And I went from the K9AY loop to the Hi-Z 4 square. While the K9AY put
more low band DX in the log than the TX antenna did, I seemed to hit a
performance plateau after a year or two. The 4 square from Hi-Z was
hundreds of dollars less than a similar competing product and the
several db of benefit it brought quickly added 20+ countries on 160.
My neighbor permits me to install the 4 square in his hay field in
October and I remove it in early April or whenever the ground thaws.
As an intermittent operator, in the shack when family and jobs permit,
the Hi-Z has added much to my enjoyment of the low bands and I spend my
summers wishing for winter so the array will be back in service.
The Orion likes it too!
73, de Mike, K9UW
Amherst, WI
On 9/22/2013 4:00 PM, Kim Elmore wrote:
I have a K9AY loops system that I bought form Array Solutions. It's
rather pricey, but for me it was a choice between time and money. I
had the money, but not the time. I think it cost me between $450 and
$500 but came with everything: mast, wire, control head, preamp -- the
works. It's well made.
Unfortunately, there's no free lunch: the K9AY loop system is much
better than my shunt-fed tower on 160 or F12 Sigma 80 OCF 80 m
vertical dipole and I've truly pulled stuff out using it that I
couldn't otherwise hear. That said, from everything I've read, it's no
Beverage. It's utility comes from four significant nulls in cardioid
patterns, with the nulls oriented N, S, E and W. With these I can
decrease QRN from distant areas with thunderstorms, which sometimes
helps and QRM from non-DX directions. It fits easily into a city lot
(not really a concern for me as I'm in 10 ac) as much as there was no
good way to get lines out to a Beverage array. I had a way to get
lines out to the K9AY loops and so that's what I chose.
Kim N5OP
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