5,453 Miles with 11 Watts?

[@AC3HT]

Thanks Doug. Really like the FT8 videos. I agree, it's amazing how far a small amount of RF wattage can travel. Good tip on the upper level DNR, too. Will have to try experimenting with the S/N ratio. 73.

[@n4hnhradio]

Thank you, David! I appreciate the Super Thanks too! I have some other FT8 videos planned.

[@Bad-wolfe]

I did UK to Samoa the other week on my 10W Foundation licence, a distance of just under 9500 miles. Helped me get my World Continents award on QRZ 🙂

[@2E0LMI]

Well done! With good antennas and operating skills you can work the world, and out of it, with 10W.

[@n4hnhradio]

Congratulations! I often tell people who are contemplating the purchase of an amplifier, “if propagation isn’t in your favor, 4,000W won’t be enough.”

[@JeffreyPadell]

I routinely work Australia, including Western Australia from Boston MA with 5 watts on my Kenwood TS-590 and Hustler 5BTV vertical antenna with only 12 radials.

[@jerryKB2GCG]

I recently did 3,610 miles on 4.5 Watts on my qrp-labs QDX during a POTA activation, that was fun!

[@n4hnhradio]

Which mode did you use?

[@jerryKB2GCG]

@@n4hnhradio The QDX is a digi only radio (and not all digi modes) I was using FT8 with a JOC-12 antenna. That little radio has great ears and fantastic clear signal, doesn’t really use SSB, just produces the single sidband

[@N4JAB]

I’m sure I need to watch one of your “how to set up ft8” videos bc I usually adjust that pwr slider to make my ALC drop. Something I need to fix. N4JAB

[@n4hnhradio]

I balance the audio levels in the computer and the radio to achieve the minimum ALC movement, with the PWR slider at max. Then I can lower the PWR slider to -3.1dB to get approximately 50W and -6.1dB for approximately 25W. I go through all of the steps in the guide I made for the Patreon team members who help me keep the channel going.

[@allenpamscofield]

I also run DNR on FT8....but at a level of 3 or 4. Great video, thanks for sharing! Now I need an amplifier....no, wait, correction, I WANT an amplifier ;)

[@n4hnhradio]

You know what I find funny, Allen? Ham radio has something for everyone. The QRP purists laugh about those who run 100W. They call 100W QRO. They will say, “you only gain a little over 3 S-units when you go from 5W to 100W. That assumes a perfectly accurate S-meter, displaying 1 S-unit for every 6dB. So if your signal at 5W is S-4, 100W gets you to S-7. Another funny thing is that you have to go from 100W to 1,600W to gain 2 more S-units and get to S-9. This is the law of diminishing return. It’s why I think a 500W amplifier makes the most sense.

[@Mikael5732]

I had a fellow longtime ham explain that in the same way as you just did Douglas, and 500 watts was what he suggested. Although he always pushed as many watts as he could. It is, the modes, are so diverse and variable that to my understanding you cannot always say “full speed ahead” all of the time. Just read the bio on your homepage, kind of blew me out of the water, just swimming back to shore. I do plan, Lord willing, on picking up one of those ftdx10’s. Do you like the cw on it?

[@n4hnhradio]

The FTdx10 is a boss at CW. Then the optional 300Hz roofing filter takes it another notch. If you watch all of the CW videos I made about that transceiver you will see what I mean.

[@davidc5027]

What is one of the most expensive ham radio items one will buy but yet get the least value out of it? IMHO it is an amplifier. Just ask yourself the following question.. Can you work most of the stations you can hear? If the answer is mostly yes, then I would say to leave an amplifier lower on the priority list. I don't regret buying one, because it is nice for when you really need it. Also, I know they maintain their value fairly well, so as long as I take care of it, I should be able to get most of the money back. This is a rule of thumb for FT8/4 especially for POTA. I do not run the amplifier on 20/40/80 meters when working POTA stations within the United States. Usually I keep it at 20-50 Watts as more is not needed. Of course your mileage may vary based on many factors, but hope that helps. 73

[@allenpamscofield]

@@davidc5027 Indeed, it is expensive. From the time I was licensed (1999), I've never had an amp. I've always wanted to try one to see how much of a difference it would make. I have been able to work most of the stations I hear without difficulty. Still, I'd like to have one...just to have it when I need it. For digital modes, I've never run more than 30 watts...and most of the time it's lower..around 20-25 watts and I make plenty of contacts. I do pretty well with 100 watts on my FTdx10 ;) Thanks for your comments! de KG4CNA

[@Mikael5732]

Thank you for the video. Interesting setup and very well done also. I do not own a FTDX10 yet, soon as I sell my TenTec Omni 6+ station that will be the next replacement. kj4pom

[@n4hnhradio]

The FTdx10 is soooo much radio for the money. Not perfect, but there is no perfect radio. But the FTdx10 gets close.

[@davidc5027]

I've had my FTDX10 since the end of 2021, and have been very happy with it. Would recommend for your consideration.

[@M-P-X]

18K KM with my Icom 705 on a vertical 🙂

[@davidc5027]

I have always been fearful of running NR more than a 1 or 2 with FT8/4. 99% of the time I just keep it off. It is an irrational fear of the signal being deep in the noise, and turning on noise reduction which is designed to reduce noise, somehow dropping those weak signals.

[@n4hnhradio]

It does make the signal reports appear odd. I give out a +25 and I get back a -07. The DNR makes their setup appear to be getting out much better than mine. But, it’s fair. The FT8/4 signal report isn’t about the S-meter. It’s about the signal-to-noise ratio. I’m just being generous. It’s similar to me using the 50Hz CW width and the notch trick. In emergency conditions I could block a signal from 100Hz away. But, if the person 100Hz away doesn’t have a transceiver as capable as mine, I will be interfering with their reception.

[@MikeB0001]

Just cant bring myself to "like" the FT modes...I'll do them when all else fails when I'm in a POTA and chasing from home. I wish there were chasers for POTA on RTTY...tried cqing on RTTY from a park with my DX10 but no takers. CW first for me...the rest are backups!😃

[@n4hnhradio]

I’m with you on digital. I don’t care for digital. I learned it because there was so much misinformation about it and the members of my Patreon support team asked me to sort it out. But mostly I operate CW. The vast majority of the SOTA stations I chase use CW. I use CW when I activate for SOTA. It’s exciting to work a station in Spain with my 7-ounce, 5W CW rig and an EFHW sloping down from a tree limb. It’s like going back to the roots of radio, without the spark-gap though.

[@MikeB0001]

@@n4hnhradio I'd be willing to try spark gap!😃

[@n4hnhradio]

Yeah, me too. But our fellow amateurs would not like it. Back in the days when the spark-gap transmitter was the thing, receivers were broad, and the spark emissions were broad. There wasn’t much separation. I wonder what our fellow hams on the band would think they are hearing? Probably blame it on a power line.

[@truckinguy92]

When you accomplish this same thing on SSB then come brag to me. You didn’t work the station, your computer did. They’d definitely a difference.

[@n4hnhradio]

I’m not even a fan of FT8. So you are picking on the wrong guy. I prefer CW. I’ve worked people that far, and farther, with 5W, using CW. I’ve been doing this since 1982. Do you think I haven’t worked the world?

[@n1rbd]

You've gone to the dark side. :)

[@n4hnhradio]

Ha! Only for my viewers.