Good Day Tower Talkians --
I am trying to select an antenna to install before the winter arrives.
I live in Michigan, and have a smallish, 100' (N-S) x 55' (E-W)
suburban backyard that has a bit of a hill in the back, and a
trough towards the house and back deck. Cost is not a limiting
factor. Wife says a tower is OK - and would rather have a tower
than have holes in the roof. City says tower based antenna can
be 55 feet tall with no need for permits, or inspections, carte blanche,
but higher will entail fighting City Hall. Wife would like to avoid large
radial ground wire field, but understands it might be necessary.
A couple of photos of my location/situation RF can be seen here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MINIRichards/MyBackyard?authkey=Xq6wDhnEoXY#
I have considered a tower, but that is not going to happen this
year. That is a 6 month project, and I am not far enough along for
that. So, in the mean time I am considering putting up a vertical
antenna of some sort. I will augment that with whatever wires I can
also hang to give me multiple options and something to measure
against.
I now have a 40 M half wave dipole, and an Alpha Delta DX-EE
multi band, trapped dipole covering 40-20-15-10- etc.
What I am considering most are:
* DX Engineering 43 foot vertical / Force-12 43 foot Vertical
* Hustler 6BTV / or Butternut HF9V
* HyGain Hi-Tower ACV 18
* HyGain AV-640
I am favorably inclined to try a Big SteppIR vertical but they are 5 to
seven months out on delivery, so that cannot happen before winter.
(Note: A combination of multiple antennas is OK for good reasons.)
1) DX-Engineering 43 foot vertical mono pole
Pros = moderately expensive, wide band solution, handles
all bands, fairly easy to install, can tune 160 m
through 10 m with a outboard tuner - fairly easy
to assemble
Cons = not resonant on any band, requires outboard tuner,
questionable inefficiency based on lack of
resonance on any band, requires substantial
radial field - may need guy ropes
Total Cost installed = $500
2) Hustler 6BTV trapped a vertical antenna
Pros = relatively inexpensive, essentially resonant on each
of the major bands using traps and element length,
fairly easy to install, does 80 m through 10 m - should
not need guy ropes or wires - really easy to assemble
Cons = shortened elements, possible loss in traps, uses traps
to create electrical length rather than physical length,
narrow bandwidth on 80 m, requires substantial radial
field - does not cover 160 meters
Total Cost installed = $450
3) Hy-Gain Hi-tower
Pros = big, substantial, resonant on each of the major bands,
80 through 10 m and 160 M with additional loading coil
and wire kit - fully self-supporting with no guy wires
Cons = substantially more expensive, does not include WARC
bands, requires concrete base, narrow bandwidth on
80 M, and 160 M requires substantial radial field
- very involved assembly
Total Cost installed = $1,300
4) HyGain -AV-640 ground independent vertical
Pros = moderately expensive, does not require ground radials,
covers 40 m through 10 m, some credible independent
tests show it works as well as the Hustler or Butternut
models, easier to install (no radial field) and easier
to
locate on lot - - may not need guy ropes
Cons = does not cover 80 m or 160 m bands, some “experts"
claim it cannot work well without radials...
notwithstanding
independent testing results says it has equal
performance
to Hustler and Butternut models - moderately complicated
to assemble
Total Cost installed = $450 -500
5) Butternut HF6V
Pros covers 80 through 10 m, essentially resonant on each
major band through loading coils and element length, fairly
easy to install - may not need guy ropes - fairly easy to
assemble
Cons = shortened elements, possible loss in loading coils,
uses loading coils instead of traps to create electrical length
rather than physical length, requires substantial radial field
does not cover 160 meters
Total Cost installed = $550
6. Hy-Gain Hi-Tower Junior
Pros = less expensive, fully quarter wavelength on 40-20-15-10
Meter bands, resonant on each of the major bands, 80 through
10 m
Cons = does not include WARC bands, requires concrete base,
narrow bandwidth on 80 M, requires substantial radial field,
needs guy ropes/wires, does not cover 160 meters -moderately
complicated to assemble
Total Cost installed = $500 - 550
So.... any ideas? Have I missed any reasons to consider one more than
another? Have I missed any pros or cons for any of them? I know I might
just as well put up a SteppiR Big Vertical, but that costs $800 - $1000
fully installed, and you must wait 5 to 7 months to get one, and I want
something up NOW before the snow flies. If I put one of the models that
require a field of ground radials, then I can substitute a Big StepplR
for it at a later date, maybe next summer and use the same radial plate
and the wires can work for whatever I mount to it.
So... can you guys help me make up my mind? Jim at Burghardt Amateur
says I would be most pleased with the HyGain HyTower, as the other
options are so much of a compromise and it is really big and if I can get
a base poured for it, then it can go up fairly quickly this Fall yet.
But I just have no objective way to tell if that is really better
than the other options. The vertical mono-pole sounds easy
and tunes down to all bands... but it does not seem better or
worse than, say, the Hustler or Butternut or the HyGain AV-640
-- according to the test report I received from the tower guys this
summer - and the one without radials sounds good, and performed
about as well as the others in the testing (actually a Cushcraft R8 - but
pretty darned close in design to the HyGain AV-640) and it does
not need any radials. The test report compared a number of these
multi band verticals to a mono pole vertical - and they were all either
a bit above or below that in performance, making the mono pole
pretty much average - but the results were so close that it did not
really favor any other antenna more than the mono pole - they were
all pretty close, some up some below it.
But... how to know for sure? I mean objective, reliable comparisons
that are not just subjective comments from one or two guys who
tried one, but not the others...
What's a mother to do? ;-)
THANK YOU for any detailed help you can give me.
============ James - K8JHR ====================
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