Topband: Vertical Antenna Arrays

[EP Swynar]

Hi All,

Yesterday afternoon, at 5:11 PM local time here, I managed to rather casually snatch 3B7C from the throngs of Europeans calling him --- unfortunately, it was NOT on Top Band, but rather, on 40-meters CW(sigh!).

Still, I was impressed enough with my success to bemoarn the fact that I don't have the wherewithal here to erect a similar antenna for 160-meters: It's essentially an inverted Bobtail array, with the horizontal "phasing" wire just some 3-feet above actual ground...

What amazes me about this aerial is the fact that there are no elaborate phasing harnesses, no fancy copper lay-outs below entailing miles of wire, no Wilkinson power dividers, no nothing! Just some pre-measured strands of insulated of wire, a lead-in of 52-ohm coax --- and daylight DX on what is supposed to be a night-time long distance band.

Gosh, what I wouldn't do to have one of these for 1.8-MHz...!

~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