[TenTec] 80 meter loops

Tue Mar 16 14:34:38 EST 2004

Loop report continues after a paragraph on Field Day...

The first object of field day is to bring the guys together and
have fun, practicing for emergencies.
Winning the contest is optional and I must say my drive to do so
becomes less and less each year.
The Bar-B-Q and the Beer and the eyeball QSOs are growing in
interest.

Pete, in your case it sounds like the garden snake scored the
most points!

Seriously though, I fully agree with Bob.
Real tests with permanent antennas are the best way to check out
a new idea.
Unfortunately, I don't personally know a single ham here in
Germany with a big enough yard to put up this "Lazy Loop" (as I
like to call it).  I'm sure there are several and indeed we work
many on the bands, but I don't know any anywhere near where I
live.

However, I would like to repeat that my FD operation with this
antenna was not just once or twice but at least a dozen times
AND, I used it as my only antenna when operating as the [only] CW
operator (C31SE) in a 10-day dx-pedition to Andorra back in 1979.
The sideband ops were running an SB-220 linear amp (they had a
generator) but I worked far more stateside on 80m than they did
(with their dipole) and I was only running 50w with my [original]
Omni (analog).

Now Pete (+ 10 KW generator) get this:  I ran 10 days off of CAR
BATTERIES (only one battery per car, we had 4 cars). We were on
top of the highest mountain in the Pyrenees, El Rabasso, over
2000m up.  Each day one group of 3 to 4 people would drive to the
valley to purchase supplies (and take showers).  That would
recharge the battery of the car I had used the day before.
Amazing how long you can run a well designed analog rig with its
dial lamps switched off and output power reduced to 50w.
I guess the call sign made up for the missing 50w!  I used no
poles, just trees.  The antenna was only up about 6 to 8 meters
on the 4 corners and drooping lower in the middle of the legs.
According to theory, it never should have worked for dx.  Well my
logbook is full of dx on all bands!

Long Live Lazy Loops !!!  :-))

73
Rick

-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of
ac5e at comcast.net
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 1:05 PM
To: tentec at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] 80 meter loops

While Bob's comments are well taken, we get to FD operations
because they were mentioned early in this thread.

And with all due respect to those who have operated the W5NA/K5PN
station, we have never had enough experienced contest operators
to make a competitive operation. But we always seem to place near
the top of our class.

For example, during our best outing, we were down for nearly
three hours for weather: our most experienced CW op worked less
than 8 hours before he had to leave; our only experienced SSB op
started the 'test and had to leave around 3 PM, to return for a
couple of hours Sunday morning; and the rest of the operation was
with VERY inexperienced operators. Score wise, the high scoring
op was a persistant young ham who had been a Tech Plus for less
than three months at the Novice station. And that was the first
time our Tech had been on HF. Most of the time anyone available
muddled through - albeit very slowly on the CW station.

Equipment wise we had a F12 C3 for the CW station, a Mosley for
the SSB station, a R7 for the Novice station, and the two Vees
were swapped back and forth between the CW and phone stations
according to propagation. Rigs were two of my Omni VI+'s (or
option 3's, don't remember) on the phone and CW station, and a
Delta II for the Novice station. Computer logging with paper
backup - and thank the Good Lord for the paper backups!  All
powered with a 10 KW gas generator. Along with the Dunestars and
other equipment that were necessary for such a closely packed
operation. The coffee pot being the one important piece of
equipment.

Oh yes - besides the weather we were shut down at least once for
visiting critters. Even a grass snake looking for a dry spot in a
thunderstorm gets pretty scarey.

73  Pete Allen  AC5E
> Field Day activities, these represent operation over a few
hours as compared to those of us that use the
> same antenna or group of antennas day in and day out over a
year or two.  I
> really don't believe that operation in a "foreign" location
with a "new"
> antenna is solid basis for antenna performance evaluation.
>
> This is contradictory to the reference that Pete provides
regarding the
> Hattiesburg ARS results.  To that end I give more credit to the
skill of the
> operators with regard to FD scores.
>
> 73
> Bob, K4TAX
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <ac5e at comcast.net>
> To: <tentec at contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 7:32 PM
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] 80 meter loops
>
>
> > Stuart, we have also used low horizontal loops for FD - and I
think we
> could have gotten an award for WAA. Worked All Alabama - or
Arkansas - or
> Louisana, Georgia, west Tennesse, and the Missouri bootheel.
And not a lot

> else on the wires. And it's really hard to share a tribander
between CW and
> SSB stations.
> >
> > Of course, your vicinity has a lot better soil conditions
than our
> impermiable clay, where conductivity is officially 2ms and
usually measures
> less than 1. That surely accounts for some of the difference.
> >
> > For FD we have had a lot better results with the same amount
of wire up as
> Vee's or "half rhombics."  Of course they are directional but
not so
> directional you can't cover North America with three antennas.
The first
> year we put a pair of Vees and a dipole up for FD at my farm we
placed fifth
> or sixth in 2A, which isn't bad considering the shortage of
operators.
> >
> > Check the Hattiesburg Amateur Radio Club (W5NA or K5PN) FD
results for the
> last 10 years or so. It did not matter what the conditions
were, or how few
> operators we had, we always placed quite well. Whether the
ionosphere
> cooperated or not.
> >
> > 73  Pete Allen  AC5E
> >

> > > Pete, using a greater than one wave 80m loop on 20m band,
we have had
> more
> > > than 500 miles on first skip during Field Day.  This was a
horizontal
> loop
> > > up 20 feet high.  We have used one band loops which are
multiwavelength
> for
> > > 40m, and for 15/10m for several Field Days.  They seem to
fill in the
> lobes
> > > on harmonic bands when the ionospherics are working well.
No
> > > directionality.  They work best for us, fed in a corner.
Symmetrical
> ones
> > > seem to outperform rectangular, or diamond shaped ones.  Of
course we
> are
> > > sitting in Central part of U.S., and have equal shots to
both coasts
> from
> > > our elevated location on a hill.
> > > 73,
> > > Stuart Rohre
> > > K5KVH
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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>
>
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