[TowerTalk] Optimium Tower Height

[David Gilbert]

Instead of trying to base your decision on a bunch of anecdotal advice, 
why don't you use HFTA to evaluate various heights on your bands of 
interest for the signal paths you are primarily interested in.  HFTA not 
only shows you the elevation pattern for the height you choose, it also 
provides a pseudo figure of merit that shows how well that pattern 
corresponds to the optimum takeoff angles (calculated over an entire 
sunspot cycle) for any path you select.  It isn't prefect by any means, 
but it's a whole lot more objective than just about anything else, 
especially if you're mostly making comparisons between one option versus 
another.  The program is free with the ARRL Antenna Book and is very 
easy to use, and if you live on flat terrain you don't even need to work 
up a special terrain description file.

73,
Dave   AB7E