[TowerTalk] Cage Antennas

[Lee Buller]

I have been looking for a project to work on this fall (when it cools off)
and have been looking at a "cage" antenna for 80 meters.  I think that is
the appropriate name.  If my understanding is correct, a cage antenna is
more that one wire on each side of the dipole.  I've read that in the
golden years of radio, the cage was used quite extensively with up to six
wires per side.

My plan is to use three wires using Lexan spacers.  I plan to do some
experiementation here, but my first plan is to make all three wires the
same length and cut the antenna for the middle of the bands.  AS I
understand this type of antenna, the construction of the antenna makes the
wire to "appear" thicker...which increases bandwidth.

A variation would be to cut one wire for 3.5...aother for 3.8 and still
another for 4.0.

Can you use these in Inverted  Vee configuration or do they need to be
flat-top?

Has anyone out there fooled with this type of antenna and if so....what are
the pitfalls?

Lee Buller
k0wa@southwind.net



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