[TowerTalk] best elevation angle of radiation

[Jim Brown]

My philosophy is to try to get the main lobe as low as possible, 
because it has to go the greatest distance. Even if I manage to get 
the peak of the lobe down to 10 degrees, it's rather unlikely that 
it will be more than 6-8 dB down from that at 30-50 degrees (at 
least for simple antennas), and at the higher angles, the distance 
of travel is much less. Thus, inverse square law tends to compensate 
for the reduced output at higher angles. 

It also seems that for most operating purposes, it's more important 
that your signal is HEARD over a wide area so that someone doesn't 
think the frequency is available, than it is that your signal be 
DOMINANT over that entire area. Of course, I've never had a station 
that was even close to being considered dominant, so I could be 
wrong. :) 

I'm going to be moving to a new QTH over the next six months where 
I'll have 100 ft tall redwoods, so I'll get a chance to verify this. 
I'll also get to try out the big slingshots -- thanks for that 
thread too!. Some of the guys in our club have had excellent 
beginners luck with them on Field Day. 

Jim Brown K9YC