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[TowerTalk] small loop antennas

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] small loop antennas
From: k1vr@juno.com (Fred Hopengarten)
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 12:38:05 EST
From:
Fred Hopengarten  K1VR               781/259-0088
Six Willarch Road
Lincoln, MA 01773-5105
permanent e-mail address:  fhopengarten@mba1972.hbs.edu

On Mon, 09 Feb 1998 22:34:04 -0700 David Gilbert <davidg@primenet.com>
writes:

>Better idea [than a loop] -- lay out some chicken wire on the balcony
(whatever will 
>fit)
>for a counterpoise, and feed a piece of wire that runs to a nearby 
>tree;
>pick a wire length approximately 1/4 wavelength at the frequency you 
>will
>use most.  Feed the wire at the junction to the counterpoise via an 
>antenna
>tuner on whatever bands it will load on.


K1VR:  A variation on the theme which will do a really fine job -- buy
the longest bamboo pole you can find.  Sixteen feet would be nice.  Mount
it in a flag pole mount.  Tape wire to it.  You now have half a dipole on
20.  Add 16 feet with some clipping arrangement and you have half a
dipole on 40.  Add more for 80, etc.  The additional wires will be
hanging DOWN, but away from the building.  Invisible at night.  Be sure
to rent an upper floor apartment.  The ground or braid of your coax can
be tied to the rail as your counterpoise.  The trick is to use full size
wires against a big counterpoise.  You will have some directionality, 
but you will also work a lot of people.  One of the really talented W4BVV
operators (John Wilson, then K3NPV) did this for years in his DC "Foggy
Bottom" apartment (he was a lawyer with the Antitrust Division of the
Department of Justice and lived within the District).  He was really loud
on 80 and 40.

Such an antenna system won't compete with a beam on 20-10, but you'll
still be heard well.

GL! 

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