Topband: Another beverage success story

[John Wagner]

> Until recently, I have mostly used my TX antenna for 
> receiving.  I live in the country with a pretty quiet 
> location and have been able to get away with this.  
> 
> A year ago, I put up my first real beverage - and was very 
> pleased with how it works.  It is straight - on level ground 
> - about 750 feet long.
> 
> Last weekend, I put up a second beverage - but not in as good 
> of a place.  
> My goal was to improve my listening ability to Japan - where a large 
> number of points are available for me in the 160 contests.
> 
> My best location for the beverage starts near one end of the existing 
> beverage, but then sloping down the side of a ravine.  The 
> beverage ended 
> up being 180 meters long (measured with a MFJ-259) and slopes 
> down about 
> 30 meters over its length.  It ends up 30 meters below 
> average terrain - 
> in the middle of a ravine that is probably about 100 meters wide.  It 
> wasn't clear to me that this would work.
> 
> The ravine runs mostly north/south.  The beverage is on the 
> east side of 
> the ravine.  
> 
> This AM, I woke up early enough to catch a few JAs before 
> they went to bed - 
> and the performance of the beverage was stunning.  One 
> station could not be copied on the TX antenna, but was 449 on 
> the beverage.
> 
> Needless to say, I am happy with it.  
> 
> I write this as inspiration to those of you who might be 
> holding back from 
> trying a beverage because you don't have an optimum place to 
> put it.  I 
> sure wish I would have done this 15 years ago!  I am going to 
> put up a similar one on the other side of the ravine that 
> will be pointing over the north pole.
> 
> 73 Tree N6TR/7
> tree at kkn.net

I agree, try one. I put out 500' of insulated wire on the ground and fed it
with a DX Engineering feed unit. I have not tried any termination as yet. It
may be down a bit on sensitivity compared to a single wire up off the
ground, but the improved SN ratio over my transmit antenna makes the
difference bewteen hearing them or not.
Optimal... not hardly..usable? Very.

73 John W8JJW