[TowerTalk] 160 dipole?

Jim Miller WB5OXQ in Waco wb5oxq at grandecom.net
Sun Jan 11 23:25:17 EST 2009


I am considering building a 160 meter antenna at our clubhouse because there is a 80' tower there and over an acre of land to spread out a 1/2 wave dipole.  Question is;
1 Is a 1/2 wave wire dipole the best antenna for the band considering there is room for it.
2 Is 80' high enough for the center of the inverted V?
3 How high do the ends need to be off of the ground?
4 Should I feed it with coax or ladder line to the 10' level (or other) then a balun to coax to the tuner (coax is the only acceptable line into the shack)?  The shack is a metal building 30X60' and directly below the tower.  There is no way to get ladder line to the operating position since all cables have to run through a 3" conduit for at least 30'.

The tower is a free standing commercial tower made of 4 20' sections bolted together with a 2 meter and a 440mhz antenna at the top, all ham antennas.

Thanks for any advice.  Jim wb5oxq


More information about the TowerTalk mailing list