Topband: this morning

[kb5njd@netzero.com]

Several asked what I use for TX and RX antennas so here I go:

On transmit I use a butternut HF2V top loaded with 4, 25-foot long wires, each 90 degrees apart with the ends about 15 feet off of the ground.  The antenna is only 32 feet tall.  I have 80, 100-foot radials that are on the surface and I use 6 inch spikes and UV stabilized nylon wire ties to keep them connected to the spikes (NOTE: I had a similar system at my parents house about 6 years ago and there are still intact wire ties in the ground -- the seem to last forever!).  They are not necessarily evenly spaced and not all straight and several leave my property.  The house is only about 15 feet to the south of the antenna -- too close, but the best I could do with my property.  The top loading has allowed me to bypass several turns of the 160 coil and almost half of the 80 coil.  40 meters is now completely unusable because of the top loading and the base matching.  I forgot to mention that my entire back yard (1700 sq. feet) is steel plated with galvanized/welded garden fence.  I put this down as an experiment a few years ago and it has now been completely covered by the grass carpet, so I just left it.  The vertical is not connected to this as I made no effort to maintain continuity with each section of screen in the yard (I recall the discussion about this several months ago regarding "circulating currents" and the potential negative effect on my signal -- no flames, please :-)).

On receive I have small "magnetic" loops.  I have seen lots of comments on these on the reflector about these and how they don’t work as claimed.  For me, they offer an improved S/N ratio.  I go from S9 noise on the vertical to S0 on the loops with signals that just jump out at me, so they work for me.  Maybe no directivity, but its kinda like the guy using a small stumpy vertical on 6-meters vs. the guy with the 6-meter beam -- I guess if the band is open it doesn’t always matter.  This morning, for example, no copy on the JA or the G on the vertical -- well into the noise, but on the loop, they were solid copy, less the slow deep QSB.  I own an ICE preamp, but have gotten used to the quiet band on the loops.  I have considered K9AY loops in the front yard (the only real estate still available), but it would be entirely too close to the transmit antenna to be effective (from what I gather here on the list).

I have an amp, the AL-811, the baby of the Ameritron line.  I can get 450-500 watts easily and have not had any reports of splatter or harmonic, not yet anyway…  

I live in a subdivision with a neighborhood association, but they have been great so far and even approved a tower request a while back.  I think as long as I stay out of their TV's they could care less what I do.  So far, so good…

thanks again for all the kind words!

73,

John KB5NJD