[TowerTalk] Dipole Longer or higher?

[Bill Coleman]

On Feb 15, 2005, at 12:30 AM, Derek Cohn/WB0TUA wrote:

> Would I be better off adding wire to the antenna or having the ends 
> higher in the air.  I primarily operate 80, 40, 30, and 20 CW.  Any 
> advice?

First, go higher. The single most import dimension of a horizontal 
antenna is the height above ground in wavelengths. For 80m, even 40 
feet is pretty low.

100 feet is plenty long enough for all bands except perhaps 80m. There 
might be some minor benefit to going to 120-140 feet, but it could make 
the antenna harder to tune up on 40m.

Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901