[Antennas] Antenna Suggestions

[George, W5YR]

Thanks, Jan, for the nice words.

Tuning up on a band and radiating where you want it to on that band are
different things, as you know. I can even tune my 88 ft EDZ on 160 but it
sure wouldn't make a very good radiator!   <:}

No, to put it simply, I have a place where I can hang another wire about 44
ft long that would be broadside E/W. It is not a compelling reason for
another antenna, but like the mountain, it is there . . . why not take
advantage of it? Besides I have one unused position on my coax switch and
one spare coax coming into the shack!

Seriously, being limited by age and physical condition - can't put up
towers and beams anymore - to wire antennas and ground-mounted verticals, I
have found that having a variety of antennas is paramount if you are
running low power to wires and verticals. I work a lot of QRP CW and 100
watts is my top limit for SSB.

Right now the hottest antenna that I have up is a "tilted triangular nearly
full-wave loop." It is almost a full wave on 80 - a little short - with the
apex at 40 ft and the base of the triangle at 10 feet and tilted about 45
deg from vertical. It models very well with especially attractive patterns
and gains on 20 and above. It is proving to be a winner on 20. Sometimes I
can increase the S-meter reading on a station from S5 to S9 or above with
the loop over the EDZ. That does NOT mean that the antenna has over 24 db
gain over an EDZ!! But is does have a different pattern and that can make a
large difference.

So, there is another tool in the kit . . .

Antennas to me represent about the last practical arena in which a ham can
experiment freely. EZNEC is there for the modelling to eliminate the ideas
that just won't work, but it is also there to encourage you to put up yet
another antenna just to see if it will work the was EZNEC says it will. So
far, EZNEC has been very close with this loop.

Thanks again for asking and for your note.

73/72/oo, George W5YR - the Yellow Rose of Texas         
Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13qe   
Amateur Radio W5YR, in the 56th year and it just keeps getting better!
QRP-L 1373 NETXQRP 6 SOC 262 COG 8 FPQRP 404 TEN-X 11771 I-LINK 11735
Icom IC-756PRO #02121  Kachina 505 DSP  #91900556  Icom IC-765 #02437




Jan Reimers wrote:
> 
> George,
>         If the 88ft EDZ tunes up nicely on 10, what is compelling you to
> install a 44ft EDZ for 10?  Are you going for the radiation pattern?
> 
> Thanks
> Jan (VA7JNR)
> 
> PS Your contributions are always very enlightening.  Thanks.