[TenTec] SLIGHTLY OT

[Steve Hunt]

Art,

If you mean extending the ends off at 90 degrees to the main dipole at 
the 25ft/30ft level, that's fine. Just think of it as adding end 
capacity loading to an electrically short dipole. The important thing is 
that it raises the resistive component and drops the capacitive 
component of the feedpoint impedance - both of which significantly 
reduce the VSWR and loss on the open wire.

But note that we are focussing on 160m here - there will be a "knock on" 
for the other bands which will likely be detrimental. On the higher 
frequency bands there will be much more current in those low extensions 
than there is on 160m, and that means the "effective height" of the 
antenna will be lower.

73,
Steve G3TXQ

On 08/04/2011 20:57, Art Trampler wrote:
> I'm not familiar with "TLW." Do you have an opinion on greater than 90 degree bends, in opposite directions, rather than vertical drops? The ends are only up 29' at one end, about 25' at the other (ground is uneven, so I compensated this way).
>   
> There is a possibility I could string another 50' on each end, forming a nearly complete letter "Z/Zed" if you will. The antenna currenly runs NW-SE, and this would involve a run due west at one corner, and ENE at the other.
>   
> Messing things up, or promising?
>   
> Art
>