[TenTec] Value of RX Only Antennas

[Mike, K9UW]

And I went from the K9AY loop to the Hi-Z 4 square.  While the K9AY put 
more low band DX in the log than the TX antenna did, I seemed to hit a 
performance plateau  after a year or two.  The 4 square from Hi-Z was 
hundreds of dollars less than a similar competing product and the 
several db of benefit it brought quickly added 20+ countries on 160.

My neighbor permits me to install the 4 square in his hay field in 
October and I remove it in early April or whenever the ground thaws.

As an intermittent operator, in the shack when family and jobs permit, 
the Hi-Z has added much to my enjoyment of the low bands and I spend my 
summers wishing for winter so the array will be back in service.

The Orion likes it too!

73, de Mike, K9UW
Amherst, WI




On 9/22/2013 4:00 PM, Kim Elmore wrote:
> I have a K9AY loops system that I bought form Array Solutions. It's 
> rather pricey, but for me it was a choice between time and money. I 
> had the money, but not the time. I think it cost me between $450 and 
> $500 but came with everything: mast, wire, control head, preamp -- the 
> works. It's well made.
>
> Unfortunately, there's no free lunch: the K9AY loop system is much 
> better than my shunt-fed tower on 160 or F12 Sigma 80 OCF 80 m 
> vertical dipole and I've truly pulled stuff out using it that I 
> couldn't otherwise hear. That said, from everything I've read, it's no 
> Beverage. It's utility comes from four significant nulls in cardioid 
> patterns, with the nulls oriented N, S, E and W. With these I can 
> decrease QRN from distant areas with thunderstorms, which sometimes 
> helps and QRM from non-DX directions. It fits easily into a city lot 
> (not really a concern for me as I'm in 10 ac) as much as there was no 
> good way to get lines out to a Beverage array. I had a way to get 
> lines out to the K9AY loops and so that's what I chose.
>
> Kim N5OP
>