Topband: Advice Needed on RX Antennas for a City Lot

[Eric Rosenberg]

I live on an average sized city lot here in Washington, DC -- 40 x 140 
feet (1/8 acre). 

For the CQWW 160 contest, I had three EWE's, one each running W, S, and 
NE.  I fed them with RG-59 and used 'standard' 9:1 transformers and 
terminating resisters as per the original QST articles (for the 80/160 
version).  In the shack, I used KD9SY's DXpedition preamp box, although 
I have used the ICE 135B (with a switchbox), too, all feeding into the 
AUX antenna port of my Omni 6+. 

At a height of 15 feet, the W and S antennas either (W) cross over or 
(S) run parallel and almost touch the neighbor's incoming telephone 
lines (I have pictures and drawings of the lot for those interested). 

Performance during the contest varied. Nothing earth-shattering (not 
that expected that radical a difference), but nothing to write home 
about. 

I'm anxious to know what I can do -- if anything -- to optimize these 
antennas.  One obvious issue is the 75 ohm feedline that is between two 
devices (transformer and preamp).  The other is the proximity of the S 
and W EWE's to the neighbor's incoming telephone lines.  I suspect there 
are other areas I can work on. 

Any advice and suggestions are appreciated.  

Thanks in advance, 

Eric W3DQ
Washington, DC