KD5ODS is not over thinking anything. He is on the right track, an inverted L is a much better top band antenna than a low all band horizontal wire. Kevin just needs to model his inverted L, he might be a little surprised to see which way the pattern skews.
John KK9A Lyn W0LEN Good gracious. Why does everyone overthink 160m? OK, maybe just because it's fun. I get that. But as to operation, I have one (1) antenna, and it is a 360 foot EDZ (dipole) cut for 3.5 MHz. It's great on all bands, 160 - 6m. No radials needed. Specifically I worked 47 of the 50 states in one 24 hour period on 160m (holdouts were AK, HI and NV - all picked up within a day or two). I could 'splain more, if anyone is interested. 73 Lyn, W0LEN -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of kevinr Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2020 6:24 PM To: Elecraft Reflector Subject: [Elecraft] Inverted L for 160 meters From what I can find, and what I can calculate, five wires, each ~130 feet long, could make a nice inverted L for 160 meters. One leg for the vertical and horizontal portion of the antenna. Four legs for the counterpoise (ground plane). There are many broken wire antennas stored in my shed which are fodder for the radials. Do all of the legs for the counterpoise need to be 1/4 wavelength or can I substitute some shorter lengths? The feedpoint should somewhere above 50 ohms impedance. As I add more radials that number will reach 50 ohms asymptotically. I can get the vertical part up to 70 or 80 feet above ground with the rest of it horizontal. Most of the radiation should take place from the vertical part since it is closer to the feed point. But there should be some effect from the direction of the horizontal portion. How strongly does the direction of the horizontal portion effect the radiation pattern of the antenna system? My property allows me to point it from 300 degrees around to 200 degrees so I have plenty of options. Between 200 and 300 degrees there is a road used by loggers, and the folks maintaining the towers at the top of this mountain. They can break any antenna lower than 80 feet above ground. Spar poles and cranes clear out any dead limbs across the road. Inquiring minds... Kevin. KD5ONS ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
