Scenarios: Scenario IYou agree to hook-up with some friends via a preagreed SOI (Signal Operations Instructions). You want to try out your new QRP (Low Power) rig, a Yaesu 817nd, which top wattage is 5 watts. You charge up the radio, gather up some extra batteries too, pack your new toy in your field pack and head off into the woods.
After a nice hike on a 55 degree afternoon, you come upon a nice tree to set-up under and throw up your antenna on a overhanging branch about 20' high.
You are out for the night so you first throw up your antenna, a end fed antenna that you picked up from
EARC in Hawaii. You position the antenna in the general direction of where net control or TOC (Tactical Operations Center) will be operating from. Once the antenna launching was completed you unpack your tent or set-up your hammock. Gather some firewood for a nice little fire, and cook dinner.
After the sun sets and you are fed you hook up your antenna to the 817nd (or any QRP Radio) pour yourself a cup of an adult beverage, throw another log on the fire and turn your radio on.
You are about 30 minutes before the QSO (Net) is supposed to start so you spin the knob to see what is out there. You are pretty excited as you are hearing a lot of traffic on the band that was outlined in the P.A.C.E. (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency) part of the SOI. You try to make some contacts using phone but unfortunately nobody acknowledges your call. You think, "no worries as the operators on my net will pull me out".
At the agreed upon time you are on the Primary frequency and low and behold you hear a request for call-ins for the, lets say...The Unchainedpreppers net. You wait for a few other radio operators to call-in and for that old coot JohnyMac to shut up. There is a break in the action and send out your call but no acknowledgement. So you try again and a person on the net reports that there is someone in the weeds (In the noise level) trying to call-in, "does anybody hear them?" The response from everyone is, "negative."
So you try and try again but to no avail. You sit there totally deflated as most of the folks on the net are coming into your radio loud and clear or at least readable. You are pissed. All of your planning has been for not. Your new $600- radio is in essence just a boat anchor.
Lets skip the obvious and stay away from, "well buddy, you should have tried out your equipment before you trudged off into the woods" and have some fun with what your recommendation would be.
A) Should you have brought to the party a heavier (in weight and power consumption) radio, like the bigger brother to the 817nd the 857, that could go up to 100 watts?
B) Put up a different antenna that you have more faith in, like a center fed dipole?
C) Moved the positioning of the slanted QRP antenna, in different directions trying to get at least one of the folks on the net to hear ya'?
D) Other?
Let the peroration begin...
