[TowerTalk] Low 160m antenna as a backup- Can I make Q's?

[Mike Smith VE9AA]

Many replies direct and a few CC'd to the reflector.  Even though stated I know about verticals and L's some still wanted to steer me in that direction regardless(hi hi).  I should've (maybe) given the full story but it always confuses a few.....sooooo, here goes.  This BACK UP antenna needs to be horizontal.  It's for Radio #2 which (at present) only has a modded ZS6BKW (horizontal).  It's a backup antenna only.  If my primary inverted L (or my 2-el 160m array, when I get it repaired agn) goes down, this will enable me to at least nab a few 160m mults on the 2nd radio.  That's the plan anyways.

I kicked myself (hard) late Saturday night for not having SOMETHING else I could instantly employ on 160m when my inverted L opened up somewhere in the transmission line as I lost maybe 40,000+ pts(?) in the NAQP CW and while a (potential) score of 300k doesn't sound like much, from here in NB with just really low wires on 2 acres, it's a personal goal I've been chasing since the 90's.  It's hard enough in the NAQP's and the Sprints to make a respectable score from the NE (K1LZ & VY2TT's stns are another operating at a much higher level) so I continue to chase the magic 300k.

All my radio #1 antennas are verticals (or arrays of verts)_whereas radio #2 antennas is/are horizontal.

I have no bandpass filters here.....all isolation is done by the 20_dB of horizontal vs. vertical polarization loss differences and physical separation.

So....as much as some of you want me to put up a vertical (of some kind), I have 2 acres of them and very much understand the benefits---especially on 160m.  This will be a backup antenna only and *must* be horizontal.

Having never used a low 160m dple I was really just after info on how poorly it may perform.  Maybe not quite as bad as I had envisioned, but still nowhere as good as a vertical - I get it, I really do ! (and I am enjoying hearing about all your successes with them), which should be shared with the group.  

73 and CU (all of a sudden!) with a weak signal, from NB

Mike VE9AA

Keswick Ridge, NB, Canada 

> On Jan 13, 2025, at 11:56 AM, Mike Smith VE9AA <ve9aa at nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:
> 
> So, this past weekend I pretty much got skunked on Topband as my 160m
> inverted L died after the first QSO in the NAQP CW contest and I had no 160m
> backup antenna.(only band I don't currently have a backup for). I was on
> track to finally crack 300k in this one but Murphy got me.
> 
> 
> 
> About the only thing I would be able to manage as a "backup" antenna here is
> a slightly ends-bent horizontal dipole, but only up 25' (that's roughly like
> having a 20m dipole up ~3.3' if I've done my math correctly.)
> 
> 
> 
> Has anyone used a low 160m dipole at only 25'?
> 
> 
> 
> W's/VE's: Have you worked coast to coast (NA) or any DX with it?  
> 
> EU's: Have you worked any VE1's/W1's with it?
> 
> 
> 
> ARRL DX CW is coming up and while I do have my 160m L fixed I am still
> vulnerable on this band if it goes south again.
> 
> 
> 
> I know all about verticals, inverted L's etc. I have a yard chock full of
> them.   I have terrible soil conductivity here, but am at pretty good height
> ASL, so do "OK" on VHF/HF.
> 
> 
> 
> My specific question is for a low (cloud warmer) dipole on Topband just to
> work some mults in some of the major contests.
> 
> If it loads on other bands, that would be a bonus, but as I've never had
> one, I'd also welcome that info.
> 
> 
> 
> Tnx All!
> 
> 
> 
> CU (all of a sudden!) in the next one.
> 
> 
> 
> Mike VE9AA "NB"
> 
> 
> 
> Mike - Keswick Ridge, NB, Canada
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> Mike - Keswick Ridge, NB, Canada
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