On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:01:35 -0700
"Robin" <wb6tza@socal.rr.com> wrote:
> I like your definite answer: It Depends! Truly!
>
> It unfortunately seems a bit complex to make a rule
>other than build it and see! Your experiences match what
>I would expect, but there seems to be more at work than
>just distance to seawater.
Robin,
Our experiences match closely.
One key point I tried to make was that whether a Beverage
will be good or not depends on its distance from the sea
water. Not only its lateral distance but also its vertical
distance. If there is sea water under the sand under the
Beverage, it will most likely not work well. In several
cases, I have actually dug down to see if there was sea
water! On Chesterfield, while there was water under the
sand, it was fresh water! Rain water got trapped between
the underlying rock and the sand. The Beverage above it
worked well. It was a reversible Beverage and it had a
very good F/B. Also, its signal to noise ratio was better
than our 60' DHDL's. A very similar Beverage that ran
parallel to the beach did not work: its signal to noise
ratio was worse than the DHDL's. And, just like you said:
it was a low noise omni-directional antenna with very weak
signals. There was salt water under that beverage: the sea
essentially just continued under the sand.
One now has to ask which is easier? To build the Beverage
or just dig down 3 to 4 feet to see if there is sea water?
(I would build the Beverage: I hate digging and like
building antennas.)
73,
George, AA7JV
_______________________________________________
UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
|