This was my fourth year running QRP (5 watts) in this event from an isolated cabin at Loon Lake, Washington (in EWA, north of Spokane).  Band conditions this year were very good with the A index hovering around 4 and the K index at 1 for most of the weekend.  Like last year, I used my Elecraft K3S and could hear fairly well for most of the contest compared to receive conditions at my home QTH back in the city.  The cabin is designed for summer-only use, which means that operating when there in December can be something of a challenge. I set up a small electric heater under my chair to ward off frostbite.

 Fortunately, setting up the antennas was a breeze since there was temporarily no snow on the ground.  My two transmit antennas consisted of a dipole with its feedpoint up 60 feet in a pine tree and a 55-foot tall inverted L with two elevated radials for longer distances. Both antennas were on top of a 90-foot hill surrounded by lake to the north, east, and south.  Observed noise levels using the dipole ranged from -98dbm in the early evening to -120dbm predawn.  I also set up a VE3DO receive loop based on the design posted by Jim Brown, K9YC, at http://audiosystemsgroup.com/VE3DO.pdf.  The K3S’s internal preamp was more than adequate for boosting the input from the receive loop.

 Lessons Learned:  Each year I learn something new.  This time, there were five “Lessons Learned”: 1) the benefits of SO2V, 2) the value of replacing window-line feed with lower loss ladderline, and 3) the importance of tuning your inverted L’s elevated radials, 4) the limitations of vertical polarization in a pine forest, and 5) the dramatic impact of grayline propagation.

Lesson 1 -- SO2V (Single Operator, Two VFOs):  I have enjoyed using my K3S with spectral pan display during the ARRL 160 Contest for several years.  But this was the first year that I made heavy use of the rig’s subreceiver by operating SO2V – by listening for CQ responses with my left ear while searching for new multipliers with my right ear.  This operating technique took some getting used to but definitely boosted my productivity during the slower portions of the contest.

 Lesson 2 – The benefits of lower loss ladder line:  Until now, my dipole has been fed via 250-feet of commercially-made window-type ladderline.  I noticed in previous years that my QSO rate would drop dramatically whenever it began to rain.  This was due to the increased dielectric loss caused by the standing water on the inch-wide plastic spacers of the window-line feed.  So this year I spend an afternoon replacing the window-type line with homemade low-loss ladderline made from 14 gauge wire separated by pieces of ¼ inch diameter dripline tubing from the local hardware store held in-place by plastic tie wraps.  This approach was inexpensive to make and effectively solved that problem, although it took several hours to fabricate.

 Lesson 3 – Don’t forget to tune your elevated radials:  Just because your elevated radials are all the same physical length doesn’t mean that they are the same electrical length.  My Inverted L uses a pair of elevated radials each up about 15 feet.  Although the two radials were exactly the same physical length, it turns out that they were different electrically due to variations in the local environment. I discovered this by using an MFJ RF current probe while transmitting a low power (1 watt) test signal and taking readings at equivalent points near each radial.  RF current readings indicated an imbalance with significantly more of the antenna’s current going to one of the two radials.  Lengthening the second radial by 12 inches resolved this imbalance and reduced the ground losses resulting in improved radiation efficiency.

 Lesson 4 – Vertical polarization sucks in the middle of a rain-soaked pine forest:  Even though my dipole at Loon Lake is physically high (~150 feet above local terrain), on 160 meters this antenna is functionally an NVIS (near-vertical incidence skywave) antenna with not much power emitted at the lower elevation angles. My signal was strong into Oregon and Idaho, while working stations on the Midwest and East Coast was a real challenge.  I have used inverted L designs at locations in California with great success, but here in Eastern Washington, things were different. Readings of my test transmissions from my inverted L and dipole via the Reverse Beacon Network showed the dipole to be slightly more effective, and I likewise found the dipole during the contest to be slightly more effective even for long range contacts. My suspicion is that since I was operating from the middle of a forest, the vertically-polarized radiation from the inverted L was attenuated by the surrounding pine trees most at least 80- to 100 feet tall – i.e. visualize a monopole surrounded by an infinite array of lossy dielectric cylinders.  A recent article in QST had warned against absorption losses on Top Band if an antenna were closer than about 20 feet, so I had positioned the vertical-portion of the inverted L so that the nearest trees were greater than 25 feet away. Even so, I noticed that incoming signals received via the inverted L were still a bit weaker than received signals via the dipole even for signals from the East Coast. Not surprisingly, I made very few contacts during the contest with the inverted L except toward the northwest where local topography partially blocked the dipole.

 Lesson 5 – Grayline is a hoot:  Being near the Canadian border, sunset in December is before 4pm and with daybreak around 8am.  Morning grayline propagation to Japan and Asiatic Russia from this location during the contest were pretty dramatic and occurred both days around 8:30am local time.  A high-point of the weekend was my successful QSO with RT0F in Asiatic Russia – not bad for 5 watts on Top Band!

 Since I was running QRP, my transmit signal wasn’t big — which meant that 80% of the folks that I could hear couldn’t hear me. But I still had fun and achieve a final count of 151 contacts and 45 multipliers.  My goal for next year will be to see if I can raise the dipole a bit higher and hopefully complete my goal of Worked All States on 160/QRP/CW.  (I still need Florida, South Carolina and Mississippi.)