[TowerTalk] 160M Wire Antenna

[Tom Rauch]

> > directed  straight up. How do you explain how I have confirmed over 250
> DXCC 
> > entities  on 160 Meters with the highest antenna I've ever used being
> 90 feet 
> > at the  center 
> 
> That's a good point Jim.  I've worked 298 countries and the highest tower
> I've ever had is the one I have now--30 feet.  My 80 meter dipole is about
> 80 feet in the air and I have over 100 countries on that band.  ALL the
> power doesn't go straight up!! Tom W7WHY

Hi Tom,

While everyone probably agrees ALL the power doesn't go 
STRAIGHT up, the real question is how much better we could do 
using an inverted L or shunt-fed tower rather than a low horizontal 
antenna (meaning under 1/4 wl high) for working DX on 160. 

While there are exceptions, the vast majority of successful topband 
DX'ers use verticals. Fewer than 10% use dipoles at any height, 
and most of those are DX stations who depend on the other end to 
have all the hardware to pull them out of the mud. 

There is a reason for the migration to verticals by people who can 
have any antenna they like, and it certainly isn't because low 
dipoles own the band in pileups...or are better when working 
marginal contacts.


73, Tom W8JI
w8ji@contesting.com

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