H7H Nicaragua worked on 80 metres SSB

With the inverted v up in the air for 80m, I have been getting up early this past few mornings to try to nab any DX that might be floating around. Imagine my surprise when I saw H7H spotted on 3.790, on the top end of 80m, on SSB! My "vee" will only tune on the CW end of the band, so I was unable to use it. However, thanks to the large coil at the bottom of my Butternut vertical, I am able to tune that antenna to any part of the 80m band. I went out, spanner in hand, and opened the nut that keeps the clasp closed and stretched the coil downwards to get resonance on the top end of the band.

Soon enough, I was calling H7H with the linear on, giving it 400 watts. He was about a 5 and 5, and was obviously struggling with high noise because it was taking him ages to hear anyone. My friend Seamus EI3KE was calling him and when H7H said "EI3 again" it took ages for Seamus to make the QSO. But he made it. My immediate thought was: "I have some hope!" H7H then worked a couple of G stations. Again, it took him quite a while to copy each call correctly.

I began calling again 5 Khz down, and within a short time I heard the magic words: "Who is the Echo India Two?" Again, it took a bit of perseverance to get through. There were several overs before the call was copied correctly. But I made it! A rare contact on 80m SSB. Most of my DX contacts on that band are on CW. To make the QSO on the Butternut was a nice treat.

It was a bit ironic that, only three days after putting up the inverted v, here I was working DX on the Butternut! Ah well, it's nice to have the option. And it's good to be working DX from this small garden!

The little antenna that's working the world

This is my SP7IDX broadband hexbeam on its pole, just now, in the light of a waning gibbous moon. The low, fast-moving cloud is being lit up by the lights of Drogheda. Light pollution is a big problem these days for Irish astronomers, where once it wasn't a difficulty. The hexbeam is a lightweight and small structure, ideal for small properties like mine. It has helped me work some fantastic DX, including ZL9HR, Campbell Island, just about the furthest place from Ireland. Anyway, I'm off to bed. No HF tonight. I spent a while out in the garden with the 25x100 binoculars, watching the moon, before taking a few shots with the Nikon D7000.

Down goes the MA5B . . . up goes the Hexbeam!

Yesterday, after a long time thinking about it, I finally decided to take down the MA5B minibeam in favour of a second hand hexbeam. Although the MA5B has served me very well, being my first beam and being a big improvement over the Butternut vertical in many cases, the gain figures for the hexbeam are better and those who have them swear by them.

The Hex Team! Thos EI2JD, Pat EI2HX, Anthony EI2KC
and Tony EI4DIB. What a crew!

So it was with mixed feelings that I finally decided to swap them. My antenna team swung into action here on Tuesday and consisted of Thos EI2JD, Pat EI2HX and Tony EI4DIB, without whose help it would never have happened.

I already had the arms and the stay ropes of the hexbeam assembled to move things on a little bit. Working in a very confined space with the hex was difficult, but we worked well as a team, ironing out the problems as we went along.

We discovered too, regrettably, that my old Moonraker rotator is kaput, and had to make the decision to erect the hexbeam on an armstrong rotator for the moment. (For non hams, this simply means the pole is manually rotated, using just the strength of one's arm!!)

The whole operation took about four hours, with tea breaks! It was a lovely sunny day which made it easier and we got to work on our sun tans too HI! The hexbeam is lighter than the MA5B, and without the weight of the rotator the new structure does not need stay wires.

Upon completion, we did the SWR test. SWR is flat across the 20m band, and is around 1.5 - 1.7 on 17m, 15m and 12m. It is a bit high, inexplicably, on 10m, but at 3:1 the ATU will tune it and also the Acom 1000 will handle it if needed.

Who's a happy boy then?

Although band conditions have not been great since it was erected, I worked a good bit of DX yesterday evening and last night, and was impressed with the many 59+ signals I was seeing on the FT-1000MP. Here is a summary of DX worked:

Japan 20m CW 400 watts

Asiatic Russia 20m CW 400w

Sumatra (YB4) 15m SSB 400w

India 15m CW 100w

Svalbard 17m SSB 100w

Swaziland 15m SSB 100w

Tanzania 10m SSB 400w - new country on 10m!!

Few Stateside QSOs on 15m CW 100w

Dominican Republic 15m SSB 100w

Peru 12m SSB 400w (new band slot)

Nicaragua 15m CW 400w

Gibraltar 17m SSB 100w

St Lucia 15m SSB 100w

Venezuela 17m CW 100w