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ClRCU 258 0JIj IILlDEIi SEIIYICE CAIIO
52 73Amateur Radio Today. May, 1991
and more high power stations to appear there.
If you listen on 17. you are in for some real
propagational surprises. One day the band
may be filled with signals from both the United
States and Europe; a few hours later. signals
from half a world away may be the only
ones you hear!
Just recently, the USSR Antarctic station,
4KIB, was heard here on the East Coast at
579-599 levels, while only a few kHz away
the USS R Arctic counterpart , 4K201L, on
Franz Josef Land. was coming through at
equally good signal strengths. The se stations
were almost 12.000 miles apart. yet both
were being worked by hams across the United
States.
Another eye-opener on 17 is the strength of
long-path signals. Stations in Australia and
New Zealand generally come through on the
short-path (i.e.• direct path) into the United
States during the early morning hours on 17
meters.
Later in the day, however, you can often
work these same VK/ZL stations with even
better results by using the long-path. The
same phenomenon appears on 20 meters. at
generally the same hours, but the long-path
signals on 17 usually seem stronger than they
doon 20.
DXing
Thus far, the IARU (International Amateur
Radio Union) has banned contest operations
on all three of the WARC bands. For those
hams who do not care to engage in the RF
mayhem of contesting, the WARC bands offe
r a respite on those winter weekends when it
appears that the rest ofthe world's population
is sending nothing but " CQ Test."
Little by little, however. OXpeditions are
discovering the new bands, particularly 17
meters. This is a knife that cuts both ways.
The presence of some of the more recent
DXped it ions on 17 has al lowed many hams to
have a taste of working a really rare one. In
somecases. the appearance ofthe expeditions
on the WARC bands gave many an opportunity
to work the DX they would not have had
on the other hands because the pile-ups were
smaller. and were far more disciplined.
This brings up another point about the
WARC bands. Much of the raucous and discourteous
operating habits found in such
abundance on the established bands is generally
nonexistent on the WARC frequencies,
even in the midst ofOX openings. Why this is
the case would be a good topic for a sociologist
or psychologist to explore. But so far. the
vitriol and hostility which have marred our
reputation around the world is simply absent
on the WARC hands.
Antennas
For many (probably most) hams, the antennas
ofchoice for the WARC bands seem to be
the ones they already have! However, some
time spent on putting up a good antenna for
30, 17 and 12 will payoff in huge dividends.
In preparation for writing this article, I
recently spent several hours on 17 meters,
listingthe various antennas Iheard in use. Far
and away, the most-used antenna appeared to
be either a 75 meter or 40 meter center-fed
Zepp. Not far behind eame the G5RV variation
on the same theme, followed by loops of
various confi gurations. Only a very few stations
seemed to be using resonant, multielement.
rotatable antennas. The ones who
were using them. though, "owned" their
frequencies!
I expect my experiences with antennas for
the WARC bands are typical. When 1 fi rst
used these bands, I loaded my "all-band
Zepp" on 30 meters with a Tcmatch tuner.
The results were good, and I was satisfied.
Then I heard a W8 who was using the same
rig I was, but was feed ing it into a 2-element
rotary. He and I often worked the same DX
stations back-to-beck , but he usually got a
589 or 599 from the DX station, compared to
my 569. Lesson learned!
A compromise antenna will work well on
the WARC bands. but a dedicated. resonant
antenna will work far better. There are several
dual-band yagis now available commercially
for 17and 12. I can highly recommend
the 2-element 12/1 7 beam available in kit
fonn from Gary Nichols KD9SV. owner of
SV Products. 4100 Fahlsing Rd.. Woodburn
IN 46797; but there are others available on
the market that are probably just as good.
Cushcraft now produces 3-elcmem trapped
1211 7 beams and monobanders for the
WARC bands. Also. a number of manufacturers
offer WARC add-on kits fo r their existing
antennas.
Rolling your own for the WARe bands,
especially for 17 or 12. would be a worthwhile
project, too. Boom lengths are certainly
reasonable (mine is only 8') and aluminum
tubing for the elements can be found in most
hardware stores. And, there is certainly no
reason not to use " thin wall" conduit (EMT
tubing), wh ich was the staple item for years
for nearly all home-brewed beams of earlier
times.
There have been several articles published
in the amateur literature on yagi designs for
12 and 17 meters. One of the best of these
appeared in the July 89 issue of Radio Communication
(the journal of the Radio Society
of Great Britain). This design uses three elements
on a fairly short boom. with a split
driven element. The advantage to this type of
construction is that the driven element can be
fed directly with the coax. so you won't need
to build a gamma matching device.
I hopethai this primer on WARC bands has
piqued your curiosity, and that you'll be interested
enough to give the new bands a try.
As I' ve pointed out. each ofthem has its own
appeal, especially as we look at deteriorating
propagation on the established bands. and the
increasing QRM as more and more stations
" move down" because of the decline in
sunspot activity. A good antenna for the
WARC bands is in reach of every ham, and
with one. you' ll find a new world ofoperating
pleasure awaiting you.
Why not hop on the WARC bandwagon
now?iii
Contact Drayton Cooper N4LBJ at P.O. Box
5, Bowling Grun SC 29703.