Topband: Two Wire Beverage Query...

[Herb Schoenbohm]

The thread on Beverage ground conditions has been one of the most 
interesting and productive discussions this year. I have learned a lot.

To add to what Milt observed: All my Beverages are on an island and 
close 1000 feet or so from the water line. I have 6 beverages on a 
former hay filed next to my QTH.  They all are great antennas. One of 
these 535 footers runs west and is terminated in a single 4 foot ground 
rod.  Well I got "Schmart", as my grandfather from the old country used 
to say, and lifted that termination and ran another 500 feet to a huge 
40 acre salt pond that connects to the Caribbean.   I drove down several 
ground rods and 6 bare cooper wires of 50 feet were laid into the water. 
  I was looking to improve the Beverage performance with a closer to 
ideal termination and guess what?  The Beverage performance with this 
configuration was a wasted effort. The noise seemed to increase and the 
reverse pattern signal directly east (1610 Anguilla) increase by 10db! A 
better ground at the end of the direction of the Beverage in this case 
did not make it work better.  Part 60% of additional run ran close and 
parallel to a bared wire fence which was on metal posts by about 10 
feet. At one point I even tied this into the ground system because it 
runs for another 2000 feet with metal ground posts across the salt flat 
next to the pond. But no joy. This did not make things any better.  I 
have since gone back to the classic 535 foot single wire across the hay 
field.  This RX antenna was super on JA this year although it runs 
straight west rather than northwest.

I add this observation because in my case a super ground at the Beverage 
end did not make things any better as I thought would be the case.

There is one basic rule for Beverages that even Tom could not disprove: 
   That which works best, works!


73

Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ

> In another post RE salt water and Beverages,  another OP said
> (in effect) that he was told a Beverage doesn't work well on an island
> surrounded by salt water.  Folklore?  Does anyone have any facts to
> back that up?
> N0TT

Charlie,

However, I did try one at a secluded, isolated spot along the
shore where in some places at high tide the salt water was under the
element.  That one did NOT work.
Milt, N5IA


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