Pictures of an HF Vertical Dipole Array on the beach at ZF2B Cayman Islands

Jon KL2A writes:

Greetings from the sunny Cayman Islands!

 

Post Contest, Monday Update:

It looks as if our two-man team may have won our Low Power category for NA and maybe the world? Most certainly we surpassed the old North American Record by a 40% margin.

Our vertical antennas played a vital role in our success with reports of 7 S-units louder at times over the tall stack of Yagi's on the big tower. A welcomed boost and diversity when the angles offered it.  H

ow, you ask? It's a little magic called "salt water." Verticals have a very low angle and the ocean looks like a giant dish to the stars to a vertical, sending our signal with a perfect ground system essentially 1000's of miles wide.

 

 

Update: Friday is now, the contest starts tonight. We are ready in the Caymans. Will be a two man team operating 10M down to 160M with the flow of the Greyline from day to night. This should be an easy hop from anywhere in the USA with your Greyline Verticals, many of you even on 160M. Give us a call, we will hear you. Have fun in CQWW SSB! Remember, print out NG3K.com's list of active contest stations the world over.

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Get ready for a massively radio active weekend as the CQWW SSB contest is right around the corner. This is the Superbowl of ham radio contests, and it's happening this weekend worldwide. One of our favorite teams is in Zone 8-9 (Caribbean). That said, teams from all around the world are gearing up for some friendly competition. The bands are in excellent shape, with experts calling it "the best radio conditions in 20 years" continuing through Saturday.

Pro Tip: Print out the NG3K.com List of DX Stations Active this contest weekend and give them a call or two on every band from 160-10 meters. It's going to be an absolute blast.

In the picture, you can see our "Greyline" experimental 2-element vertical array pointed towards Europe.

Jon wrote, "This week is ham radio operator's version of Boy Scout camp. A friend and I arrived early this week to set up HF vertical arrays right on the beach. While we have a stack of Yagi antennas for 20-10 meters, we wanted to experiment with vertical angles. Yes, we're always playing with antennas, every chance we get. hi hi."

Surprisingly, these verticals are delivering outstanding performance. They often outshine the stacked Yagis both in transmitting signals and received signal-to-noise rations (SNR). Verticals offer a lower angle in theory and when placed at the water's edge, seem to have a knack for picking up signals from the surface of the ocean, where Yagis might miss out. Of course, Yagis have their strengths too, and it's great to have both vertical and horizontal options for the big game. Just like our HOA QTHs back home, having diversity in antennas can be quite helpful. Many use an EFHW and a Greyline Vertical Dipole or Flagpole Antenna. The EFHW leans towards regional (up to 1000 miles) and the Vertical focuses on the low angle, Real DX work. It's a good marriage if you can do it.

Let's all hope for the best angles to arrive at our QTHs this week. Be sure to cancel those appointments and have a ton of fun with ham radio once again! After all it's all of us, estimated 30,000 people, together for the weekend. Keep an ear out for us on the bands.

73 KL2A (ZF2B)

 

 

 

-- Greyline writes:

For those fortunate enough to have saltwater in their backyard, consider yourselves quite lucky – it's like having a "bonus 10dB" which translates to about 3 S-Units on the meter. For the rest of us, we make the most of what we have at our QTH, and that's where the Greyline Performance antennas shine bright with high performance on land or sea.

If you can't manage to put up a towering 50-70' tall tower or antenna, don't fret. Instead, think about a vertical dipole antenna (or Flagpole Antenna) standing at a modest 20-24-28 feet high. You'd be amazed by the results you can achieve with this setup, which can rival the performance of a 50-70' inverted vee antenna all the way down to 80 meters. Yes, really. It's all about making the most of your available angles in the world of ham radio. You too can find low angles at your QTH. We hope you'll agree and get on the air to enjoy the peak of this Cycle 25, happening now! Oh, and, please find ZF2B and give them a call. Have fun!