Topband: loops, antennas etc etc

[Dennis Peterson]

Well, here's my 2¢ worth on the subject of loops, verticals wire antennas
etc etc etc

Several years ago when I lived in the Pacific Northwest in auburn, Wa, I
corresponded with a couple well known top band operators to which I will
give their calls   AA1K and W1BB, I asked these operators what was the best
antenna to use here and there and so on..................

Their reply was this, "Dennis they said, take bit and pieces of information
from as many operators as you can and put together a system that will and
does work for YOU and you should come up with a reasonable transmit and
receive system that you can use...................

I have lived by this philosophy of these two well know gentlemen and have
done just that over the years from Seattle, Wa to Muscatine, Ia and the
results have been more than rewarding.  It's not a question of so and so
said not to bother because they just don't work-------------only if you
don't spend an appreciable amount of time on the system you're trying to get
to work to find and figure out WHY it isn't i.e.  OPERATOR ERROR plays many
tricks on us...........................

USE WHATEVER and AS MUCH INFORMATION as you can gather and then use it to
developed your own operating parameters whether it be a transmit antenna or
a receiving antenna.......REMEMBER------What works for one doesn't
necessarily mean that it will work for the next guy and vice versa---what
doesn't work DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT WILL OR WON'T FOR THE NEXT AS WELL.

I personally am using a W1WCR 60 foot center fed phased Steering Wave
antenna system, a 10' diameter dual receiving and rotatable 80/160 loop; a
pennant antenna; a 4 turn electro static shielded indoor loop and a 215'
long wire at 30' high.  Yes they all work and some even work when one of
more of the others aren't working.  Take the information as a grain of salt,
store it in memory and use what you think you can make work in your own
environment.

73s and good DX Dennis   KØCKD
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