Aden....Just stick the thing in the air...get off channel 19....and find a channel that has people talking on it, and start Keying the Mic!
BEST time to try and make LONG DISTANCE contacts, is going to be during the daytime hours, when skip is rolling. (skip also rolls at night too, but usely during the day. And not everyday.)
Most important, is just to have fun with it.
Also Im assuming you have your antenna right up next to the house. So even though you have the thing 50' in the air, it's only going to be about 25' above the roof.(assuming its a single storie house) May want to add some more poles, or move it out away from the house somewhere. (this may not be practical) Also need to make sure you have enough guyed wires, so the thing doesn't "sway". One good thunderstorm, and it could come crashing down through the roof!<img src=http://users.joplin.com/dutch64804/goodluck.gif ALT=":good">
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BEST time to try and make LONG DISTANCE contacts, is going to be during the daytime hours, when skip is rolling. (skip also rolls at night too, but usely during the day. And not everyday.)
Most important, is just to have fun with it.
Also Im assuming you have your antenna right up next to the house. So even though you have the thing 50' in the air, it's only going to be about 25' above the roof.(assuming its a single storie house) May want to add some more poles, or move it out away from the house somewhere. (this may not be practical) Also need to make sure you have enough guyed wires, so the thing doesn't "sway". One good thunderstorm, and it could come crashing down through the roof!<img src=http://users.joplin.com/dutch64804/goodluck.gif ALT=":good">
