[TenTec] Smaller 20M Rohmbic Question

Stuart Rohre rohre at arlut.utexas.edu
Mon Apr 11 13:12:08 PDT 2011


John, I hear you on pole set up for FD!

We got great results from Horizontal Delta loops as our club FD migrated 
from big Vee beams, to Extended Double Zepps for 80m used on higher 
bands, to today.  We did loops thate were rectangular horizontal, 
square, n polygon, and finally, for simple set up, 3 legged horizontal 
loops.   They are made up of 3 individual segment wires.  Thus, you are 
only putting up one wire at a time on a pole or support.
You put up one wire and leave a pigtail at each end, hanging out the 
insulator. Join those pigtails after you have two wires at a corner, 
with wire nuts, point closed end up to shed rain and dew.

Has worked great for us for almost 10 years.  We only put them about 20 
feet above ground, as we use these loops for 20m and up.  20 feet was 
the size dictated by our lightweight extension ladder.  This ladder is a 
flip over from an A frame ladder, so it is the lightest type you can 
haul around a field Day site.

We mainly use NVIS low dipoles at no more than 6 feet high, well marked 
with orange tapes, for 80m and 40m.  The darn thing about them, they 
still work skip at night!  To west coast from TX.

Our antennas are in the keep it simple and low labor now.
Our loops were able to use light poles that existed at our former FD 
site.  Now, we have been going back to EDZ doublet on a single pole.
And an inflatable mast with integral 2m at top and supporting a HF 
inverted Vee dipole with wide band tuner.

-Stuart Rohre
K5KVH


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