19 Feb 2014

Hoping for more unique spots on 474.2kHz WSPR

474.2kHz shack set-up currently
At the moment (2215z) I have received 21 unique spots so far of my 474.2kHz QRP ERP WSPR signal from my resonated and matched 15m baseline earth-electrode "antenna". I shall leave things running overnight in the hope that other new stations will also spot me.  The system has been running only a few days at good efficiency.


UPDATE 1015z Thurs Feb 20th: no new spotters overnight, just the same ones as yesterday, so the total of UNIQUE spotters remains at 21 over the last week almost.  Will be leaving it running all day and overnight to see if anyone else spots me. May then try 160m.
21 unique spots so far on 15m baseline earth electrode on 474.2kHz
Incidentally, as you see, only a fraction of the coil is needed and this could have been on a ferrite rod, but I was unable to find one. The 3C90 matching coil is very small and runs cool, as does the transverter.

3 comments:

John G4LRR said...

Brilliant ! I like the idea of a low impact antenna and it's fascinating injecting signals into the ground. My only experience of earth electrodes was less than low impact however ! I set up an earth mode link with a teenage friend. We knocked a 7 foot pole into the ground at my friends which later proved impossible to extract. That wasn't the worst though. We didn't have enough wire to run round the edge of the garden back to the house so I ran it straight across his father's neat lawn in a slit cut with a spade. Unfortunately we had a very dry spell (I think it may have been 1976). This resulted in a large crack opening up, out of which the wire popped and ended up wound around the lawn mower! How my friend's parents put up with me I don't know !

PA2RF said...

Very good results Roger

Hans said...

Hello Roger,
Special for you I will run WSPR this evening and night on 474kHz. (FT-817 with ca.30m wire) Maybe your signals reach the east of Holland hi. (JO31aw) 73 Hans, PE1BVQ