Hal,
There are many of us on 160 meters who sucessfully operate with pint-size
antennas. My antenna is a modest 45' tall and it allows me to enjoy the band.
Although a vertical, it also occupies some horizontal space as well.
A 40' top-loaded vertical is likely a good bet. The top loading should can
consist of a large top hat, preferably symmetrical in layout. Doing so
minimizes high-angle, horizontally polarized radiation. The top hat doesn't
have to be hat shaped; it can be as simple as equally long, opposing horizontal
wires. However, with a 40' vertical height, the horizontal wire lengths will be
in excess of 100' - in both directions. One way to overcome the problem is to
take the far ends of the wires, fold them back, and connected the ends to each
other. This results in a much more compact top hat. Using this technique has
little affect on the antenna's performance. The greater the spacing used
between the folded wires the shorter the horizontal span required. My 160
antenna uses the folded top-hat arrangement and takes much less space than an
80-meter dipole.
If you would like more information on this subject, you can directly contact
me. I've had a few articles published on the subject and they should answer
most any questions you might have.
Don't even think about settling for 40 and above. You'll miss out on way too
much of the fun.
Regards, Thomas - AC7A (Tucson)
-----Original Message-----
From: Hal553@aol.com
Sent: Sep 27, 2003 5:24 AM
To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Topband: Antenna on small lot
I've always wanted to work 160m CW. I can put a wire antenna up to about 40
feet maximum. The max length will be in the vicinity of 90 feet. Am I wasting
my time and should I stick to 40m and above?
Thanks for any insight.
Hal
KB3HAA
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