Checking RX on FT-710 AESS with RG 213 and No Antenna!

Checking RX on FT-710 AESS with RG 213 and No Antenna!

Today morning, my five year old grand kid wanted me to ‘use’ HF. So I had no option but to switch it on, though I have no antenna up there! Thirty meters of RG 213 cable running from the radio up to the first floor balcony was there, with the bare PL 259 pre-crimped connector hanging on the fence at about a height of 5 m from the ground. Connected the other end of the RG 213 cable with pre-crimped PL 259 connector to FT-710 AESS and chose 7 MHz band in the band selector. Tuned around to 7050 kHz, the Belgaum Net frequency and the net was going on. Here is a short video clip. Net control is clearly audible while other stations are not.

Tuned again to 7080 kHz, the Charminar Net frequency. There also, the net control was clearly audible while other stations were not. I am not having enough space at home to put up a 40 m dipole antenna. So I tried to hear what was going on at 14 and 21 MHz. Though I tuned around a bit, I could not hear any activity there. May be because it was around 7.30 am local time. Moreover, I have never operated on that bands earlier and I am not familiar with the band opening timings. I was quite familiar with 40 m as I have worked a lot on CW and AM on that band in late 1980s with my solid state QRP as well as vacuum tube QRO. In fact the net controller on Charminar Net was the same old person and I could easily recognise the familiar voice!