Topband: 160-Meter Antenna Design

[Dick and Adele Bingham]

Greetings everyone

I have been using a 160-Meter antenna configuration that I
have named "The Spider". I have not seen anything like it
mentioned in various publications so I wrote an article and
submitted it to QST hoping it might get some exposure there.

They rejected it (first time I've been turned down by them!)
saying they are swamped with articles, so all of this work
now needs a home - someone's website - where interested
Topbanders can access it and decide for themselves if it is worth
trying.

I am presently using a "Half-Spider" (it looks like an inverted
"W") to provide switchable-gain to my NW and SE and the
performance is quite impressive. All of the beam-steering is
performed at the center of the array and the usual coax feed
"busy-ness" common to other phased systems is not needed
(nor is there a requirement for an extensive ground-system.)

I do not have any tall towers so the antenna is supported by a
catenary suspended between two tall Fir trees. The Spider can
be built using a total of 2-wavelengths of wire, lots of support
rope and a single 140-to-150 foot tall tower.

The article also includes a mechanically-tuned 75/80 Meter
version that allows one to easily optimize the antenna's
performance anywhere between 3.5 and 3.8 MHz

I need some peer-reviews here too because I don't want to be
re-inventing the wheel. Any takers out there?

73 - Dick - w7wkr


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