ZL2AFP has a new narrow band weak signal digital mode designed specifically for conditions on 80 and 160 meters.  His present software is designed primarily for testing the new mode and, although quite useable, is not particularly user friendly at this point.  It can be downloaded at http://www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/CMSK/cmsk.htm    CMSK63 is the default mode (30 wpm).  The program's author has made no suggestions about where experimenters might get together to test the new mode.   10136 khz seems to have become a watering hole for those interested in experimenting with CMSK.  With the approach of Fall,  activity on 80 and 160 is expected to increase.  If you'd like to play around with the mode listen around 10136 and look for signals with a bandwidth of about 100 hz (CMSK63)

If you're able to do so, I suggest you first model your antenna using EzNec or some other antenna modeling program to get some idea of the kinds of interactions you can expect with your proposed spacings and layout.   

In any case... start first with your lowest frequency element and get it right before going on to the next highest frequency element.  The lower frequency elements will have a bigger effect upon the higher frequency elements than the reverse.  This is the exact reverse of how you would go about adjusting a "trap" dipole. Also, in order to minimize interaction I suggest that you try not to have all the elements in the same vertical plane, i.e., one above the the other. 

You can only do this for two of the elements, but try to place the elements at right angles to each other.  Unless you're putting your antenna up rather high, it probably doesn't matter from a horizontal pattern point of view how you orient the 80 and 60 meter elements and perhaps the 40 meter element as well since a good portion of your radiation on these bands may  be of the "cloud warming" variety anyway, particularly if you're using an inverted vee configuration.

I recently installed a parallell dipole antenna for 10,12,15 and 17 meters in my attic.  All the elements were in the same vertical plane and were separated by about 3 inches.  I started with the 17 meter element and got it as close as I could and then worked up thru the 15,12, and ten meter elements in that order.  It was really tedious and the 110-120 degree South Florida attic temperatures in the summertime didn't help matters!

I've had several similar experiences on eBay where I've "won" bids and got royally ripped off on the shipping charges.  In one case I provided feedback of a negative nature regarding the vendor and got a really nasty e-mail from the vendor.  I don't even look at eBay any more.  Those folks better get their act together or this "shipping charge" racket will really hurt them.
 

With the proliferation of digital modes the task of identifying what mode the other guy is using (if it isn't rtty or psk31) can become  fairly difficult.  Most of us using digital software have the rxid/txid feature as part of our software. 

When you turn your txid on, you broadcast a short signal before actually transmitting on whatever mode you've selected.  Another station who has his rxid turned on can automatically detect your mode (based on the short txid signal you transmitted) and switch to that mode automatically.  Depending upon your software you can transmit an identifier at the begining of each transmission and also at the end of the transmission.

Experienced users of the more "exotic" digital modes are already aware of rsid.  This post is for those of you who are not aware of it and how to use it.  If you hear a mode and can't figure out what it is, turn on your rsid.  If the sending station has bothered to turn on his txid then you will be able to identify his mode if you happen to catch either the beginning or end of his transmission.

Simon...Charles is right about PSK31 being a poor mode for 160.  It's usually way too noisy. I've had my best luck using Olivia on the band.  It will work on signals that are 10-12db. BELOW the noise level.  Don't know what your antenna situation is there in HS land.  I have flown kites (parafoils actually) with wires up to 325 feet long on 160 in the past on a temporary basis.  They can work quite well even though they make noisy receiving antennas.  Of course you need to be in a location where there's no danger of the wire coming down across power lines or on someone else's property.  Since you are unable to operate up on the most popular digital frequencies I suggest that you announce your mode and frequency on the DX Summit website while operating on 160.

Charles...I live in an HOA but still manage to get on 160 with a long wire stapled up under the eaves of my house about ten feet above ground.  It's invisible. It's a little lesss than a quarter wavelength but easily tunes with a remote antenna tuner sitting in a weatherproof container on my back porch.  Typically I only manage to work out to distances of 4 or 500 miles but have worked as far away as 1100 miles down into the Caribbean (using RTTY of all things!)

