[TowerTalk] Commercial antennas

[Rob Atkinson, K5UJ]

A few years ago, QST had an article by one of the Force 12 guys, on how a 
better antenna can improve ham radio fun exponentially.  He started with the 
amount of fun to be had using a light bulb for an antenna and went up from 
there (yes, it's possible to have a qso with a lightbulb antenna but not 
very many, or a very good qso).

Anyway, the interesting part was a story he told about visiting an island in 
the Pacific to operate in a contest.  It just so happened that at the other 
end of the island a sw bc station had a tx site with some curtain antennas 
at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean.  I believe these were the type 
of curtains with multiple vert. dipoles in front of screens hanging between 
200' towers.  The cliff was several hundred feet high.  The curtains were 
fed with open wire feed.  The author and another op were invited to hook 
their rigs up to one of the curtains, as the bc station was QRT.  On 15 m. 
at night what had been a dead band became alive with signals.  barefoot they 
were around 20 db over 9 into N. America.  (I might be slightly wrong about 
the figures but the sig. strength over a typical yagi on a tower, what they 
were going to operate with, was astonishing.)    The reason for the story 
was to illustrate how much difference a good antenna makes but not too many 
hams can afford $300,000 for a curtain antenna.  Nevertheless, it proved the 
point that operating fun goes way up with each antenna improvement.  Maybe 
someone else can remember the author, year and month the article was in QST 
and more about the story.

Rob Atkinson
K5UJ

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