Amateur Radio Station N7VY
Page, Arizona
The Amateur Radio Station, N7VY is primarily used as
a QRP contest station. Operating as QRP means, maximum output to the antennas is at
5 watts of power. Most contest stations operate at 1500 watts of power, or 9.5 times
the power of a QRP station. The decision to operate QRP was determined by two things.
First was my neighbors phoning or ringing my doorbell during contest times, which
normally last 24 to 48 hours at a whack. Secondly, I found out that I can compete
on a national and worldwide level using only 5 watts of power.
The equipment that I use, is the best ( in my opinion )that is
available. The decision to purchase a Yaesu FT1000D moved me from the middle of the
pack to placing consistently in the top 10. The next step was to maximize my signal
getting into the air. First I chose to install a Force 12 C-3 antenna. I found this
antenna to have the least amount of loss then any other. The next step
was to stack a pair of C-3's, using a WX0B's stackmatch and feeding the array
with Belden 9913 coax.