On Wed,12/24/2014 10:29 AM, Ed via Topband wrote:
Trying to figure out how to best utilize my 106' tower for 160m. The tower sits on a small hill so the downside of the tower is sloping. If I hang a wire off the top, I can bring the other end to the ground and feed it at the bottom. I can ran numerous radials from there.
That's exactly what I'm doing -- my tower is 115 ft with roughly 7 ft of mast above it and a 3-el SteppIR. I have sloping wires on two opposite sides, supported from the tower just below the rotator with a 10 ft section of 4-in PVC conduit. Each wire has its own set of 4 radials elevated about 18 ft. The tower, which is grounded, has a dozen or so radials laying on the ground.
With this configuration, the tower will act as a reflector, yielding about 6 dB front to back. How much GAIN you get will depend on your radial system and the quality of your soil. I started with radials elevated only a few feet, and gain was poor. On the advice of N6BT, I raised them and gain improved.
73, Jim K9YC _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
