Hello Topbanders: I have read the list archives for several years, but my
actual 160 operating experience consists of a handful of Q's made from
Louisiana in the 1990's. After moving to WV and retiring in August, my goal is
to participate in the fun others have been having for years on 160. For about
the last month, I have been experimenting with various temporary antennas in
different configurations, and operating 160 to judge the results. This
reflector has been a big help to me, plus I have studied ON4UN's book for
ideas. Currently, I have up two inverted L's, each with two resonant 1/4 wave
radials 8' off the ground, plus a full 1/2 wave dipole with the center at about
45'. My QTH is on a small hilltop, and the ground slopes off at a very steep
angle in all directions. One of the L's has the vertical portion just over the
peak of the hill, with the ground sloping to the N/NE under it. The horizontal
portion is essentially over the level ground on top. The other L is
identical to the first, except the vertical portion is hanging out over the
SE/E sloping portion of the hill. In fact, the horizontal portion of these
antennas is supported in one span, with about 15' separating the ends of the
wires. The L's consistently outperform the dipole for DX, except during the
period right before and at sunset, when so far the EU signals on the dipole
have been 1 to 4 S units louder than on the N/NE L. This effect goes away
shortly after sunset. and the N/NE L takes over, by a large margin. I have
seen this effect described, but it is interesting to observe it. The most
interesting thing is the difference in directivity between the L's, caused by
the hill slope. For example, on 5K0T, the signal was 20 to 40 db louder on the
S/SE L than on the N/NE L. I expected some effect from the hill slope, but not
this much. Likewise, the N/NE L consistently is louder to EU by 2 S units or
more over the S/SE L. There is a lot of info out there on the effe
ct of sloping ground with horizontal antennas, but not so much with vertical
polarization, and some of the available info is conflicting. I decided to do
some experimenting with rope and wire before constructing a permanent
installation. This has been a blast, and the fall wx here in WV was perfect.
Since Nov 3, I have about 140 non contest DX Q's, including 4 JA's, 2 UA0's and
53 countries overall, with no separate RX antennas, and transmit antennas that
would not qualify as good FD installations. All of these were S&P, except last
night at EU sunrise I called CQ and had a small run of 22 stations. I have been
reluctant to call CQ, because my lack of experience leaves me wondering about
RX capability. Don't want to be an alligator! Next steps: More radials to
judge the performance difference. Another L oriented over the ground slope to
favor the Pacific. I have yet to hear or work a Pacific station, other than
KH6. I am going to try a beverage to EU; not sure what
effect the ground slope will have. Also going to try a RX loop oriented over
the ground slope and see what that does. It might work great, we will see. I
could try phasing the L's. Hope we have a few more days of good wx left before
winter sets in for the season. I have enjoyed reading Tree's Boring Reports
and find them very interesting. Had the good fortune of meeting Tree at W5WMU's
shack a few years ago prior to SS. It amazes me what Tree and others on the
west coast can work. 73, Charlie N8RR
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