Dear Gang,
It's been interesting to hear the discussion relative to 160 antennas.
Probably one of the best articles covering 160 antennas is the "Minooka
Special" article in QST in the 1970's. It was written by Barry
Boothe, W9UCW. It describes a whole bunch of antennas used by different
topband operators.
One I have used successfully for many years is the "inverted U" by
K8RRH. Ken, K4TEA, has worked over 200 countries on 160 using this
antenna. It is basically up about 60 feet, out 100 or so, and back down
60 to GROUND (Yes, ground). At the feed and far end are two radial
systems. At the feed end I use a series inductor (3" diameter B&W
miniductor) for resonance. The coil is tapped for lowest SWR, and a 1000
pfd vacuum variable is worked against ground at a different tap for
lowest SWR.
I have used it successfully for many years. I can usually work about
anything I can hear. The near and far grounds are connected together
with a wire. It models omni on 160, and bi-directional on
80 cw. The gain is between 2 & 3 dB on 80m CW.....Somewhat like a
"half-square".
73,
John, W4NU
Atlanta
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