> Fellow 160 meter enthusiasts,
>
> I just joined the reflector and wonder if anybody could share their
> experiences with inverted L antennas, something along the lines of what a
> 35-40 ft
> vertical section and 90-100 ft horizontal section might perform like with say
> 16-25 radials, about 100 ft long, buried. This is the antenna I'm planning
> to
> erect, if it is worthwhile. Modeling efforts of others indicate it has some
> potential, not a barn-burner, but at least it would get me back on the band
> after
> a 35 year gap. But with very limited time, I'd rather not put up an antenna
> that will perform poorly for stateside contacts, hi.
>
> 73s,
>
> Evan
Evan,
I assume you have a grounded tower? The inverted L does just fine when shunt
fed. If you are an ARRL member, check this out... It is a sidebar that I
wrote for the 2002 160M contest results.
http://www.arrl.org/members-only/contests/results/2002/160-Meters/sb.html
This example uses a relay at the top of a 42' Rohn 25G tower to select either
an 80M hat wire or the 160M hat wire. The article suggests 8 - 50' radials. I
have since beefed that up to add an additional 11 wires of about 130' (
although I think the mower got a couple of them).
The L is not perfection by any means. But it did land me the SOLP #3 spot in
this year's 160M contest. Proof positive that they work.
Modeling suggests that there is some horizontal component. But this is not
necessarily all bad--especially for domestic QSOs. Lots of guys are running
very long inverted Vs and the like, which are cloud burners too.
Good luck with your project.
Ford-N0FP
ford@cmgate.com
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