[TowerTalk] 6-meter antenna height

[Roger (K8RI) on TT]

I should add that I've had that 7L @ 115' for over 2 full sunspot cycles.
I've probably worked close to as many or maybe more countries on six. On 
the peak, two cycles ago, I basically could have had WAC within 10 
minuted as the whole world was audible with strong signals at one time. 
I missed a station in Guam because he had a stateside call, did not 
identify his location and was the loudest signal on the band. Later I 
heard him working a pileup which is when I heard mention of his 
location.  I didn't call as I was burnt out from working that opening 
for hours.

That was the day I worked the Central American who had a piece of wire 
stuck in the coax connector with his rig on the work bench.
In pileups I usually worked them on the first call and that was with 
just 100 W.

http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/Tower29.htm
I've often posted the link to this photo. I was working on the TH5 
tribander at 100 feet, the 7L 6-meter Yagi is the first antenna above 
it, so there was a lot of Aluminum above and below it.

There was a ham (I've forgotten his call and name) about 20 miles NNW of 
me with a huge quadrature array of much longer antennas than mine.  I 
don't remember the height, but they were high. no one in the area out 
talked him regardless of antenna height.

I have seen days where long openings (> 1000 miles) on 144 favored lower 
antennas and my co-linear vertical at 50 feet would out do  my stacked 
12s at 130 feet, but that was a long time ago so I don't remember the 
particulars, no is it in the log notes.

As forgiving up on 6-m DXCC, I've seen a number of openings in the past 
couple of weeks to just about all continents.  Unfortunately at present 
I only have some wire antennas for 40 and 75 working.

I see those openings 
http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA and really wish 
I could at least get that 7L back up.
As I write this post there is/are openings from the mid West and 
particularly New England into SA.

73

Roger (K8RI)


On 7/31/2016 Sunday 1:50 AM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
> FD operation got me to thinking about this.
>
> On HF (depending on band conditions) there is a statistically 
> preferred height for the distance to be worked.
>
> On VHF particularly 6-meters where long haul is Sporadic E, Tropo, 
> occasionally F, or Aurora.
>
> Local work is usually the higher the better. I've normally had the 7L 
> C3i (boom just a few inches short of 30 feet) at 115 feet and 
> excellent results for single and double hop Sporadic E as well a F and 
> Au.
>
> Keeping in mind that the ideal height for HF is statistically derived, 
> where is the point (frequency) where we should typically be switching 
> over from the way we figure HF antenna height to the higher the 
> better?  The FD station had their 6-meter antenna height calculated 
> the same way we usually figure HF antenna height, meaning, I could 
> about jump high enough to touch the antenna. That is, if I could still 
> jump.  They were shooting through the trees.
>
> A typical 6-meter antenna would have a "bunch" of lobes between the 
> horizon and vertical
>


-- 

73

Roger (K8RI)


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