Tim

"Non illegitamati carborundum"

KA1YUW:

Wise Chinese saying... "Engage brain before putting mouth in gear."

Wade:

It's homebrew design using aluminum tubing from Texas Towers.  I first dug a 3 foot deep hole about 2 feet square.  I then encapsulated a 5 foot piece of 1 inch galvanized steel pipe into a 5 foot piece of PVC with end caps on both ends.  I mounted the encapsulated pipe in the hole and filled it with concrete - making extra certain it was vertical!  I think my base mount is overkill but I'm reasonably certain it wont fail. The pipe projects two feet above the ground and comes up thru a hole in a homebrew aluminum ground plate.  Radials are fastened to the plate.  I have a half inch thick sheet of lexan plastic with a hole in the center just big enough to allow the encapsulated pipe to project thru it just above the ground plate.  The base of the flagpole rests on the lexan plate. The 'flagpole' simply slips over the encapsulated pipe.  I wound a concentric coil around the base of the flagpole and can tap it for use on 60 and 80 meters.  On the other bands I require no base loading to help out the remote autotuner.  The base assembly is conveniently covered with a plastic flower pot purchased from Lowes for about $2.00!  I use a 3 foot diameter round mulch pad from Lowes to cover up the grass where the radials join the ground plate.  I use landscaping bricks around the periphery of the mulch pad. I can take the flagpole down in about ten seconds after disconnecting the coax.

I fly the flag daily and observe proper flag etiquette.  I don't leave it up at night unless lit and don't leave it up in the rain etc.  I get notifications of when to fly it at half staff via e-mail over the internet.

It's worked out well for me.  I'll send you some photos if I can find your e-mail address on QRZ.com

Tim, N4UM

(R)eadability is pretty straightforward and certainly provides the most useful information.   I use the following rules of thumb... An R5 indicates 100 percent perfect copy.  An R4 indicates more than about 75 but less than 100% copy.   An R3 indicates roughly 25 to 50% and an R2 is less than 25%.  An R1 indicates zero copy.  Unless its a dire emergency I typically bail out of QSOs if I cant copy at least 75%.

(S)trength is more difficult to interpret since many PSkers use little in the way of IF filtering.  The strongest signal in their passband determines what their S meter says - even if it's not the signal they happen to be decoding. S-meters are pretty arbitrary anyway so who cares? The brightness of the waterfall trace they're decoding could be interpreted as a relative measure of  (S)trength.    But again, who cares?

(T)one is one of those things that isn't really very helpful unless it's something other than 9.  Traces of ripple could indicate problems with power supply filtering, rf getting back into the computer/soundcard etc.  I'm fortunate to have two independent stations and can use one to monitor the other.  On more than one occasion I've noted a less then T9 tone on my signal.  Invariably this has happened when a ground wire connecting the computer to the transceiver has become disconnected.
 
I normally do not provide formal signal reports unless asked to do so and don't ask others for reports.  RST reports were originally designed as a sort of shorthand for use on CW.  IMHO they serve little real purpose on the digital modes.  In fact, they don't seem to serve much purpose on CW these days when everybody is 5NN even if they're uncopyable and one has to get their call signs off of a DX reflector!

I live in an HOA.  I have attic dipoles and an under-the-eaves Marconi for 160 but my best all round antenna is a 20 foot "flagpole" with 50  20 foot radials under it.  I use a remote autotuner under a Rubbermaid container on my back porch to tune the thing thru 13 feet of Davis RF "Buryflex" coax.  Another 70 feet of coax connects my rig to the autotuner. The flagpole works well on 40 thru 6 meters.  To get on 60 and 80 I add inductance right at the base of the flagpole.  You can see a photo of my flagpole on my QRZ.com listing.

Here in Florida we have a flagpole law permitting flagpoles up to 20 feet regardless of HOA rules or local building codes etc.   I don't know what your situation is but you might be able to get permission to erect a "flagpole."  If you put some thought into it and design the thing right no one need know it's also functioning as an antenna.  It's important that you keep your amateur radio activities under the radar. 

