Last night I decided to see how my signal was getting out on my new 80m dog-legged inverted v antenna. I put out a CQ on 3.150 Mhz and waited to see what the reports were like on the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), which is a network of automated skimmer stations automatically spotting what they hear on the bands on the CW mode.
I was quite impressed with the results. I was being heard in different parts of Europe, including Germany, Norway, Sweden, Hungary and Slovenia. Indeed I have worked a couple of stations in the USA using just 100 watts. The inverted v is definitely hearing better than my Butternut HF6V, but I am in a housing estate and the band is still quite noisy. I have made a few contacts on 160m (top band), although due to the low apex height of about 9 metres or so (30ft), I suspect that I won't be making many contacts on top band, where the nested v system (80m/40m/30m) has a 3:1 SWR at the bottom end of 160m. However, I will hope to enjoy a nice bit of activity on 80m CW during the winter months. I still have the Butternut in place, and it is currently tuned to the top end of 80m, so I can try to enjoy the best of both worlds!!
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