[TowerTalk] 160M Antenna puzzlement

[Jeff Blaine]

These guys are right about the radial count, in the absolute sense.  But 
it's a matter of perspective.

The difference between 8 short radials and 64 long ones is about 3 dB 
per N6LF.  That's half an S-unit.  It's significant, but in the scheme 
of things, having a manageable SWR that you can use an amp with (+10 dB 
on TX) - and a dedicated RX antenna (lower noise floor) will get a guy 
working more stations in either contesting or DX - than a great ground 
system alone.

73/jeff/ac0c
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
www.ac0c.com


On 12/20/21 9:21 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
> Thanks, Rob, but I'm trying to keep things in some sort of proportion. 
> I'm currently redeploying my K9AY (which was down for the summer - 
> yeah, I know it's overdue) and then I'll see about more radials - I 
> have a comtek plate that has 50 or so connection points, and a lot of 
> WD1A wire.  In the meantime, I'm an alligator, but of course I'm on 
> the East coast.
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network
> web server at<http://beta.reversebeacon.net>.
> For spots, please use your favorite
> "retail" DX cluster.
>
> On 12/20/2021 5:41 AM, Rob Atkinson wrote:
>> You need way way way more radials, around 60 on ground at a minimum,
>> and due to copper cost, keeping them at 40 or even 30 feet is better
>> than a paltry 8 at 65+ feet.  Your feed point resistance will come
>> down to somewhere between 10 and 15 ohms at the 0 X point.  It's 30 R
>> because of the minimal radials.
>>
>> If it were me I'd ditch your feedline arrangement and run directly to
>> the L from the shack using LDF4-50 if you want the line to last a long
>> time.  Bring it in to a patch panel or switch in the shack. What I do
>> is terminate the hardline outside at a drilled out green steel fence
>> post that has a barrel (a.k.a. bulkhead) dual UHF female connector
>> mounted on it.  Short run of RG213 comes into the shack from there.
>> That allows me to disconnect the L outside and pull the 213 away from
>> the steel post during thunderstorms.   The fence post keeps the
>> junction up out of the snow in winter, so you may not need it but you
>> should have an outside disconnect.
>>
>> Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
>>
>> Rob
>> K5UJ
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