I got this from Dave Patton who has used K4VX's Rhombic for the past 15 or
so years. Lew has many other antennas and his thoughts might be of
interest to the group.
>From: "Dave Patton" <w9qa@contesting.com>
>To: Bill Fisher - W4AN <w4an@contesting.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 20:12:04 -0500
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] re: rhombics (fwd)
>Reply-to: w9qa@contesting.com
>Priority: normal
>X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01a)
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>
>RE: Rhombic. Hmmm. I think those statements are accurate. Obviously my
>only experience is with Lew's antenna. Maybe that is your only rhombic
>experience too. But, I think Lew's antenna has a little wider beamwidth,
>although ten degrees is pretty close. Often, I will have the big 5 el
pointed at
>15 degrees, the rhombic at 45 degrees, and the small 5 at 70 degrees.
>Switching between them is mindboggling. Not just angle of arrival but
obvious
>attributes of the rhombic. It is like a flashlight from about 30 to 55
degrees.
>But anything outside of that is noticeably down.
>
>Other issues that that guy didn't bring up, probably because he has no
>experience with one, is that is virtually SILENT noise wise while the
yagis pick
>up every bit of rain static for example. The Rhombic does have usable
various
>lobes, and that often pays off with keeping a frequency clear or getting the
>spare Caribbean to call in.
>
>I also consider VX's yagi to be a supplementary antenna that goes along with
>the pre-planned tower arrangment. In other words, why not have one? The
>cost of the rhombic compared to stacked yagis is probably worth at least a
>thousand bucks? Also, Lew's rhombic is a two wire rhombic which I believe
>improves the efficiency or loss of power/radiation issues? And at 80 feet
the
>rhombic enjoys a wide range of usable frequencies and angles. A 6
wavelength
>antenna for 20 is awesome for 17 and obviously a cannon for 15. Lew
designed
>his for 17 btw. I want to put it on 6 for a big EU opening! Imagine that.
Bill Fisher, W4AN (EX KM9P)
http://www.contesting.com
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