W7YV Ham Radio

I enjoy working QRP and, usually, run 5 watts when working CW or SSB. Sometimes, I get grumpy and turn my power down as low as I can to 792 mW on my ICOM 7300. I figure, if they cannot hear me, they need a better antenna. HI HI There are 1000 Mile Per Watt awards that are offered to Hams that work stations on low power. I have a paper certificate around here - somewhere. I have learned that 1000 miles per watt is Child's Play. As this article shows, there are two ways to reach out and touch someone with less. Turn your power down and you will see.  Fig. 1, Typical 1000 Miles/Watt Award The better your antenna, the better your chances. It has been said, "If you have $100 to spend on your hobby, put $90 into your antenna, $9 into your receiver, and $1 into your transmitter. Recently, I setup a CW 10 M beacon on 28.2365 MHz. It drives a 20 M Vertical tuned to 10 M and is on-air during daylight hours when I am not using the rig. I have been running it at about 5 watts (QRP) with d...

I don't have a favorite band. Each band serves a purpose at the right time and place. Right now, I am mostly locked out of 80 and 40 but only due to the fact that my  Skywire Loop Antenna  is down. So, for now, I have a  20M vertical field antenna . See photo of the antenna being used in the field. The guy wires serve as 1/4 wave tuned radials, i.e., the "other side of the vertical". I am able to tune the antenna from 80 meters to 10 meters. On 80, I can get a signal out of the back yard but not far. Thank you, Jesus, for antenna tuners. On my antenna, I placed a  1:1 balun at the feed point  - the grey box where the radials intersect. This ensures that I don't get any feedline radiation. 80 M is a great band for  NVIS  work. My Skywire Loop excelled at that and I usually had armchair copy out to 500 miles or better. 80M serves my CW net interests. I don't do much phone rag chew other than working Special Event Stations in 80, 40, and 20. 10M is g...

1. General Information This page provides an inventory and description of the antennas here at the W7YV shack and those used in the field. Revisions: 04/30/2017 JRH Initial creation 02/21/2025 JRH Update after 7 year hiatus. 2. Antenna Demarcation Point At my home shack, I have a  steel box, about 14" x 14" x 6" is mounted to the north wall of the house.. My shack is immediately across that outside wall. At the bottom of the box is a 2" conduit, about 3 feet long, that carries numerous coax from the box to a thru-wall conduit connector into the house. Coaxes are carried through the wall into the shack. 3. Home Shack Antennas 3.1 Overview Figure 3.1 shows the overall antenna diagram for all antennas at the Robinwood QTH. Figure 3.1 Overall Antenna Diagram 3.1  DX Commander CLASSIC 2 Plus 80m HF Multi-Band Vertical Antennas CLASSIC2-80 This antenna was ordered 2/20/2025. It will replace my Loop Skywire.  https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxc-c...