So gently getting back to the topic of the original post which was: Getting thoughts on relatively simple and relatively inexpensive portable 160 m antenna, potentially deployable by one person, that allows for flexibility and somewhat predictable tuning for use on modest Dxpeds or rare location indigenous ops.
Strawman proposal was for Inv L 50’(or more) alum mast with elevated radials all tuned with “hairpin” shunt coil – plus a request for suggestions and potential actual physical assistance with testing/assembly/distribution. Principal thoughts to date by TB types posted and direct: 1. More top wires than just one – doable with minimum additions provided the site has space. Should improve performance somewhat, requires top wire supports in other directions (which may only be a minor issue) and some more wire. 2. Mast higher than 50’ - I believe at 55’ (~17 m) it is still quite possible to hoist it up (maybe not walk up but a rope attached 1/3+ of the way up) 3. Use 18 m fiberglass telescope instead of alum. - Doable and can be walked up they say, but nearly twice as heavy as alum, more expensive and bending at top reduces effective height a bit. But still if you’ve got one . . . 4. Ground radials instead of elevated. - Could be good for some locations but requires 20+ m radius circle thick with wires. The innkeeper might not be pleased and also space may not be available unless you go the tent/generator route. I suppose the antenna product could be in two flavors, ground and elevated, with possible different tuning of the top wire. 5. Go to a site that has nicely spaced high palm trees (on the good propagation side of course) and then . . . - I welcome volunteer advanced palm tree scouts. Yet perhaps not all (or even most) interesting 160 m entities have palm trees. - Yet the point is well taken that a good site with advanced planning (Google Earth/eyeballs) is important (when possible). This matter has been looked at for KH8 but I am looking at broader uses as well. 6. Matching not worth the effort with modern ATUs - Yes but I would not think of trying a semi-serious 160 m effort with low power (or difficult to match antenna), and the high power matching units have $, size and weight issues. The current plan has the charm of a simple, flexible matching coil even at the expense of tuning by fiddling with top wire and/or elevated radial lengths 7. Receive antenna use - I purposely did not mention this just to see if it would be seen as an oversight among TBers. My only personal experience is I don’t have one and there have been a significant number of high end 160 stations (who surely have Rx ants) I could hear but could not hear me (my ant is a bit better than the one proposed here and with 500 w). Of course, his story may not hold up for a rare-ish DX station. Anything else? Bill N6MW _______________________________________________ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
