[TowerTalk] FD Antenna Discussison - Just for Fun

[Jim Brown]

On Mon, 25 Apr 2005 08:55:27 -0700 (PDT), Lee Buller wrote:

>Anyone have any words of wisdom about this that I
>haven't seen or read

Remember that Field Day and Sweepstakes are SHORT distance contests, 
which calls for a fairly high angle of radiation. You want a 
radiation angle that is low enough to get coast to coast, but any 
lower is wasted power. 

Because verticals tend to be low angle antennas (unless they are 
very short), verticals are not a good first choice for Field Day. If 
it's all you can do, I would use it, but IMO, the only GOOD antenna 
for Field Day is a dipole as high as you can get it on 80 and 40, 
and not more than about 40 ft on the higher bands. Obviously a case 
can be made for more complex horizontal antennas like loops that 
have a more omni pattern. 

Jim Brown  K9YC