Working DX starts with a good HF antenna ..
As you might already know choosing the type of antenna system for your communication needs can be a tough decision. Many ham operators can hit difficult road blocks by the limited amount of space they have to work with for setting up the antenna or by local housing restriction codes that can prevent full size towers to be constructed.
The solution to this complex issue can be greatly helped by obtaining a fresh copy of the ARRL Antenna Hand Book and researching the vast array of options for stealthy smaller antenna designs to give you hope and success, with lots of good information and ideas to try, and what is available for you.
If your budget is tight and you are a self motivated person.. You can build up very effective antenna systems for little cost using materials you already have on hand or can easily get from the local HWD store. Plus you will have the added satisfaction of putting all of that antenna theory you learned on those ham radio exams into practical good use and making your own antenna systems. If your not good with your hands, you might opt for a commercially made tower and a proven store bought antenna combo that can do really well for pulling in the DX. HF Verticals are really great too! The above image is of a multi band HF HEX BEAM© antenna that I helped erect a few years ago at a local hams QTH. This HEX BEAM© antenna, fold over tower, and concete pad for the tower system took time, added labor, and money to install. But it is highly favored for its ability to work weak signal DX on the HF bands.
At my QTH, I have opted for attic mounted dipoles that I can tune up for 40M thru 10 meters. The main dipole is 35 feet high off the ground and strung diagonally across the attic going NE to SW direction giving me access to work DX from across the South Pacific, Africa, and Eastern Europe
As most SWL's will know, the humble wire dipole has been the work horse for DXing and praised by many HAM's for it's low cost and ease of construction to build and get on air.
Dipoles can be manipulated to fit into just about any shape or configuration that you may require simply by bending or rolling up the wire elements.
You can find and purchase dipole starter kits easily online. I discovered a nice kit being sold from W8AMZ Amateur Radio Products in Muskegeon, Michigan . The kit gave me the basic building blocks for making my attic mounted 40-10M HF dipole antenna. (see my notes on using this antenna using WSPR and the global HF coverage map below)
Once I got my dipole kit ordered, I picked up a needed spool of 50 foot 16 gauge clear jacketed copper speaker wire that I got from Walmart for $5.65 a roll . The cost for the entire HF 40-10M dipole was less than $20 US. With a little soldering and tuning of this attic dipole, I was ready to put it on air and give it a go.
So how does this homebrew attic speaker wire dipole preform on air? Well... Read below!
On 09-27-2023 here are my log notes as follows:
"Preliminary WSPR testing of this antenna at 5 watts output with my Yaesu FT-857d yielded some some amazing results using WXJT software .After setting up the dipole for the lowest SWR on my tuner and getting my HF radio to work together with shack computer for handling the precise timing of my 5 watt WSPR beacon, I was ready for transmitting! And time would tell what kind of interesting propagation paths I could make on 20 meters. So I waited and let the WXJT program run for about two hours making automated periodic transmissions from the dipole. After 2 hours, I decided to switch off the WSPR beacon and went directly online to check the WSPR reporting map to see if anyone was able to pick up my weak signal beacon. Wow! The reporting map showed many stations hearing my 5 watt signal and the furthest DX station that heard the KB8QAP beacon was VK5HW-1 just south of Adelaide, Australia at a whopping distance of 16,143 KM away!. Then I spotted a SWL station had reported hearing my 5 watt beacon off the eastern coast of New Zealand at a distance of 13,739 KM away from me!
The propagation paths for this antenna went across Europe, with WSPR listeners sending in their automated reception reports from across Austria, Germany, France, Luxemburg, Netherlands, England, Spain, and as far north as Iceland. The antenna was heard nicely across US, Canada, and South America too. And I have no doubt if I had let the WSPR beacon program run a few hours longer on 20 meters or had tried other HF bands, more propagation paths would have been discovered to other parts of the globe.
The unexpected and welcome surprise during this test was receiving a confirmation signal report from the South Pole! As DP0GVN/1 located at the German Antarctic Research Station called the Nuemayer III was able to decode my beacon at 23:20 UTC on the date of 09/27/2023 giving me a report of -21 db. Incredible to know that research station was completely shrouded by heavy snow and blowing winds during my beacon test. (see the DP0GVN webcam image below) Using the WXJT software is extremely helpful for exploring the propagation paths of your HF antennas you own and to satisfy the curiosty of those who enjoy QRP and DXing."
Webcam view of weather conditions at Neumayer III in Antartica recorded on 09/28/2023.
Above image: WSPR Coverage Area Map of my 5 watt signal being heard across Europe, Americas, Pacific Rim, and YES! Antartica! using my attic wire attic dipole.
Below image: At the summit of Mt. Pisgah in Holland, Michigan I work some good QRP with the Buddipole© Buddistick vertical antenna. This is a fine antenna for working DX in the field using digital modes, ssb, or cw.
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