[TowerTalk] 160m. Inverted L question (RVZ)

[Speer, Douglas]

I read somewhere, and can't remember where, that sloping the vertical segment of the "L"  ~15 degrees away from the tower will minimize coupling and loses into the tower.  I have a 140 foot inverted L I use on 160m.  It has 60 feet of vertical suspended off a Rohn 45g tower with about 3 feet of separation at the top.  I sloped it 15 degrees away from the tower in line with but in the opposite direction of the 80 foot horizontal segment.  My radial system is very minimal with only 16 each, 18 foot radials.  With no science to back it up, I think this is working.  I am able to  work anything I can hear on 160m.   

WRT reception, so far this season  working what I hear is not saying much out here in North West Texas.  We are simply not hearing what stations a few hundred miles in any direction are hearing.  I am using both the inverted L and a K9AY loop for receive switching back and forth for best copy and many times using both in diversity reception mode.  If it were just me I would say I have a receiving antenna issue but other experienced 160 operators in the area are experiencing the same thing this season.  I'm baffled.  Sorry to go off on a tangent.

Very 73,
Doug, W5WTX
Amarillo, TX 


Message: 1
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2019 04:38:03 +0000 (UTC)
From: RVZ <rlvz at aol.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] 160m. Inverted L question
Message-ID: <369232969.276333.1547527083313 at mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Guys,

I've got a 160m. Inverted L with the vertical wire spaced 4' from a grounded steel tower at the base and 6' at the top.? The radial system isn't perfect but it's decent.??Based upon the Inv. L's poor performance, I believe I may have a lot of power being coupled to the tower and shorted to ground.? A?couple questions:
1) I'd appreciate some guestimates on what percentage of input power may be getting shorted to ground?
2) Any guestimate on what percentage of power may be saved if the Vertical wire spacing is increased from 4' to 12" from the tower??

Thanks & 73,
Dick- K9OM?