12/12/2008 | KJ4WD This was my first 160 meter contest and first time on 160 meters. I don't have a 160 meter antenna. Ive been meaning to put up a 160 meter inverted L but havent gotten around to it (too many contests to work!). But, I followed a suggestion from QST magazine. I disconnected the shack end of my dipole's ladder line from its balun and shorted the ends together. Then, I ran a jumper to my homebrew tuner. I didnt expect much from the jury rig but to my pleasant surprise, I was able to load up my Kenwood TS-520S between 1.8 and 1.9 mhz with no trouble. I worked QSO's in New England, the Midwest and the Southeast. Im sure my limited success was more of a tribute to the operating skills and the receiving equipment on the other end than due to the performance of my antenna. Fun contest! Thanks to the ARRL and all the Topband participants.



73, Carl KJ4WD -- KJ4WD