Topband: beverage antennas

[lew@teleport.com]

HI Barry,
   A couple of years ago I put up 4 Beverages, all 580' long. My QTH is on
top of a hill with negative horizon in all directions. I run 1 antenna
short path, 1 long path, 1 JA and 1 Caribbean. They all have a single 4'
ground rod at the far end and all come together at the close end with
ground rods there also. Each Beverage is connected through its transformer 
to a short length of RG58 with 100 beads on each for common mode rejection
to a DX Engineering antenna switch box where I can instantly switch to the
single feed line coming back to the shack.
   Each Beverage follows the contour of the sloping downgrade, elevated at
about 1.5 deer-heights..about 6-7' high. Out 50' from the antenna switch
box, the Beverages really can't see each other...being "shielded" from
each other by the ground. I don't follow the cuts in the topography, but
angle the wire so as to generally follow the overall slope of the ground.
About 50' from the far end of the antenna I angle the wire down to ground
level to ground it through the big resistor.
   These Beverages really play. The overall signal is down, but the
signal/noise ratio is great so I can work stuff I can't begin to hear when
I use the Tx ant.
   I feel (anectdotal statement coming..!!!) that the surrounding ground
that "shields" each Beverage really contributes to its quiet nature. The
fact that the Beverage slopes up or down appears to me to be irrelevant.
the noisiest Beverage is the one that intersects the elevated radial from
the 160 vertical at a 90 deg. angle. 
   My advice:  read ON4UN's book and string up the wire so it averages
6'-8' high and don't sweat the slope.
   73 and I remain,
    Lew

         Lew  Sayre   W7EW/W7AT           lew@teleport.com
         P.O.Box  3110                    Fax 503-391-2258
         Salem, Oregon 97302              160M thru 1296MHz




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