TopBand: Hytower MK-160a Addon kit for 160

[w2crs@kktv.com]

00>I'd like information from anyone who may have used one of the Hygain MK-160 
00>meter addon kits with a Hytower vertical.

I tried it and didn't like it for DX.
This results in an inverted-L with the vertical section just 24' high.

 00>To get something on 160, I'm
00>considering adding the horizontal wire & trap kit which Hygain has sold for 
00>long time. Longterm I might add it to the second one and attempt to use the
00>pair as a 2 element phased array on 160 as well.
00>Is anyone using this? If so, I would like to hear what performance might be.
00>How broadband might it be? Information from Hygain is a little limited.
00>Thanks in advance,
00>Ron Klein - W0OSK 

I've had better luck with my Hytower using the 160M coil.  Worked about
50 countries with it last winter (70+ in all, but that's another
story). I modified my Hytower so that I could run more than 200 watts
without buring up the insulators.  Like others who have done this
modification, I cut away most of the sheet metal from both of the
tubing supports on the top tower section and replaced them with good
high tech plastic insulators cut in a triangle for bolting to remaining
sheet metal support on the top tower section  with a center hole just
larger than the tubing diameter.  The u-bolts can't be used, but heavy
duty insulating tape around the tubing on both sides of the plastic
insulator will adequately support the 26' "whip."
I have several thousand feet of radials.  The antenna will now
withstand a KW input and works as well as a baseloaded short vertical
could be expected to.  Unfortuately, the antenna will not work on the
other bands without changing the tap on the coil.  Also, with 1500
watts I burned up one of the insulators, now replaced.
Good luck and 73, 
 Doug  W2CRS



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