Back on the air

I've moved to the little town (that no longer exists) of Limestone, Tennessee, with my parents.  I'm staying in their motorhome while I get back on my feet with another job.  They've allowed me to set up a handmade 20 meter dipole as a sloper with the high end about 20 feet in the air.  I've been able to get the dipole to "tune" on 10-20 meters quite nicely at 100 watts.  Checking the power meter on my 706, I'm really putting about 80-90 watts out but that's good enough for me.

I have discovered that I have enough stuff to build myself another G5RV Junior, so that's in the works too.  I'm hesitant to spend money on supports, such as thick PVC pipe, to put up the antenna here (there's only about three small trees on the property and all of them are in the back).  We'll see what happens on that.

I've been working some DX even with the rotten conditions lately.  I've worked Aruba, Wales, Venezuela, and Guantanamo Bay (Cuba).  I heard a station from the Dominican Republic last night and he was booming in here with a very strong and clear signal.  He was using a hexbeam antenna; Dad and I both want one.

So I hope I'll keep this blog updated a lot more often. :)