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Author Topic: QRP and indoor wires  (Read 4828 times)

DF5WW

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QRP and indoor wires
« on: December 17, 2013, 16:42:42 UTC »
Some guys said that QRP and indoors don´t work for DX but they never tried to find it out.

Since my comeback to Hamradio in May 2008 (long break between 1992 and 2008) i found a complete other acceptance for the hamradio work. Houseowners don´t allowed ham antennas up on the roof or in the garden, neighbours asking for electromagnetic radiation and health problems and some things more. Fakt is that only hams with own houses and areals can build up outside antennas and big towers for Beams.

So what was to do that i could be work at the hambands ........ the answere for me: Indoor antennas. First experiments with wires in a appartement up 2 meters above real ground are not very efficient but my next appartement was under the roof. There i used a folded 2 x 15,3 m doublet feeded with 2m wireman feeder. First good contacts and a QRB of 16.000 ++ km to ZL3RG at 30m in PSK31. With those antenna i made some good DX´s and also grabbed W2 and W4 at 80 mtr in a RTTY contest.

Meanwhile i have another apartement with a big attic beside my rooms. The attic can only used by me and i have realised some antennas to operate on the Bands.

My antenna for 10 and 12 is a simple trippleleg made with 4 x 2,80m wirepieces. Bit to long for 10 and bit to short for 12 i use it with a tuner. Works great on 10 and 12 and is somestimes better in DX at 15 m than my doublet.

For (15) 17-80 m i use a 2 x 13,5 m doublet which is a bit "folded" ..... works nice and gives me some good DX´s too.

For 6m i use a fullsize Deltaloop with 1/4 lambda 75 Ohm choke and feeded with Koax. Great antenna that gives me nice contacts on the magic band include some W stations and a lot of DX around Europe.

For 2m SSB/CW i have a 4-Element Yagi (DK7ZB style) in my shack. QRB 398 km with indoor out of a valley. My ASL here 245m and the hills around climbing up to 300 + .......

The result ....... i am on air and have a lot of fun with QRP and indoors. Meanwhile (in the last 5 1/2 years since my comeback) i worked 218 DXCC entities.

You have problems with antenna restrictions and you like to be on air ????  Try to find out whats possible at your QTH. Make some experiments with simple wire antennas and short beams and you will see that you can work on the hambands with all those restrictions.

The beat way to have some good QSO is to be QRV. It´s unproductive to cry about the situation and give up. Be on air and show the big guns what´s possible with QRP and indoors.

Anybody has other ideas for indoors ????  Would be nice to see what you´re doing to be on air with antenna restrictions .....

Good DX and fun with QRP  8) :D

Offline IZ5ZCO

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72 de Nicola

Offline aj4vd

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Re: QRP and indoor wires
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2013, 19:00:38 UTC »
Recently, I've had fantastic results with magnetic loops on HF (40m / 30m). I made a huge one out of copper pipe (the flexible kind you can buy in a roll from a box at home depot) and a variable capacitor at the base. Tuning sensitivity is excellent (far better than my noisy attic dipole) and I could receive QRSS signals from Europe using this indoor antenna. I highly recommend looking into magnetic loops for indoors!

The caviat is that you cannot transmit high power. But for RX or QRPP, it's an excellent option.

Offline IZ5ZCO

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Re: QRP and indoor wires
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2013, 19:11:24 UTC »
Welcome aboard, Scott.  :)
72 de Nicola

DF5WW

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Re: QRP and indoor wires
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2013, 19:29:26 UTC »
Hi Scott,

welcome abboard ant thanks for your words. Have tested with magloops for RTX but not so good when TX´ing. But a nice idea to have a separate RX Magloop to hear the DX. TX would be better with my attic doublet or the delta and the 3-leg i think  ;)

 :D ;)