[UK-CONTEST] Inverted V help

[Alex Allan]

John,

I agree with Stuart, omit the balun and try to resonate the dipole on it's
own.  Provided non of the folded bits are at an acute angle to the main run
(i.e. not less than 90 deg) I would expect to get it resonant and less than
2:1.

Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cooper Stewart" <coopers at odl.co.uk>
To: "'john lemay'" <john.lemay at which.net>
Cc: <uk-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 12:47 PM
Subject: RE: [UK-CONTEST] Inverted V help


> Hi John,
> I would, initially anyway, get rid of the balun until you have a resonant
> antenna. I use an inverted V on 80m just now, with only 5 ferrite
cylinders
> on the feeder. No ATU either. It's got a narrow bandwidth, but it gives me
a
> good match. I keep little pigtails in the store for CW and RTTY parts of
the
> band and just use a choc connector to attach them to the wire element ends
> when required! Great antenna.
> Good luck,
> Stewart  GM4AFF
> PS I think we all gravitate downwards in frequency. I even worked W5UN in
> the ARRL on 40m last weekend! See you perhaps next Sunday in the 4m
> Cumulative.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: john lemay [mailto:john.lemay at which.net]
> Sent: 18 February 2003 12:34
> To: uk-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: [UK-CONTEST] Inverted V help
>
>
> Hello all
>
> In one of my very rare forays below 50MHz, I decided to try an inverted V
> for 80m. It would use my modest Versatower for the central support, and
the
> ends would end up where-ever.
>
> I knew it would be a compromise :-
>
> I probably could not get enough height
> I probably could not get the right apex angle
> One end in particular would need to be close to the house and bent through
> 90 degrees
> The other end would be in trees.
>
> Even so, I thought that at least I would get an antenna that would be
within
> the limits of a typical internal ATU on my rig.
>
> Wrong !
>
> It received quite well, and nicely quiet compared to my HF6V. But the
match,
> checked out on the MFJ analyser was about 10 to 1. I have done the obvious
> tests, such as continuity of wire, continuity through balun etc.
>
> Today, I have taken down the 1:1 balun (Watson) and checked it out with a
> resistor across the terminals. Interesting: - Using a 50ohm resistor which
> is suitable for low frequency rf use, the match through the balun at
3.0MHz
> is about 2 to 1. It gets worse going lf, and improves to 1.2 to 1 by about
> 10MHz. Then not surprisingly above 40MHz the match gets lots worse.
>
> What I need help in deciding, is whether my abysmal match with something
> resembling an inverted V is due to too many antenna compromises or is it
due
> to a dodgy balun ? (Preferably without too many more sessions freezing in
> the garden, or hauling the tower up and down).
>
> Regards
>
> John G4ZTR
>
>
>
>
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