Topband: Rx antenna suggestions

[Gary Smith]

Hello again,

Rig is a fully loaded K3. Tx antenna is an inv-L.

I need to do something with my Rx antennae; I have a couple 500+ foot 
bi-directional Beverage antennae set up from a couple of years ago 
but they have never done well. I live on the ocean and the beverages 
(& radial field) is on a salt marsh. Great for getting my signal out 
but I've come to understand that Beverages do not perform well at all 
over a salt marsh and that they were a poor choice for this 
installation.

I have a K9AY but it does not help as much as I'd like. It's better 
than the vertical, quieter than the beverages are (salt marsh issues) 
but they seem more to be good for nulling out QRN/QRM than helping Rx 
a weak signal.

There's another ham who is in the same house who gets on 80M every 
night and I did what I could to maximize the distance between his inv-
V on the top of the house and my Tx ant (350' away) and the beverages 
75' to the closest part of the NE/SW beverage. His ant is 150' away 
from the SE/NW beverage.

So I'm wanting to remove the beverages and use the twisted pair field 
wire from them and make a more useful RX antenna. To switch the 
beverage antennae I use an ICE remote coax switch and have RG6U 
flooded coax running to and from it, to the two beverages. I have the 
Array Solutions K9AY system.

>From what was suggested before, I've been considering making a 4 way 
pennant antenna and building it in the woods, near the house but have 
not seen one & I hate to admit I'm still trying to unearth my ARRL 
Antenna Handbook and don't know how to make one. If there's a better 
Rx antenna for 160 & sometimes 80 I'd like to hear what you have to 
say. I still have time to make most anything but what I don't have is 
lots of open space, nor can I put it on the top of the house because 
of the other ham who is on 80M nightly.

Thanks!

Gary
KA1J