[TowerTalk] Vertical vs Beam

[Rob Atkinson]

The dipole, at 300 ft. on 160 doesn't beat the 1/4 w. vertical because
even 300 feet on 160 isn't high enough.  That's like around 35 feet
high for a dipole on 20 meters.  High enough to make plenty of
contacts but probably won't beat a 16 foot vertical pole out in the
clear with 60 radials down under it on transmit.  Again, receiving may
be a different matter.

I wondered if I was the only one who thought the 3 el. yagi on 160 was
not the best use of steel, space and money, but I figured maybe the
on4 ground conductivity is extremely poor.  I realize there is a
tremendous wow factor in seeing a gigantic yagi on a massive tower on
160, and I appreciate the civil and mechanical engineering involved,
plus the effort needed to get all that in the air, but I think I would
have gone with 4 base fed insulated towers in a square with a
broadcast grade phasing system and receive beverages.  I suppose one
factor that went into the choice of the yagi was that it could be
turned faster than adjusting the phasor when a new direction needed to
be quickly taken in a contest.

73

rob / k5uj