[TowerTalk] best elevation angle of radiation

[Al Williams]

It seems that almost all postings of which elevation angle is best refer to contacts with Europe.  The consensus is that the higher the better for opening the band but that 50/60 feet is often better later on.

But I wanted to improve my signal for Sweepstakes contesting meaning shorter distances and covering all distances up to about 3500 miles (2 hop?).  I decided to mount a rotatable 2 element Steppir on my crankup at about 38' in addition to the 4 element Monstr at 72'

I installed a two position coax switch to make it easy to switch the two antennas for a/b comparison.

Although the books and EZNEC show that the 72' antenna should have about a 20db null as compared to the 38' antenna,  I have yet to observe a received signal on the 38' beam as strong as  when on the 73' beam.  Of course this comparison is when both antennas are pointed in the same direction and the received signal is coming from a location pointed to by the beams.

Located in western Washington and probably having a reasonably good ground (wetland toward the east) and a flat terrain, I expected that the lower antenna would often produce the stronger signal but it hasn't ever.

Why?

k7puc