are not hearing anything:

1. Radio functioning properly?

2. Is the antenna in good condition (I would set up a dipole with element lengths as long as space permits)?

3. Propagation conditions? (this would only effect certain days/nights - not all the time)

Your location should not effect HF reception generally with a presentable antenna. If you are hearing Camslant Chessapeke after local sunset, chances are your antenna is in good condition since they are at Norfolk, VA. But not hearing any broadcasters? Iv'e heard them with no antenna connected! So I would try looking at your antenna. Long wires are workable but very noisy. Try a center fed dipole with a coaxial feedline. Even one cut to 20m will work on recieve down the bands at night. If a dipole is less than 50+' above the ground, it will act as an omni-directional antenna, favoring all directions, as well as being less prone to local noise sources.

Mr Q

 

[ka3jjz]

As MrQ mentioned, propagation right now is just plain crappy. The better your antenna is, the better your results are going to be. During the day, 16m is likely to be as high as you'll find most broadcasters to be. Concentrate on areas around 11500-18000 khz for these. Become familiar with propagation to your area - which is going to be considerably different than conditions here on the East Coast, as I'm sure you've already learned.. Learn about what others are hearing in the area - although based in Southern Calif, I think the ASWLC Yahoo group is still active, and that would be a good place to start.

Now is the time to fool around with antennas - before the rainy season really kicks in. SE Asia, the Pacific and the Far East should be available to you, given the right prop conditions. I understand that there have been many MW Trans Pacific (TP) logs reported from the BC area- that may be an area to explore. In fact, TP logs should be easier as we head into the fall/winter seasons.

Lots to explore. I wish I had room for longwires - although what most people call a longwire is a complete misnomer - most are usually running inverted L or random wires....(serious envy disease setting in, hi) 73 Mike