[600MRG] Do you feel 630-meters is practical for ham use?

[William E. Isakson]

Yes Steve.  That was my purpose in participating, to show that it could be
done as a practical matter.   I ran a station near San Francisco for a
while at less than 1/2 watt out from my apartment, yes, that is apartment,
a four unit apartment house.   I used a mid loaded vertical total height
about 38 feet and my total actual dirt space was about 5 feet X 23 feet.  I
was able to receive with this and also transmit.   There were no nearby
stations to receive, though one person across the bay without an antenna
said he could not hear it, but again, he did not have an antenna for the
band.   I had a positive reception report from Oklahoma on CW mode.  He was
using a modern active receiving antenna.    I moved to another bay area
location, a home with a city lot and got similar results with an 18 foot
tall top loaded antenna at a half watt or less.   At both locations field
trips with a mobile radio on a 40 meter hamstick for reception showed
strong signals up to 3 or 4 miles away, even on the non-resonant short (5
foot) antenna.
I think the band is viable and that what some are seeing as low power
limits are actually quote strong enough for common use.
Bill Isakson

--------


Bill Isakson     AC6QV
Roseburg, Oregon USA
bill.isakson at gmail.com



On Wed, Mar 25, 2015 at 1:53 PM, Eric P. Nichols <kl7aj at acsalaska.net>
wrote:

> I remember as a kid using phono oscillators to broadcast about half a
> mile. :)
> sbjohnston at aol.com wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >  Another question:  Do you feel 630-meters is practical for ham use?
> >
> > My experiments so far seem to indicate that a typical ham on a suburban
> lot could
> > operate on 475-kHz under the ERP restrictions we envision.  That sort of
> station on
> > CW he or she would produce reliable statewide coverage during the day,
> and
> > regional, several-state-wide coverage at night.  Continental coverage
> would be
> > possible using more elaborate, computerized, negative signal-to-noise
> ratio
> > modulation techniques.
> >
> > My station is described at
> >
> > http://www.wd8das.net/630m.html
> >
> > I've tried to keep the techniques I've used very basic and not exceed
> what would be
> > "typical" for ham installations.  But as some guys have pointed out, I'm
> probably
> > not a typical ham in terms of experience, knowledge, or drive.  What are
> your
> > thoughts?  Do you feel 630-meters is practical for ham use?  Should an
> allocation
> > be granted and hams give it a try?
> >
> > Thanks...
> >
> >
> >
> > Steve WD8DAS / WH2XHY
> >
> > sbjohnston at aol.com
> > http://www.wd8das.net/
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Radio is your best entertainment value.
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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>
>
> --
> Eric P. Nichols, KL7AJ
> AlasKit Educational and Scientific Resources
> http://alaskit.co
> 3763 Lyle Avenue
> P.O. Box 56235
> North Pole, AK 99705
> (907) 488-0483
>
>
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