[CQ-Contest] biggest 20M array in the world ?

Bill Coleman aa4lr at arrl.net
Sat Mar 19 08:41:06 EST 2005


On Mar 16, 2005, at 11:21 PM, David Thompson wrote:

> I also like to recall the 75 meter antenna Jim Brookman used in the 
> early
> 70's.  This was a rotatable vertical array with full size half wave 
> wires
> off a high tower attached to the boom of a big beam.  The guys in the
> Northeast was surprised  to be beaten to DX by a lowly W4.  Jim says 
> it was
> a great antenna.  You just had to make sure the elements did not snag 
> while
> rotating.

This antenna was discussed in a particularly memorable article in "73" 
magazine back in the 70s. It did talk about someone who put up a 
full-sized quad and is now hiding out in KP4 with a large quantity of 
wire.... Very funny article.

As I recall, there was a photograph of the ends of one of the parasitic 
wires. These were held taunt with a couple of cinder blocks tied on the 
ends. Turning the array meant the ends would swing considerably, doing 
interesting things to the pattern and SWR....

This was such a simple antenna design, I'm surprised no one has tried 
to duplicate it after all these years.


Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901



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