[TenTec] 80 meter loops

[ac5e at comcast.net]

Well, Paul, I'm not knocking the horizontal loop. For what it's good for, vertical radiation on the fundamental and high angle radiation with both pronounced lobes and equally pronounced nulls on the harmonics, it's quite a good antenna. 

Your comments essentially parallel my own observations - but! 

As the late Harry Wiggs once remarked "DX is the ones you don't have confirmed." I have the easy ones confirmed - and many of the harder ones as well. 

But down here where a signal must overpass hundreds or thousands of miles of very non-reflecting land before it gets to anything resembling a good reflecting surface we usually need the lowest angle of radiation we can obtain. A dipole has enough low angle radiation to give one a chance at the DX. Even the rare DX when conditions are just right. So does a vertical loop. Or just a vertical. Especially a vertical with a decent radial field. 

Or, hung high enough, a horizontal loop will manage some lower angle radiation; and, when conditions are just right, you can get enough sidescatter to do a respectable job with a comparitively low horizontal loop. 

But at normal heights and under normal conditions a horizontal loop puts its first hop out just a few hundred miles, and the angle of reflection is such that the second hop gets weak indeed. If I were working the (U.S. State of) Georgia QSO Party a horizontal loop would be hard to beat. But all of Georgia is within 500 miles or so of this location. 

A friend of mine with a horizontal loop and a tri-bander was quite frustrated at his results on the Oklahoma QSO Party. The loop was too short and the tribander was too long for decent results. So he worked Arkansas stations on the loop and Colorado on the tribander. And that was not what he wanted to do. 

Antennas are the Amateur Radio Operator's working tools. If the results you get with any antenna suit you, they sure satisfy me. But one size shirt does not fit all men - and one antenna does not suit all occasions and conditions. If one did - everyone would be using it exclusively! 

73  Pete Allen  AC5E


> Hi Noel.
> 
> Yep, a lot of people knock the good old horizontal loop for no good reason.
> I'd like to get my loop up at 185ft!
> 
> I believe that the angle of max radiation for the loop is around 50
> degrees.. bit of a cloudwarmer really!


> Have you tried hanging one of your loops vertically?
> I mean remove both supports from the unfed side and let it hang vertically
> in the air at 185ft.
> You guys call this a vertical skyloop, I think.
> 
> I'd be interested to hear how the V plays if you get it up higher.
> I say the loop will prevail.. it has a larger capture area and surely a
> lower angle of radiation than a V which is just a distorted dipole. Of
> course the V may be better in the directions where the loop has nulls...!
> 
> All interesting stuff..
> 
> 73..
> 
> Paul MW0CDO.
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <W9efl at aol.com>
> To: <tentec at contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 3:26 PM
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] 80 meter loops
> 
> 
> > Hello Paul!!!! Regarding 80m loops. I have two orthoganal 80m loops and an
> > inv V for 80m. I was told by several DXr's that I needed an inv V  and
> that it
> > would outperform the loops. The V hasn't been up very long but so far the
> loops
> > blow the sox off the inv V.
> > Admittaly the loops are up high.......top at 185ft and the V is at about
> > 70ft. So there is a significant difference. This spring I'm going to raise
> the V
> > up to about 90 ft and compare. I like to investigate the launch angles
> also of
> > the loop vs the inv V. I'm open to any suggestions!!!!!!!  73 W9EFL NOEL
> > _______________________________________________
> > TenTec mailing list
> > TenTec at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
> >
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec