W8BLA had the Gap that covers 160 and 80. During the 1994 CQ 160 SSB we ran
comparisons
with my Uni-Hat 31 foot folded unipole. One station we worked was Leo W7LR
who is a good
distance from Atlanta. Leo said I was 59+ and no problem. W8BLA was Q4 and
tough to pull out. I finished with 921 Q's and second in the USA Single op
to K4EA operating the K4JPD super station. W8BLA operating M/O with K2UFT
made about 1/3 the QSOs. I think with proper ground radials even the Gap can
be improved to be a decent transmit antenna!
As to noise problems, neither was very good on receive unless the incoming
signals were very loud. The Uni-Hat is somewhat better due to its closed
transmission line loop configuration. I know some say the loop is not any
quieter than a dipole but the loop is consistantly quieter especially with
respect to rain and snow static. However, I you want a quiet receiving
antenna
there are several possibilities. In 1994 I was using a variation of the
AB0X shielded link loop made of 200 feet of RG58 coax. Mike's write up was
the August 1989 CQ and is a variation of the loops described by W4UW. Mine
was laid on my roof and draped over low trees. An even better solution is
the K9AY loop. Two loops can be installed (they are very small) and
electrically switched to cover all four quadrants. The system was described
in a QST article several years ago or Array Solutions (WX0B) has them in
stock.
73 Dave K4JRB
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