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Re: [TowerTalk] Survey

To: Richards <jruing@ameritech.net>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Survey
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:10:06 -0500
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Richards wrote:
> OK Roger -- Let's say you could not do a tower....
>
>             Then what would be your budget antenna list?
>
> ===============  Richards - K8JHR  ==================
>
> Roger K8RI said:
>>
>> If you hunt they are available.  I had enough 25G given to me to put 
>> up a 60 footer and after I had the 45G up I found somewhere between 
I'm a real scrounger (The inside of my shop looks like it) so it's 
difficult to say.  Even with wire antennas I would end up making 
somekind of pole to support the ends, end, or middle. I don't trust 
trees, not because they move. I can easily allow for that, but the trees 
around here keep dropping large branches. However with no towers, I'd 
make use of lumber or trees and probably put up either a Sterba Curtain, 
or half square for 75 and 40...possibly several phased. Pipe verticals 
on 75 and 40, quite possibly phased or even 4-square for transmitting. 
Maybe even half wave on 40 so the 75 meter verticals could do double 
duty with tuners at the base.  I've always disliked rhombics.  They use 
space too inefficiently. IOW one with good gain is huge.  Above 40 I'd 
probably build some ground planes or build a knockoff of the Hy-Tower 
out of pipe and wire or even try to recreate an AV640 but the 
measurements on those are pretty tight and I've found they work best at 
about 32' with the experiments I've done so far.  I actually used a 
"droopy dipole" (sorta like a very shallow inverted V with the ends 
elevated about 10-15') on 160 with very good results stateside. Not much 
for DX though. OTOH I'm a casual DXer and not a contenster although I do 
catch the occasional one. I've use a pair of 1/4 wave 40 meter verticals 
(TV masting on pop bottle base insulators) phased 0 and 180 degrees with 
pretty good success, but that was back in the 70's when I did have a LOT 
of space and very little budget.

I'd stick with relatively simple designs that are easy to feed, easy to 
erect, and don't take a lot of space, Sterba Curtain may be long but it 
can fit between trees and not use a lot of space. Plus it doesn't 
require an elaborate ground system which is another good thing about 
half wave verticals. They perform well without requiring an elaborate 
ground system.  The main problem there is keeping kids and animals away 
from the wires.

I do not like any form of open wire feed, so everything would be coax 
fed with tuners at the base when necessary.  In all the years of FD I've 
never been able to successfully coexist with another station running 
open wire line without some sort of interference.

You'll note a complete lack of trapped antennas of any sort in my list 
with the only likely muntiband using stubs, or doing double duty as a 
1/4 and 1/2 wave with a tuner.

Actually if I could get another acre behind me I'd do just that on 75 
and 40 for the colder months.
On one square acre I'm pretty cramped.

73

Roger (K8RI)

> =================================================
>

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