[TowerTalk] TowerTalk Digest, Vol 169, Issue 88

Thu Jan 26 14:22:30 EST 2017

________________________________
From: TowerTalk <towertalk-bounces at contesting.com> on behalf of towertalk-request at contesting.com <towertalk-request at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 10:27:10 PM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: TowerTalk Digest, Vol 169, Issue 88

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Tower (Jim Brown)
   2. Re: 160m Slopers (jimlux)
   3. Re: 160m Slopers (john at kk9a.com)
   4. Re: 160m Slopers (jimlux)
   5. Re: Rotators available out there, need some help/info (Chet Moore)
   6. Re: 160m Slopers (Jim Brown)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 16:57:08 -0800
From: Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tower
Message-ID:
        <291dbe5c-e1df-d292-fa2d-e7beac15e087 at audiosystemsgroup.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

On Wed,1/25/2017 1:57 PM, Fred Keen via TowerTalk wrote:
> The Mosley TA 33 Jr is (was) a smaller footprint yagi that for boom length had decent performance at my old QTH.

K7LXC and N0AX measured small and medium-size tribanders about 15 years
ago in a very disciplined way, and published their results. The Mosley
TA33 and Pro-57B came in dead last in their respective size categories.
N0AX is currently the editor of the ARRL Handbook and ARRL Antenna Book.

The Force 12 C3 and C3SS and the SteppIR 2-el and 3-el yagis are
excellent performers. The little 2-el SteppIR will blow away a TA33, and
can easily be handled by one person on a tower. Our small contest group
who do FD and state QSO party expeditions together own three C3SS
antennas between us, all bought used.

If you want performance and low visibility, a 2-el SteppIR (no
trombones) is the clear winner.

73, Jim K9YC

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:41:36 -0800
From: jimlux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] 160m Slopers
Message-ID: <5b511a6c-ad4c-7764-70d8-eefe4ad59e55 at earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

On 1/25/17 4:42 PM, Chuck Dietz wrote:
> I have a 140' tower with several beams on it and I want to get back on
> 160m.  I want to put up a 1/4 WL sloper, but my experience has been that it
> will only barely cover 1/2 the band.  I have measured out two slopers, one
> 133' long and the other 127' long. Can I feed both together with the same
> feedline? (Adjusting the longer one first.)

Yes, and both might need adjustment.. There's something in the Antenna
Book about this kind of antenna.  You also need to space the two wires
apart a bit.

   Or, should I just "bite the
> bullet" and make two slopers to the antenna switch? I only have 4 ports on
> the switch so I want to only use one for this if its not going to be a
> compromise.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Chuck W5PR
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:23:01 -0500
From: <john at kk9a.com>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] 160m Slopers
Message-ID: <005201d27783$8097d160$81c77420$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

This is a half sloper so the tower is a radiator. Whether it works well or
not depends on the tower and other mounted antennas. I imagine that this is
addressed in the Antenna Handbook. You would likely have better results
shunt feeding the tower or using a wire vertical.

John KK9A

To:     towertalk at contesting.com
Subject:        Re: [TowerTalk] 160m Slopers
From:   jimlux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
Date:   Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:41:36 -0800

>On 1/25/17 4:42 PM, Chuck Dietz W5PR wrote:
>I have a 140' tower with several beams on it and I want to get back on
>160m.  I want to put up a 1/4 WL sloper, but my experience has been that it
>will only barely cover 1/2 the band.  I have measured out two slopers, one
>133' long and the other 127' long. Can I feed both together with the same
>feedline? (Adjusting the longer one first.)

Yes, and both might need adjustment.. There's something in the Antenna Book
about this kind of antenna. You also need to space the two wires apart a
bit.

