Posts in Category ‘DX’

It is impossible to work DX with an attic antenna – guess again

Well, there is DX and there is DX. When you run low power and an attic antenna there is a range that one can expect to work other stations. In that range there are DX entities. In my case those entities are not very rare but are rewarding to work. Working far off rare entities is impossible with my working conditions. Well not really. The other morning, I worked a VK9 station (Norfolk Island in the South Pacific). I was running 15 wats on 40 meter CW with my 55 foot attic doublet (bent to fit) under a very wet roof. Yes, band conditions were good, and the other guy was an excellent op with a FB station. But, I hope I had something to do with making the contact.

DX with an attic antenna

I like to work DX, but as of late this has been a challenge. A challenge because I am using an attic antenna in a not so tall house, running 25 watts and the band conditions have not been so kind. This week as fall approached condition were a bit better. I worked into EU on 20 meter CW. Not every station I called, but a few. The highlight was working a station in Nairobi Kenya. I am sure a high percent of the stations I am competing with are running more power and have much more effective antennas. A big part of being able to make the contact goes to the DX station/operator, but I hope finding the right frequency to put my signal and some operating skill contributed a little.