[TowerTalk] Verticals on sloping ground

Jim Brown jim at audiosystemsgroup.com
Tue Jan 14 15:42:19 EST 2025


On 1/14/2025 12:12 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
> I suspect that professional modeling software like FEKO can do the job, 
> although I've never tried to learn it.  It does have a free version for 
> individual use.

Yes and no. Dean told me that in our mountains, we should have data out 
as far as practical (don't remember the distance he suggested). In my 
experience, the result is as good as the accuracy of the model. 
Vertically polarized antenna performance is quite dependent on soil 
characteristics, whereas horizontally polarized antennas are not. Having 
good data for soil would be an additional factor limiting accuracy.

That doesn't mean it isn't worth trying. :)

N6BT took his test antenna to a mesa, set it up at various locations, 
and probed the pattern using a drone. Then setting up a rig (probably 
QRP) feeding the antenna close to the edge of the mesa, he worked 
stations only in the direction of the drop-off, repeating for multiple 
directions, and none in the center.



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