I think the best advice I can give you is to keep trying different things and see what works best for you, regardless of what the antenna gurus say might happen. 


Don't give up!

If you're really worried about sudden wind storms the prudent thing would be to typically leave the tower cranked down.  Try it cranked down for a while and see how it works for the type of operating you usually do.  If it's performance is acceptable, leave it cranked down unless you're stalking a new rare one or operating in a DX contest.

Where I live in South Florida it's not unusual for a run of the mill afternoon thunderstorm to sometimes pack winds over 70 MPH. Most crank up owners lose their towers in this area - not to hurricanes, for which we usually have a week or more's warning, but to thunderstorms that happen while they're at work or at the beach etc. 

Olivia was NOT chosen for NBEMS, although it is included in the Fldigi software for NBEMS.  Olivia  does not work well in an ARQ  environment.  It is slow, however, it is extremely robust and easy to tune. NBEMS typically employs variations of MFSK and several other modes for error free file exchanges using Fldigi in conjunction with Flarq.  I suggest you contact KB3FXI to get information on his group's experience using NBEMS in an emcomm setting. 

I don't think the creators of NBEMS would agree with it being described as "cobbled together."  It is not a commercial venture and was developed by a very hard working group of amateurs, several of whom happen to be very talented programmers. NBEMS is constantly being tested and undergoing extensive revisions on a continuing basis.  It is anything but "cobbled." Check out w1hjk.com for iinformation on NBEMS.

My comments are addressed to the grousing newbie - AE5RY.

You may be a math wizard and a hot shot engineer but you've still got a lot to learn about about marriage! 

I've been married for 50 years and been a ham for 56.  During most of my married life where we lived was largely determined by how "ham friendly" the neighborhood was. Each of us had veto power over where we were going to live.  If I couldn't put up "decent antennas" I'd veto the place no matter how much my wife wanted to live there.  If my wife felt she couldn't live in a place that I wanted because of its antenna possibilities, she'd veto the place. It worked pretty well - although I think I really got the better end of the deal - at least for the first 49 years!

Last year my wife decided that she wanted to live in one of these geriatric ghettos primarily because it had a large number of organized activities. Of course it had draconian antenna prohibitions and other kinds of restrictions that are contrary to my live-and-let-live philosophy.  I decided not to exercise my veto power and agreed to do so.  I have been operating with stealth antennas but I certainly don't feel like I "lost" anything.  It seems only fair that my wife should get a chance to live in the sort of place she wants.  Neither one of us has a helluva lot more years to go.  She's put up with hundred foot towers, irate neighbors and worried about becoming an instant widow should my climbing belt fail while working on a tower. I don't see any reason why she shouldn't enjoy her remaining years free of these concerns.

Frankly I enjoy the challenge of operating within the restrictions posed by my new QTH and I don't think I'm rationalizing when I say this.  I don't see my marriage as a zero-sum game.  Any marriage in which there are "winners" and "losers" will eventually result in both parties becoming losers.

There's a line from an old rock n' roll song that goes..." If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."  I think that same sentiment can be applied to antennas.

Why don't you grow up and go up - (into the attic that is.)  Put up an attic antenna or an attractive flagpole with a bunch of radials underneath it. You said your wife seemed pleased when she saw the flagpole at one of the places you visited.  In any case,  quit bitching and whining.  Your time might be better spent learning the code, reading up on stealth antennas or consulting with a good marriage counselor or divorce lawyer

I've done it both ways several times and I also feel that a stub section is preferable.  I would place the first section on the stub and support it with the house bracket before pouring the concrete.  Of course you want to make sure the thing is truly vertical and well braced.   Remember that if the stub is not vertical you can't adjust it like a base plate. I also think its a good idea to slope the surface of the concrete down and away from the points where the stub legs enter it so that the water doesn't puddle at these points.

Try Googling "AZMAP"   AZMAP creates an azmithal map of the world centered on the location you specify.