[UK-CONTEST] Antenna for SSB field day

[Chris G3SJJ]

  Thanks Andy, I knew this had cropped up before. Phew, 20 years ago!

Still not sure why anyone would want to use a complicated antenna system as opposed to a simple doublet or even a trap dipole!

I would be careful about trying to define what is and isn't acceptable as it could stifle positive creativity. To my thinking the current rule is 
adequate and allows some ingenuity. I recall some years ago (again!) a group using a longish doublet, maybe around 250ft per leg and bringing the legs 
round to from a Vee Beam during daylight hours on the higher bands. The rules need to be flexible enough to encourage and allow that choice.

There again, times have moved on and interpretations change. Everyone has his own gout, as they in France!

Chris SJJ




On 12/08/2010 20:55, Andy Summers wrote:
>    Well, this is really spooky! I sent an e-mail to the contest committee
> about this very subject a couple of weeks back.
>
> I have a letter from you, Chris, when you were Chairman (circa 20 years
> ago) sitting in a filing cabinet in the shed, telling me that commoned
> dipoles on a single feedline were more than one antenna and broke the
> SSBFD rules.
>
> I suggested in my e-mail that there might be a FAQ section on the
> website that answers questions like these. This might help avoid such
> inconsistencies.
>
> In fact, can someone clarify this before September please? It might
> affect whether we enter this year. Not from a sour grapes point of view
> but from a can't use the usual hardware and lack of personnel this year
> point of view.
>
> 73,
> Andy, G4KNO.
>
> On 10/08/10 18:30, Chris G3SJJ wrote:
>>     I recall some discussion about this some years ago David but the facts are a bit hazy (No wine, honest!) I have a feeling that at some stage the
>> rules said one element per band. Just wondering if I am confusing this with 21/28MHz contest. The 1996 Rules Supplement shows the rule as now - "One
>> antenna only which must be a single element." I would have thought a stack of dipoles are one element per band but maybe the interpretation has changed.
>>
>> Apart from the rule word, I wouldn't have thought a stack wouldn't be so efficient though as effective height could be lost, it also would be very
>> unwieldy to erect and support. Additionally, since a 20m EDZ has gain over a dipole on that band, and on 40m with the extensions, I would have thought
>> that a better option.
>>
>> Hope that hleps the discussion.
>>
>> 73 Chris G3SJJ
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 10/08/2010 16:03, David Honey wrote:
>>> At 14:54 10/08/2010, Alex GM3ZBE wrote:
>>>> Chris, et al
>>>> You reminded me of a question I've meant to ask for some time.  I.e. are
>>>> you allowed to change aerials during the NFD contest?  Could I have more
>>>> than one dipole and swop them as necessary during the contest.  Each
>>>> antenna being a single element?  I'm talking about the restricted
>>>> section of course.
>>>> Alex 'ZBE
>>> When Reading and District asked the contest committee about this some
>>> years back, we were advised that a fan dipole consisting of several
>>> dipoles all connected to a common feedpoint did meet the criteria and
>>> could be used in the restricted or lower power sections of field day
>>> contests. One of our stations has used such an arrangement for
>>> several years and an official inspection during the contest did not
>>> raise this as an issue. If the rules, or their interpretation has
>>> changed, I'd like to know for sure from someone on the contest
>>> committee as we might consider a fan dipole in the future.
>>>
>>> We have often used a single dipole with banana plugs for band changes
>>> for CW NFD. Of course, you have to lower it to swap the plugs in and
>>> out, but at any one time, it's the same feedpoint and a single
>>> element dipole. There has never been a question about the legaility
>>> of doing that. On SSB FD where the ability to band change quickly to
>>> S&P on multipliers is important, we have used a doublet with an auto
>>> ATU on top of the mast directly at the feedpoint. That worked very
>>> well last year.
>>>
>>> David, M0DHO
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