[TowerTalk] Terrain Modeling (was choke on vertical dipole)

[Wes]

Note where I say "constrained by county zoning limits"

I live within 1,000 feet of Saguaro National Park and fall within a Pima County 
BOZO (Buffer Overlay Zone) that restricts structure height, building color and 
reflectance, including roofs if not shielded by parapet walls, and non-native 
plant species.  I got the zoning people to go along with a 50 foot tower 
height.  So that is what I live with.  A small Optibeam (OB7-3) triband Yagi, an 
inverted V. apex at 45' and a 50' vertical for the lower bands.  (Before the 
vertical, I did work my first 80 countries on 160 with the inverted V with the 
ends 6' above ground)  My shack is in a 6 ft x 7 ft closet with a single 120VAC 
20A service.

Despite not having mapped my terrain or having used propagation forecasts, I 
have earned No 1 HR (Mixed), HR (Phone), CW DXCC (320),  DXCC on traditional 
RTTY (274), 9-band DXCC plus 144 countries worked on 60-meters.  Do I recommend 
these limitations, of course not, if you have the means.  But if you don't, do 
not despair.


Wes  N7WS


On 1/15/2026 2:57 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> If used extensively with good data, will tell us the relative effectiveness of 
> mounting heights. With that information, we can make more intelligent 
> decisions about what to do with what our real estate, budget, and other 
> capabilities allow.
>
> In my case, I learned that 120 ft was near optimum for EU, my most difficult 
> direction, that a few more tower sections were not better, and that to get 
> better, I'd need to go to at least 300 ft! :)
>
> I also learned that 20 ft at different location on my property was a minor 
> sweet spot for a small 10M yagi.
>
> I spent close to a month on it. Neighbor K6XX, 4 miles up the ridge from me, 
> used it extensively in planning his antenna farm.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
> On 1/15/2026 11:21 AM, Wes Stewart via TowerTalk wrote:
>>   Speaking primarily as a ham radio DXer, constrained by county zoning 
>> limits, my take on terrain modeling is, "What am I going to do about it?"  
>> Propagation prediction is pretty much the same question.
>