[CQ-Contest] Stacking on separate towers, take off angles?

[Mike]

Hello from  New Brunswick, Canada de VE9AA, Mike

 

If anyone runs ‘stacked’ antennas on separate towers, I’d like to hear what
has been your experience  .

 

I have 2 (self-supporting) tower bases, aprox 65-70’ apart. (never measured
it—I put them in mni yrs ago)

 

They run on a line about N-S (EU is NE from here and USA is SW); same as
from W1.

 

The North tower will have a CC A3S at the ~74’ level and the South tower
will have another A3S

@ aprox the ~42’ level.  I can tweak those heights a little bit if need be.
I’ll have other antennas in the vicinity.

 

I have good ideas about “stacking” them either with a Array Solutions WX0B
Stackmatch II I already own, or something else I conjure up

here allowing me U/L/BIP
even flip one 180º out of phase for BOP, I think
coax phasing lines for a tribander might be a mess when attempting BOP, so I
may do a relay at one yagis feedpoint  if I go that route
. BUT...that’s not
the problem. (or the question)

 

My idea is to usually spray in 2 directions at a time when contesting,
however certain contests require I beam only in 1 direction.

WAG ( I beam Germany) .ARRL SS, 95% of the time, I beam SW or WSW
.you get
the idea.\

 

I am relatively certain I can make a good guess of what the pattern will be
like when I beam due east or due west with both antennas.

(again, towers are N-S from one another)

 

The issue is when I put both antennas on EU or USA (NE or SW).  I am
envisioning the elevation pattern will be messed up (as in out of phase and
thus HIGH,
..good for E-skip or noon hour prop on 20m
. or else
unpredictable(?) as the wavefronts are both arriving at different times to
each antenna, thus they’ll be out of phase once you get anywhere away from
straight East or West (guessing a little here).

 

Is there anything that can be done to counteract that, or even guess as to
what it may be, or is it a total cr at pshoot?

 

I’ve searched and searched and searched on the web and on contesting.com and
found mere snippets here and there where someone mentioned stacking antennas
on separate towers, but never if it was better when BOTH antenna were aimed
the same way. (I guess most times in a contest it’s nice to cover 2
directions) I just see where there is a need for general DXing for P5RS7,
BS7H, KP1 or VU7 when you need to eek out every 10th of a dB or like I
mentioned before, in contests where I am lucky enough to be in the far North
East to just leavem’ parked NE or SW where I don’t know what I’ll be faced
with.

 

If anyone runs ‘stacked’ antennas on separate towers, I’d like to hear what
has been your experience  - J

 

Comments? (even anecdotal is fine
I am not a scientist or engineer, just a
technologist)

 

73, TNX !

Dit dit, Mike VE9AA