I’ve scanned back through this thread and I don’t see where anyone said that their signal got stronger by lowering their antenna. Maybe I missed it somewhere?
To be clear, in my specific case, I was crafting a purpose-driven antenna. I wanted an antenna that would provide reliable, continuous coverage over about a 400+ mile radius. I did not want to hear, or be heard by, anything or anyone outside of that area. I didn’t care about efficiency, QSL cards or anything else, mythical or otherwise. Putting a dipole at about 10 feet (plus or minus, I don’t recall the exact height) accomplished everything I wanted. I worked, on a daily basis, hams at all points along the length of the State of Hawaii, I experienced reduced band noise, and I did not have to contend with stations outside of this area. Problems solved. I don’t think any of this contradicts science. 73, Dave - N5DCH > On Dec 18, 2021, at 2:02 PM, Bill Mader <billama...@gmail.com> wrote: > > NVIS information is almost always anecdotal and a myth, more than science! > As I have told many participants in many presentations, "If you think > lowering your antenna will make your signal stronger, expect your QSL cards > to arrive on a unicorn." How many of you looked at Jim's, K9YC, > explanation? Probably too few. > > 40m is near the upper limit of NVIS and currently, it is often below the > NVIS frequency. At this point in Cycle 25, I frequently can't copy > stations within 150-250 miles away on 40m here in NM. The ones I copy best > have the highest, NOT lowest, antennas. > > Note, as shown in Jim's paper, an 80m dipole at 60 ft. provides the maximum > NVIS signal while at one at 90 ft. is just 1 dB down. Having operated with > an 80m dipole at 75 ft. on an Air Force RADAR site, my 100 Watt signal was > almost always stronger than those with lower antennas around MI. Yes, that > is anecdotal, but it agrees with the science as modeled in Jim's paper. > > I have yet to read of anyone's scientific data showing their 10 ft. high > dipole worked better than their 30 ft. high dipole on 40m, to say nothing > of similar 80m dipoles. If you have two WSPR transmitters and have > antennas at these heights, gather some data. Both transmitters must > transmit the same level signals at the same time over time to collect > meaningful data, assuming everything is equal. > > I once worked a station in Italy on 20m SSB with my KX3 using my mobile > antenna. I did not replace much better antennas at home based on that > anecdote. Neither have I received any QSL cards on unicorns although I do > have a unicorn graphic in some of my antenna presentations. > > 73, Bill Mader, K8TE > New Mexico QSO Party 9 Apr 2022 > Secretary/Treasurer and Past President, Albuquerque DX Association > W6H NM Coordinator, Route 66 On-the-Air 10-18 Sep 2022 > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to david.n5...@gmail.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
