The BW price seems a little high, considering they are advertising in a ham
magazine. However, please think a little before claiming it is an almost
useless antenna. I believe it consumes up to half the input power in the
resistor. Half is 3 db. On the classic scale, this is half an S unit
although it is probably closer to one S unit on most receivers. There are
many instances of communication, ham and otherwise, where trading one S
unit for easy setup and wide frequency matching provides a reasonable
tradeoff. For receiving on the HF bands, efficiency is not required since
the inefficiency of the antenna reduces both signal and atmospheric noise
equally.
It is simply not true that a larger antenna transmits better than a smaller
one. Provided one can load the antenna without encountering excessive
losses there is little difference between a large and small antenna in
terms of transmitting efficiency. (Direction control is a different matter,
of course.) As an antenna becomes smaller (in terms of wavelength) it
becomes more of a challenge to match it to the transmission line and
transmitter and *this* factor can be a significant limitation.
I do not have either antenna and am not considering either one. I do like
to avoid, or at least identify, old wives tales.
Bill - W2WO
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