[TowerTalk] Best wire type antenna for 75m/80m DX coverage

[Barry Kutner]

I use 3 "vertical slopers" around the tower. I believe it was 
originally written up by K8UR, and is in the ARRL Antenna Handbook 
(mine's about 10 years old, don't know if it's still there) as a 40m 
antenna, using 5 slopers.
Start at the top of the tower with one end, then the lower end is 
pulled back in to the tower, so the center insulator is half way up, 
and pulled out by a rope and staked to the ground.  It looks like a 
diamond configuration.  Pulling the lower end back in cancels out the 
horiz component and lowers the andle of radiation.  The wire is fed 
with a 3/8 wave of coax (I used RG8X) to a relay switch box.  This 
length of coax is supposed to act like a stub, making the non-selcted 
wires act like reflectors.
To switch from 80 to 75, I go outside and fold back about 10 ft at the 
bottom.  In the near future, I plan on adding some relays to do this 
from in the shack, and if anyone has any suggestions on physical 
construction details (what to use to keep water out, how to support 
it, will the control wires bring RF into the shack, etc.), I'd apprec. 
it.
I'm very pleased with performance, and at times see up to 20 db, F/B or 
F/S depending on the path.
73 Barry
--
Barry Kutner, W2UP                            Internet: w2up@mindspring.com
Newtown, PA                                   Frankford Radio Club

                                           

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