The BEST solution to the small lot problem is to MOVE to a
location where you can have a larger lot.
That's what I did when I was ready to buy my first house (still here).
I moved from a 1/2 acre lot in the city which I rented for $125 a month
in the mid 70's (Yes, it was a GREAT find ! ) where I had 2 towers,
an 80 footer in the middle of the back yard and a 50 footer just behind
the house and only 5 ft from the power line. I moved to a 4 acre lot
on a one street subdivision in an unincorporated region of the next
county, only 10 miles from my work location, with VERY low taxes.
(I believe Alabama has the lowest property taxes in the country).
Sometimes, you have to 'get out of the box' and LOOK
for the possibilities. (End of sermon)
OTHER alternatives to the small lot problem are Roof Top towers,
Self Supporting Towers, Small turning radius antennas (Quads,
HexBeam, 2L Yagi's such as the F12 C3S (loaded if need be C3SS),
or even just rotary dipoles (CC D3, D4, etc.) A pair of multi-band
dipoles
at right angles gives good coverage without the need for a rotor. My
favorite is a 20M dipole fed with ladderline which gives a figure 8
pattern
from 10 thru 30 Meters.
DIPOLES are very efficient radiators if they are in the clear and
placed at appropriate heights (I have worked well over 300 countries
on 80, 40, 30, 17, 12 Meters using only dipole antennas).
See my article on BOOM LOADED Dipoles for 30 and 40M in the
TowerTalk archives and my article on Simple Effective Reverse Fed
Elevated GP Antennas for 80 and 160M in JUNE 1994 QST or any
of the later ARRL Handbooks. On 80M, all that is needed is a 40ft
tower with a moderate sized Yagi for top loading.
The MFJ 1792 vertical for 80 / 40 is a GOOD cost effective DX antenna
for the low bands. It is full size on 40M with a loading / isolating
coil
and top hat for 80M. It is rated at 1500W for 40M and 1000 W on
80 M with 50? KHz bandwidth under 2:1 SWR. It does require radials.
The MFJ 1793 has a 20M element attached to the side to the main
vertical. This can easily be extended for 30M coverage by ordering
another coupler and rod from MFJ. The 1792 is priced around $150.
Bottom Line:
You don't have to have a superstation to work lots of DX.
Operating skill and making the most of what you have
will do the job. Motivation and persistence are the key.
Tom N4KG
On Sat, 1 Sep 2001 "Don Munson" <munsonjr@bellatlantic.net> writes:
>
> There is yet another twist to the "small lot" situation. I live on a
> standard 1/4 acre suburban lot. I have an electric company right of
> way behind the house where all the trees are located (I guess about
> 30-40 feet height). My problem is that I have power lines paralleling
> my lot across the back and a house feeder along the perpendicular
> side. Thus I have been limited to a 26' vertical fairly close to the
> house to ensure no contact with the lines should a catastrophe
> occur and the antenna fall.
>
> I am experimenting with a G5RV in the woods behind my house with a
> long coax run. So far with less than desired results.
>
> So even with a "small lot" there are further restrictions yet.
>
> Don, W4GFQ
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
List Sponsored by AN Wireless: AN Wireless handles Rohn tower systems,
Trylon Titan towers, coax, hardline and more. Also check out our self
supporting towers up to 96 feet for under $1500!! http://www.anwireless.com
-----
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
|