Topband: Inverted L trap concoction

[rick darwicki]

I used to operate every year in the ARRL 160 contest starting in about 1975. Tried every kind of short ground mounted vertical (less than 35 ft) devised by man over a pretty extensive radial system I buried when the lot was just dirt. Also shunt feeding the 35 ft tower, loaded sloper off the top of the tower etc. 
The first antenna that go me east of the Mississippi was a 1/4 wave of 450 ohm ladder line up about 32 feet and out to a tree. Fed on one side and grounded on the other at the base. After playing with ground mounted antennas I put an old Create 40/80 vertical on a 20 foot pipe at the side of the house and ran about 60 wires out from the base at random lengths on the roof and along the fence. Four are full size for 160. I used to base load it for 160. 
During some SSB contest my old Alpha 78 set the CW tuned trap in the Create on fire, burned it to a crisp. I took it down and built some very large 40 and 80 meter traps with HV caps and removed the burned trap. So the remaining vertical was about 30 feet high, I attached a wire at the top and out a few feet had the 40 meter trap and out another 30 feet or so the 80 meter trap with additional wire out to the tree that tuned it to 160 meters. 
That arrangement worked pretty well and I managed to work into Europe with it. About two years ago water or bugs go into the 40M trap and it fried. The arrangement came down and I took parts from the old 80M section of the vertical and extended it up to about 44 feet. At the base there is a 18" standoff with a wire running up to about 30 feet with an insulator and it continues to the 80m trap and tree. I got my last few for DXCC with it so don't laugh hi hi. 
The whole thing is fed with one RG 213 line and has a big RF choke at the base. There is a very small coil at the base to resonate 160 because it was the easiest thing to do.
I did have about a 300 feet RX antenna hidden along the fence tops but it had to be taken down. Noise has gotten so bad my loop can't find a null. I doubt there will be a second 100 on 160 hi hi
Rick, N6PE