[TowerTalk] Adding 160 to an 80M dipole?

Bryan Swadener via TowerTalk towertalk at contesting.com
Wed Dec 17 00:06:57 EST 2014


Jim,
I suggested that but Larry sez he can't do that. For others, my 80m cage inverted vee (sans feedpoint choke) functions on 160m as a vertical w/ top-hat on 160m. The apex is at 70' AGL w/ about 80' of coax below. A 12VDC SPDT vacuum relay near the ground bus does the switching using a bias tee. I have about 1500 feet of radials in the ground with another 1000 feet planned. So far, it works OK. The ATU in my TS850SAT dials it in FB:
Photos + diagrams: http://tinyurl.com/wa7prc-80m-160m
vy 73,Bryan WA7PRC
 
    Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 18:15:09 -0800
From: Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Adding 160 to an 80M dipole?

On Tue,12/16/2014 5:16 PM, Larry Banks wrote:
> The ARRL 160 contest got me interested in 160.  I would like to add loading coils and additional wire to my 80M dipole at my QTH in Maine to see how that might fly.  (It would make it an 80/160 dipole.)

Larry,

Horizontal antennas are not very effective on 160M because it's usually 
not practical to get them high enough to not be a cloud-warmer. I had an 
160/80 dipole up about 120 ft between a couple of redwood trees, and I 
also had an 86 ft Tee vertical for 160. The Tee vertical nearly always 
beat the dipole, often by a lot.

Here are the slides for a talk I've done to several ham clubs and at 
Pacificon a few years ago. It may give you some ideas.

http://k9yc.com/160MPacificon.pdf

73, Jim K9YC
   


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