Topband: Small/City Lot RX Antenna

[Mike(W5UC) & Kathy(K5MWH)]

Greetings All:

I have watched with interest the discussion here regarding getting more 
activity on 160, and the receive antenna problems for us who are city 
dwellers, and/or have small lots.  I live on a lot, in a small town here 
in east Texas that is 90 ft wide and 152 feet deep.  In the back yard 
area I have a 70 foot tower from which hangs the vertical part of an 
Inverted L.  For 3 or 4 years I used a variation of a K9AY receive 
antenna, but each spring I had to take the antenna down because K5MWH, 
my sweet wife, wanted the yard to look nice for the summer.  Please go 
look at   http://www.suddenlink.net/pages/w5uc/160.html  to see the K9AY 
variation, and then click on 160 VERTICAL ARRAY (near the top of the 
page)  to see my solution.  This receive antenna takes almost NO real 
estate to construct, and since it is along the side and back of the lot, 
it can stay up 12 months/year. It consists of 3 vertical antennas as 
described by K7TJR in his 8 antenna circular array, provides coverage in 
4 directions, and needs no radials.  The antennas are mounted on and 
above a chain link fence, and are 54 feet apart. They could also be 
mounted on a privacy fence. The calculated RDF is around 9.2 which is 
better than a K9AY, and the maximum lobe take off angle is 26 degrees 
which is considerably lower than the K9AY.  It appears that the F/B 
ratio is in the range of 20 db.  Go look, and if you have questions 
contact me off reflector.  I will be glad to share what I know and what 
I have learned, most of which came from the generosity of Lee, K7TJR, 
whose pre-amps I used in building the verticals.. Good luck, and give 
160 a try.

73,
Mike, W5UC
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   You are about to receive your bounty.*
http://www.suddenlink.net/pages/w5uc/