Frank W3LPL is correct. Your problem isn't your antenna, it is what
you describe as a PITA tuner! I use a low loop and ladder line
(_ladder line_ not window line) for ragchewing all the time. Sure I
have to retune for a QSY but that involves putting the tuner on a swr
analyzer and retuning the bal. network--takes a minute or two but is
hardly a pita. You need to get a newer design tuner, either make one
or buy one, just make sure it is a genuine balanced tuner for your
feedline--I think Palstar makes one now. Using a swr analyzer like
the MFJ 259 (I think that's the right model no.) makes the job a bit
more convenient too.
The VK1 article was very interesting and confirmed what I suspected,
that below around 5 MHz, the 43 foot vertical becomes very lossy in
terms of the whole antenna system, but there's no mystery there--any
vertical that becomes extremely short electrically, gets a very low
feedpoint Z and becomes difficult to match and inefficient. Sure you
can make contacts with it on 80 and 160 anyway, but that probably has
more to do with hams using sensitive receivers and large outdoor
antennas.
If you are dead set on putting up an antenna, the best low band
ragchew antenna for night time that is as easy to put up as possible
would probably be a low hanging 1/3 wave center fed dipole for 160 m.
That would be around 170 feet long. You would have to feed it with
balanced feedline and a balanced tuner. Up around 50 feet it would
work fine on 80 and 160 as a cloud burner.
73
rob / k5uj
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