[50mhz] Comparison Table of 6m Antennas by VE7BQH

[Lance Collister, W7GJ]

Howdy!

Over the last quarter century, antenna performance has improved dramatically.  Thanks 
to the development of computer modeling software, antennas can now be designed to 
provide excellent results.  Many older antennas are still in use around the world 
that were built using less sophisticated techniques.  A number of 6m operators have 
wondered if it is time to upgrade their antenna systems.

There is no question that each operator has different interests and constraints. 
Some want to arrange various antennas to "fill in the nulls" in ground gain patterns 
so they can be assured of not missing signals coming in at certain angles.  Others 
want to increase maximum signal strengths while still fitting the antenna in their 
garden.  And still others are interested in assembling an antenna system that will 
have enough free space gain to enable them to complete EME contacts while the antenna 
is elevated (without any ground gain).  With the differences in how antennas are 
marketed and what specifications are published, it is no wonder that many hams have 
expressed confusion when they try to compare antennas to determine what would be the 
best choice for their particular situations.

Lionel Edwards, VE7BQH, is well known for his pioneering work in EME and his 
knowledge of antenna design.  His comparison table of 2m antenna designs has been a 
valuable resource for weak signal enthusiasts on that band.  Lionel now has 
generously put together a table comparing a number of popular 6m antennas to help 
guide Magic Band operators on antenna decisions.  This table was painstakingly 
prepared to include the free space gain of each yagi with respect to a dipole, the 
optimum and 75% of optimum stacking distances for both two and four yagis and 
resulting gain figures, and the SWR of a single antenna 150 kHz from the design 
frequency.  The SWR value provides an indicator of the "Q" of the antenna, and how 
likely it is to be affected by rain, ice and snow; the narrower the bandwidth of the 
antenna, the more susceptible it is to such detuning by the weather.

  http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/6mAntennaComparisonTableByVE7BQH.txt

Please join with me in thanking Lionel for graciously agreeing to undertake the very 
laborious challenge of preparing such a table.  I will also post a link on my website 
to the table for convenient future reference, along with links to more information on 
many of the antennas listed in the table.

GL and DX! VY 73, Lance W7GJ



-- 
Lance Collister, W7GJ (ex: WN3GPL, WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8)
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT  59834  USA
QTH: DN27UB
TEL: (406) 626-5728
URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815