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 19:32:52 -0800
From: jimlux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] 160m Slopers
Message-ID: <3fc46d33-5a46-a835-2363-ebd413a45dbf at earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

On 1/25/17 7:23 PM, john at kk9a.com wrote:
> This is a half sloper so the tower is a radiator. Whether it works well or
> not depends on the tower and other mounted antennas. I imagine that this is
> addressed in the Antenna Handbook. You would likely have better results
> shunt feeding the tower or using a wire vertical.
>
> John KK9A
>
> To:   towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject:      Re: [TowerTalk] 160m Slopers
> From: jimlux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:41:36 -0800
>
>> On 1/25/17 4:42 PM, Chuck Dietz W5PR wrote:
>> I have a 140' tower with several beams on it and I want to get back on
>> 160m.  I want to put up a 1/4 WL sloper, but my experience has been that it
>> will only barely cover 1/2 the band.  I have measured out two slopers, one
>> 133' long and the other 127' long. Can I feed both together with the same
>> feedline? (Adjusting the longer one first.)
>
> Yes, and both might need adjustment.. There's something in the Antenna Book
> about this kind of antenna. You also need to space the two wires apart a
> bit.
>
>

Isn't this where it's a sort of V dipole, tower is half the V, the
sloping wire is the other half of the V.  You adjust the length of the
wire to make the match "reasonable".

So, if you have two of those wires, you might be able to get a broader
band (or two humped) resonance.

You can certainly do it with a weird fan dipole - I had a inverted V
with two sets of wires for different bands (12 and 17)... one wire fell
off leaving the 17 meter wire on one side, and the 12 and 17 on the
other.  Yes, it was detuned, but when I swept it, it still showed two
resonances..

Mind you, it was an evil beast to tune with lot of interactions (in it's
original and altered form).. Those sorts of experiences are what made me
a convert to tuners at the feedpoint - get the wire the approximately
right length and let the tuner worry about the exact match.  The pattern
difference on a 6-8 meter long dipole as you go through 10,12,15,17,and
20m is not very much..

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 23:06:38 -0500
From: "Chet Moore" <Chetmoore at cox.net>
To: "'Stephen Davis'" <sdavis at davisrf.com>,     <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Rotators available out there, need some
        help/info
Message-ID: <0b9b01d27789$981ba860$c852f920$@net>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

how medium is meadium and how heavy is "heavy"

-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
Stephen Davis
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 3:54 PM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Rotators available out there, need some help/info

Hi TT'rs,

I am in need of a medium load, and also a heavy duty load, rotator. It's
been many years since I have bought rotators.

Can you tell me what is out there, by mfr. and maybe model #, regardless of
whether or not you recommend them.  Then if you or anybody else has
experience or any thoughts for
each available, that input would be welcomed.

I will be glad to do a recap back to the group when all input is in.

Tnx so much, 73, Steve, K1PEK
_______________________________________________

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------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 20:13:34 -0800
From: Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] 160m Slopers
Message-ID:
        <0aedfc8e-7b8d-7c3b-28cc-410ddcad4ffa at audiosystemsgroup.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

On Wed,1/25/2017 7:23 PM, john at kk9a.com wrote:
> This is a half sloper so the tower is a radiator.

Not necessarily -- it depends on how it is being fed. I have two wires
sloping off my 120 ft tower. They are insulated from the tower and fed
from the bottom against four radials elevated about 20 ft. I feed one or
the other, but not both. The tower, with a 3-el SteppIR and long 2M yagi
is long enough to act as a reflector, yielding about 6 dB of F/B.
Because the tower is part of the antenna, I have 8 quarter wave
on-ground radials on it.

This is, of course, not the only way to feed wires sloping off of a
tower, and some nice looking arrays are in the ARRL Handbook and/or
Antenna Book.

73, Jim K9YC

> Whether it works well or
> not depends on the tower and other mounted antennas. I imagine that this is
> addressed in the Antenna Handbook. You would likely have better results
> shunt feeding the tower or using a wire vertical.
>
> John KK9A
>
> To:   towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject:      Re: [TowerTalk] 160m Slopers
> From: jimlux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:41:36 -0800
>
>> On 1/25/17 4:42 PM, Chuck Dietz W5PR wrote:
>> I have a 140' tower with several beams on it and I want to get back on
>> 160m.  I want to put up a 1/4 WL sloper, but my experience has been that it
>> will only barely cover 1/2 the band.  I have measured out two slopers, one
>> 133' long and the other 127' long. Can I feed both together with the same
>> feedline? (Adjusting the longer one first.)
> Yes, and both might need adjustment.. There's something in the Antenna Book
> about this kind of antenna. You also need to space the two wires apart a
> bit.
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

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------------------------------

End of TowerTalk Digest, Vol 169, Issue 88
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