[TowerTalk] Optimium Tower Height

[David Thompson]

There was an article years ago that said if you could only have one tower 
then 70 feet or so was optimum for 20, 15, and 10.

Even with a 70 foot height I can remember hams with 40 foot towers and small 
tri-banders beating me out to say Central America from W5.  In 1970
I built a VE3BMV 7 element razor 10 meter beam
and ran away with the high North America score on Single band 10 in the CQ 
SSB Contest (Later called the CQ WPX).  I was about the only station
to consistently get into Eastern and Northern Europe.  One SM said he could 
hear me for hours calling CQ Contest.  A local with a TA-33 at 45 feet beat 
me to several Canal Zone stations (Panama).

When Val N4RJ was working on his stack on 10 he moved the bottom all over 
the place.  He said 22 feet was ideal for working South America.  Bill 
W4AN/KM9P (SK) had a TH6 up at 45 feet aimed at Europe.  He said that was 
ideal for 15 and even 20 when the band was wide open.

I agree with those who said that you need to consider the terrain.  Bob 
W5CKY/W5AO (SK) had a Hy-gain Duo Band 20/40 up on a bluff in Jackson, MS. 
His tower was at least 80 feet tall
and he told me he had to use that height to clear the top of the bluff to 
the West.  He used to hold his own on 40 CW to Europe but really had to work 
for SE Asia and Japan.  To Europe he had a big drop off so the effective 
height was much more than his tower height.

73 Dave K4JRB