Conditions

[ve3lyx]

40m lately has been different here. I can hear a lot because I use a beverage for rx antenna and it hears stuff not normally heard because of its extremely low noise level however if I cant copy the same signal on my regular antenna I don't bother to try a contact as I have learned there is no hope. This week very few signals were strong enuf to work from here. I did work some 20M SSB but not QRP. I have had my new rig on 20M both CW and AM but so far it is still a shelf queen. Soon I will build the Rx for it as well. What is happening with the rest of you? Seems awfully quiet here.
don 

[sm5mek]

Hej Don, it´s springtime outside. Working with my qrp trolley. To day i got the rack for 2,8 A solar panel ready. Filled the tires with frech air. Also taking long strolls arround the neghbourhood, this Sunday i did 8 Km (ajajjj). On my homepage you can see the trolley construction without the solar panel. 

[ve3lyx]

I very much enjoyed your website.
As to Swenglish I wouldn't give it a second thought. Part of your charm.
After 292 years with no contact with my original family in Deutschland I found them and was invited to a family reunion but was warned all but 2 did not speak English. So at the ripe old age of 50 I had to learn deutsche.  I am now comfortable in that language but I see smiles sometimes when I am speaking so I am sure it is Engeutsche to them. They don't seem to care and you know what? Neither do I anymore. I am just happy to be able to bridge the gap.
I really liked your antenna deal.
don

[GM0LVI]

I very much enjoyed your website.
As to Swenglish I wouldn't give it a second thought. Part of your charm.
After 292 years with no contact with my original family in Deutschland I found them and was invited to a family reunion but was warned all but 2 did not speak English. So at the ripe old age of 50 I had to learn deutsche.  I am now comfortable in that language but I see smiles sometimes when I am speaking so I am sure it is Engeutsche to them. They don't seem to care and you know what? Neither do I anymore. I am just happy to be able to bridge the gap.
I really liked your antenna deal.
don

I share your admiration of Jenny's 'Swenglish'. I have nothing but the greatest admiration for all non-native speakers who take the trouble to learn English as it's the most horribly phonetically irregular language compared to most others.

[GM0LVI]

Conditions were not all that good throughout the past week and were pretty poor on Saturday and Sunday. I had intended making a QRP entry to the RSGB Commonwealth 'BERU' contest but contented myself with just a few hours operating, though still managed a few new DXCC bands and band-mode contacts. Two ZLs on 15m and ZS and VU on 10m and also a stack of VEs - all with 5W.
I was really pleased last Tuesday to work a longtime friend GM0HCQ as VP8CMH/MM who was afloat at 71 degrees South which is about as far South as it's possible to be without actually 'landing' on the continent. I cheated a a bit though with this contact as I upped power to 10 Watts!

I envy you that beverage Don, my noise level at night on 30m downwards is horrible!!!

[ve3lyx]

Since we are in Mikes "tavern" I will tell you my "beverage" story.
My father a Radio design engineer (Collins, GE, PYE) had often spoken to me about beverage antennas for receivers. One day I decided to make a half hearted attempt at making one just to see. I bought some cheap coated binding wire , about 130 feet and strung it along the snake rail fence beside my house out as far as it would go.  I didn't even bother to terminate it telling myself the steel based wire must have some resistance so that will have to do. I ran the wire into my shack and hooked it up to the receiver. Was pretty quiet, no background sound. Almost nothing. Told myself I knew it was a waste of time and left it. About a year and a half later I decided to string up a long wire end fed. When I finished it I was putting the lead in thru the window frame and had to move the Beverage lead in out of the way. Just before I was going to pull it out and roll it up for trash I plugged it in to a rx sitting there. Lucky for me it was a good day on the band. I could hear lots of stuff but without the usual background noise.  I spent the next two days comparing and discovered much to my surprise the beverage can hear stuff the other antenna can't even pick up. Probably I have deduced because of the lack of background noise. It is not uncommon to be reading a signal at S7 on the HR10B rx which is always on the beverage and discovering the other rx which is miles ahead in design and sensitivity cannot hear the same signal or if it can it is smothered in noise and hardly readable. That is the good stuff. The bad side is because you can hear so well you often hear stations clearly that you cannot work. I had to learn to check on the other rx first because if I cant read the signal there replying is a waste of time. The difference is that great and yes I did think it was no good because there was no background noise. Did I finish its installation and termination? Nope. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Cost was about $17 and about 1 1/2 hours work . I have since become worse then a reformed smoker as I now know that if more folks used a beverage (or a loop which is also very good) Power would no longer be an issue.
don

[w1svu]

Hi, Don... I am a new member here, but I enjoyed your little story about your beverage antenna.  I live in Northern Vermont, and we've got about 2 feet of snow still on the ground... so, when that is gone, and when the mud season is a bit over, I think I'll try to build a beverage for myself.  I've heard of them for years, but never thought much about it. 
Anyway, nice to meet you and hope to see you on the radio.

Tony, W1SVU

[ve3lyx]

We still have snow here too. If you hear me on jump in. My natural propagation is in your direction and I often work that way on 40M as in this afternoon. Usually AM but I am also good on SSB.
don