Mike brings up an interesting point. Yes, the antenna is important, but
so is how high you put it up and the surrounding terrain. I can't stress
strongly enough how important it is to do HFTA, especially if you live on
anything other than flat Florida terrain.
I'm currently looking for a QTH that is killer. Every place I'm seriously
considering gets the HFTA treatment as a litmus test. Crappy HFTA results
and it gets cast aside. Yeah it's pretty obvious if you have a hilltop
QTH, you'll get out quite well.
What is not so obvious is that if you sit on a 200 ft cliff facing the
ocean, your signal will be really good on 40 and 80, but will suffer on 20, 15
and 10 due to rapid peaks and dips at various angles of arrival. Without
doing the HFTA most of us would not be aware of these shortcomings.
Sitting on a nice smooth hill drop is preferable to one that has rises and
falls as it drops. The first yields a nice smooth pattern, the second has
dips and rises. The more I play with BV's HFTA the more I learn
Now I'm not saying your signal will stink because it won't on a cliff.
I'm only saying that it's not just the antenna, but the location and the
height of the antenna too.
K4XS
In a message dated 4/13/2015 2:24:18 A.M. Coordinated Universal Time,
mryan001@tampabay.rr.com writes:
Jim, I suppose going any further on this discussion, just looks like a no
win situation. No one is disputing the work that K7LXC and N0AX or K4XS
(who
has done more to study antennas, take off angles, etc than anyone I know
since he jumps around the globe like a ping pong ball on the ocean, and
always ending up with a killer station) have done or that it isn't the
bottom line or the last word. On the other hand, when people have their
minds made up....they are just made up. Some of that is just because they
read what someone else has said. The point I was making about the Mosley
is
that the antenna, is working for the guy. I/you/we all hear all the time
how well antennas are working for this guy and that...that what they have
is
the greatest antenna they have every had. But that in some cases is
because
it has been the ONLY antenna they have ever had. Not in the case for the
op
who now has a Mosley. But he also has little money to spend and I felt
that
in the spirit of ham radio (blah blah) that I would help him, put it up,
and
get him back on the air. Now, he had a Mosley antenna sitting there...got
it
very reasonably priced and did not have to pay shipping....that's two
bonus
points in my mind. It is now sitting on his tower because he is too old
to
climb or to crank and I am neither.
Jeff (AC0C) made the point, and I guess to summarize, that on any
given Sunday, given the right conditions, the phase of the moon, the rise
of
the tide, and the blink of an eye one can work dx on about anything. I
interjected, 'even a Mosley' as is the case. I have been fortunate enough
to use something different I suppose and would say that I'm quite
satisfied
with my station considering. Were that I had a Mosley antenna, perhaps
not.
I guess it would depend on the moon, etc. In any event I am not going to
bash or belittle anyone for what they are able to get up in the air, it
may
be only worth so much to do it in the first place, and if in fact would be
worth more, perhaps they couldn't afford to do it at all.
I hope you enjoy what you have in any event. '73, Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: D. Scott MacKenzie
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2015 8:15 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antenna choices for K4XS
That is why I gave up - my antennas were not worthy. I don't have multiple
towers, with multiple wavelength mono-banders or stacked Steppers. So I
figure that there was little point of continuing regardless of my DXCC
total.
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim
Brown
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2015 6:30 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antenna choices for K4XS
On Sun,4/12/2015 2:39 PM, Mike Ryan wrote:
> all the bashing that has been going on lately about Mosley Antennas
> fits in well right here. My retired friend who is on a budget, bought
> a used Mosley TA53 ( I think that is the correct model).
Advice based on the carefully done measurements by K7LXC and N0AX is NOT
bashing -- it is based on FACTS.
Steve and Ward documented their work very carefully and thoroughly, and
published it as a bound report. They also did a study of HF verticals. I
bought both reports. I learned a LOT about both the antenna performance
AND some technical analysis of WHY things performed as they did.
Joe, W4TV bought the reports too -- that's the basis of his comments.
Go to K7LXC's Champion Radio Products website. About $20 each as I
recall. And while you're there, also buy N6BT's excellent A Ray Of Light
book on antennas.
73, Jim K9YC
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