[TowerTalk] 6 meter antenna height

[Jim Brown]

On 11/16/2012 8:22 AM, RMorris wrote:
> Do the math. Height versus  feedline (system) loss. Doesn't take long to get to 3db.

Not if you're using hard line, and this is a great application for it . 
My SteppIR is fed by 350 ft of 7/8-in

Although I have no experience to contribute with respect to varying 
antenna height on 6M, WW4T's comments make lots of sense to me. 6M 
openings, ESPECIALLY double hop E-skip, are highly variable, often very 
short, and depend on the alignment of reflecting layers at multiple 
points, and at the right angles for the distances involved. My QTH is 
several hundred feet below ridges to virtually all of North America, so 
even with a 120 ft tower, my 6M antenna (a 3-3l SteppIR plus 6M element) 
has a horizon of about 8 degrees. But I've made hundreds of double hop 
QSOs to the regions between W9 and the Atlantic, and that wouldn't have 
happened if low angle was everything. :)

If you're serious about 6M and have the budget and skyhooks, I agree 
with WW4T about having antennas at several heights.  BUT -- 6M is a 5% 
of the time band -- it's fun when it's open, but openings are mostly 
between late May and late July, a bit around the end of the year, and 
far less common at other times.  Fun can also be had working meteor 
scatter, ionospheric scatter, and even EME. For all of these you need 
the WSJT modes, and for EME you need lots of gain, lots of power, and 
horizon.

73, Jim K9YC