160 Meter Tips and Tricks - Weekend Special

Its the CQ WW 160-Meter CW Contest this weekend! Tim, K3LR is here to talk all things 160 Meters on this weeks episode of DX Engineering's the Weekend Special.

[@lomgshorts3]

I have operated 160 Meter voice and CW since 1980. I ran a full sized dipole, then ran a 160 EFHW both 60' above ground level. The EFHW antenna compared beautifully with the standard dipole, but under different band conditions. The EFHW antenna worked better under good propagation, but suffered badly under low signal propagation. The full dipole worked better under poor low propagation conditions. This has been an observation taken over 43 years of activity on the 160/80 meter bands. I have tried other types of antennas, but they never measured up to the original antenna designs I first built. The tuner I used was a Heathkit SA-20260, before that was a home brewed differential "T" tuner which worked quite well. 90 watts out of a set of Drake Twins almost always got me 5-9z + reports.

[@johnwest7993]

Use a high Q tunable mag-loop for receive, definitely, and on xmit too if you build a large one. It can save having to set aside a couple of acres of land.

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

Years ago I used on of DX Eng 43 ft vertical and about 80 ft of stainless steel fishing line and a SGC-237 coupler at the base of ant... worked 160m, didn't do very well but I was on 160, which was the goal.

[@hobbified]

My 160 TX antenna is a modified Hustler 6BTV. I took off the 80m resonator and whip, threw a wire over a nearby tree (never measured it, but it's probably another 30 feet up from the top of the mast), put about a 25uH coil at the bottom end of it, and then hose-clamped it to the top of the mast. It resonates right at 1900, with SWR < 3 across the band. The Hustler loses 40 and 80 but it still works fine on 10 through 30. For a receive antenna I have a 100' circumference loop-on-ground, with a 9:1 beverage transformer and a DXE-RPA-2 to make up feedline loss. Works quite nicely and doesn't need as much linear space as a BoG.

[@margaqrt]

Lots of good 160 meter inspirations here, this popped up in my suggestions. AI on KZbin is pretty good. I also wanted to convey thanks from the Saint Paul Radio Club for the lecture you hosted a couple months ago. I'm a member of the board. 73 de KE0RFZ.

[@timmack2415]

My 1/2 wave 160 Meter vertical dipole (262 feet) seems the best I've tried. Even better, in most cases, than shunt feeding my 90-foot tower. 73, AA2HA

[@richarde735]

thanks Tim!

[@granttaylor3697]

Yes, 160m is a good band for testing my home made AM broadcast transmitters on, as it is still a MF band not a HF band. I am now working on a very new vertical antenna system, that is designed for high gain and it also has a wide bandwidth, so there is no requirement for any Antenna Tuning Unit (ATU) to be used. Where you only need a minimum high of 1/8 wavelengths, where it is not a 1/4 wave like some other designs out there. I am not one for using CW nor Contesting, but I have a lot fun experimenting with new ideas and building radio equipment to use on the Ham bands.

[@VP2EIHonAnguillaIsland]

Hii Tim Happy Fri from Ira-VP2EIH 🇦🇮Anguilla Island 🇦🇮

[@sq5ebm]

This season i did not have enough time for a proper 160m antenna so my INV-L has some 44ft vertical section only. Some 30 radials and a matching coil. In october i had only 50DXCC made there. Now it is more than 100. Maybe not much but got from CE to VK and even a KH6. RX antennas are: 4 bevs (SA/PAC/VK/USA), EWE, LOG 100m circumference + i too find my 2el 40m to be a good RX antenna :). Waiting for LOTW + paper QSLs (gonna take some time due to covid postal restrictions) and will get my 160m DXCC. 160m is the last HF band i did not have 100 and more worked. I would only dream that the ARRL and CQ Magazine make it mandatory for contest participants to use LOTW. There are so many DXCC that have the means but no will to go LOTW instead $$$.

[@fredbissnette3104]

I have a 264 foot dipole and I get out just fine not that I've found anyone who will talk to me for more than 30 seconds after scolding me seems to be an old boys club

[@reggie9997]

My 80 meter dipole is resonant on 160.

[@wb5zddtony854]

I've never worked 160m, I was thinking about a magnetic loop antenna with remote adjustable capacitor. You know for people that don't have 5 acres of open space. ;)

[@hobbified]

100W in, 1mW radiated?

[@anthonycosta1776]

Antenna on the ground. That's funny unless you want to keep a private communication with your next door neighbor.

[@enioamaraldepaiva6837]

PW8BR AMARAL RONDÔNIA 73

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Tim, I've been using a Terminated Inverted U antenna. It works from 160m - 6m without a tuner and SWR less than 1.8:1 across the bands. It's two 12m fiberglass Spiderpoles spaced at 20 ft using the balun and terminating resistor from Cross Country Wireless. You can find info here. www.crosscountrywireless.net/terminated_inverted_u.html I am going to increase the spacing to 60 ft using a design by AA7OK. Won't need the balun or resistor. Should give the same or better performance. Wish my CW was good enough to participate in the contest. Stay safe. 73 WJ3U

[@VeteranInThePhilippines-uy6uc]

Humm. Hi-Q antennas makes 10 thru 160 meter mobile screwdriver antenna and I have made over 200 contacts mobile

[@r9scp638]

А вот на Русском..... ??????? .....

[@r9scp638]

А вот на Русском..... ??????? .....