[TowerTalk] 43' Vertical - Feed Point Tuner or Shack Tuner?

[Richards]

Yep -- well said.

My only "defense"  (not that one is necessary) is that the big
vertical IS all you say it is.

Nevertheless, it has proven to be a fairly good performer, providing
better results than my former dipoles and wire antennas of various
types.

Nothing special, but it does allow me to work 80-20 rather well with
just the one one big stick and a big Palstar tuner.   I have used it
sparingly on 160,  so I am not sure how well it works on that band,
but STILL, the fact it works at all means I have workable antenna on
that band, and it works better than anything I tried for that band before.
I am making contacts where I did not before.

Is it a great antenna - well... probably not,  and you make a good point,
but in a world of compromises, I feel I have come up on the better end
of the stick this time.  My yard only 100 feet wide by 55 feet deep, so
this is a GREAT OPTION because it IS easy to erect, has a very small
foot print,  has very low visual impact, and is omni directional.
It provides a lot of performance in a small area and I can still hang
wire antennas of other types and switch between them.

A tower really only provides coverage on the upper bands, and this
provides me with reasonable performance on the lower bands.
It provides multi band coverage for a good price.  Full of compromises,
but such a bad mix of results, really.   Efficient - no.  But not a dumb
option, either.

One night during a big interstate rag chew, one guy asked me why I
liked my big vertical... and all I could say is, "You can hear me with it!"
whereas I was always the weak, puny signal and had trouble
making any contacts.  I am sold on it until I can  1) afford, and 2) erect
better.  And, yes,   I AM working on it!

Just MY take.   Thanks for yours.   I really enjoy your commentary.

=====  K8JHR  ==================================

Dan Zimmerman N3OX wrote:
> You know something?
> 
> There's no good  purely technical/performance reason for everyone to want
> one of these antennas.  The basic theory, if you can call it that, is that
> you can build a mediocre but simple to install antenna system by slapping on
> some not-necessarily-well-chosen transformer and using coax cable loss to
> increase power "handling" capability on the lower bands.
> 

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