[CTSARA] [GNARC] Antenna Question

[Hugo W. Catta]

Hi Tom,

I was away for a few days  and I suppose that at this point you got a
waterfall of opinions and suggestions.
Everything else being equal, the short answer IMHO is no.
What I would do, if the balun is at or near the window, is to have the
option of switching baluns from 4:1 to 1:1 as needed. (In my old QTH, I had
replaced a window pane in my basement with plexiglass and the baluns were
mounted inside the window and easy to swap by hand or with switches. An
Antenna analyser or noise bridge will help you decide which one to use on
what band.
The commercial OCFs are a neat package to sell but not better, if anything,
a little lossier than what you have.
1- The large size 4:1 un-un they use tells why: heat. It is the reason why
they don't manufacture them with a smaller, cheaper core. (this may open
another can of worms).
2- RG8X is light and less conspicuous than ladder line but somewhat
lossier. OTOH, a couple dBs drop here and there will not make a difference
at the receiving end, according to some seasoned experts in QST, but I
disagree with that statement.

73 DE
Hugo - AA1XV




On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 2:13 PM, Tom Alessi <tom at k1ta.com> wrote:

> I have a general antenna question.  Actually I am looking for opinions and
> I know there are people in the club with more antenna knowledge.  So here
> it is:
>
> QUESTION:
>
> Which antenna would work better on 80m - 10m ?
>
> A.  Off Center Fed Zepp (Fed with Ladder line with 4:1 balun near the
> window entry point)
>
> B.  Windom (OCF 80-6m with 4:1 Balun at the antenna, fed with RG-8X)
>
> I have the Zepp and I am considering changing it out with a Windom... Is it
> worth changing???
>
> Tom Alessi
> Tom at K1TA.com  |  www.K1TA.com
> C: (203) 253-7745 | O: (914) 231-1691 | F: (914) 813-4091
> *"CW Forever !"* Look for me on 20m, 30m or 40m CW
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-- 
Hugo - AA1XV