TopBand: Elevated Radials

[Dave Raymond-CSUS04]

Denny:

My experience exactly.

At our local contest station here in Iowa, we have access to a number of
160 meter antennas including a 4 square, inverted vees @120'-150', and
various sloping dipoles (most of which are at about 40 degree angles).
When you get out past 2000 miles or so, it's no contest. . . the 4
square virtually always wins.  There are occasions when one of the other
antennas works better, but it's rare.  Frequently, the 4 sq will even
beat the other antennas for stateside stuff.  The other antennas,
however, are still useful for stateside contests and sometimes work well
for the Caribbean.   For Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, the 4 sq
will win 95% (or more) of the time.

73. . . Dave
W0FLS

 

> ----------
> From:
> CQK8DO@aol.com%INTERNET[SMTP:CQK8DO#064#aol.com%INTERNET@email.mot.com
> ]
> Sent: 	Thursday, March 19, 1998 10:45 AM
> To: 	topband@contesting.com%INTERNET
> Subject: 	Re: TopBand: Elevated Radials
> 
> In a message dated 98-03-18 23:15:01 EST, you write:
> 
> << Not on 160-!!!!   This myth about lower - lowest angle being better
> for DX
> is
>  "propagated" from higher bands - it is mostly true on 20m and up, but
> not on
>  40 and below. The lower you get on frequency, the HIGHER prevailing
> angles of
>  propagation get!!   Get off this stuff on low angle. ANTENNA HAS TO
> FIT
>  prevailing MODES OF PROPAGATION!!!!  
>   >>
> 
> Ummm, sorry but the inference that any old dipole, etc. will outplay a
> vertical system on 160 is incorrect....  Before I went to the expense
> and
> trouble of a large vertical array I spent several weeks with an
> inverted vee
> for 160 meters - 150 foot at the apex and 50 to 60 feet at the ends,
> comparing
> it to a single sloping vertical with two elevated and loaded 1/8wl
> radials,
> and the top of that antenna about 115 feet... There was no comparison
> on DX
> signals, i.e. greater than 2000 miles... The leaning vertical had the
> edge on
> signal strength 99% of the time... 
> Now, there were times when the S/N ratio on receive was better on the
> inverted
> vee, but even that was a minimum number of times and is another topic
> entirely... 
> And the vertical was surprisingly effective on domestic sigs, except
> for the
> stations inside of a 750 miles... There the vee really struts its
> stuff
> putting the S-meter right on the pin....
> 
> SInce putting up my 160 array I even went to the trouble of pulling
> the vee
> back up a couple of times to reconfirm my findings.. The switchable
> array
> hears dx sigs comfortably above the noise -  signals that don't even
> exist on
> the vee...
> 
> This may be subjective science, but I'm convinced... In using EzNec to
> confirm
> my empiric findings, a horizontal antenna has to be well over 300 feet
> before
> it begins to compete ( which is out of the question for me)....
> 
> Denny
> 
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