[Elecraft] Verticals

Sat Feb 9 07:05:57 2002

Hi, Jason...

You're not cheating.  No excuses necessary!

For a couple of years, I used a Butternut 5-band vertical mounted on my
roof.  It had their 3-radial kit installed as well as a few extra radials
for good measure.  I always bragged I could work anything I could hear.
Then I put up a beam at 60 feet and began to hear (and work) stations I
couldn't hear on the vertical.  Sometimes a beam just isn't an option for
space, monetary or aesthetic reasons... or CC&Rs.  A *GOOD* vertical,
installed correctly, is a good-working antenna.  And, remember, a vertical
is good locally and at extended ranges.  It will be far below a dipole at
intermediate ranges... say 15 to 500 miles on 40 meters, for example.

A good friend in Texas bought a GAP.  Every month, some part or piece would
fall off in his back yard.  He later went to an R5 and his signal came up
about 20db to me here in NM.  (We talk every Sunday so this is a good
comparison.)  I was with him one year at Dayton when he confronted the owner
of GAP antennas about his problem.  The answer was, "Too bad."  No offer to
replace it, no offer of replacement parts or extended warranty, not even any
real sympathy.  Although some users love GAPs, my advice after witnessing
his experience is stay away from them.

My home now is in a mountain village, at 7,300 feet, where we frequently get
high winds and lots of snow.  We also have deed restrictions.  I have up an
80-40 meter inverted vee, which works best for contacts within New Mexico by
10-15db.  My only other antenna(s) are two Hy-Gain Hy-Towers which will
someday be phased but aren't yet.  I use either one of them on all bands
80-10 meters. These are old, expensive, and until recently, extinct 52-foot
tall trapless verticals.  They have recently been resurrected by MFJ who now
owns Hy-Gain, at $700+.  They are quarter-wave or multiples of quarter-waves
on all bands.  With a tuner, they work WARC bands, too.  In theory --and I
believe it-- the closer to full-size, the better a vertical will work.

My Hy-Towers were carefully installed with 45, 45-foot radials and three
8-foot ground rods under each one.  The coax is 9913F, one of the
lowest-loss cables available short of hardline.  The results have been
outstanding with my K2.  I've worked all over the world with it on SSB and
CW.  I once even "busted a pileup" on a Russian on 20-meter SSB.  I am able
to work 90% of the stations I call, including DX.   MOST of the time, that's
running the K2 at 5 watts.

It is my firm belief that your success with a vertical will be largely
dependent upon how carefully you install it.  With a K2's limited power,
low-loss coax and, for most verticals, a good radial system are a must. 100
feet of RG-8X from Radio Shack and a single 4-foot ground rod does NOT
produce maximum performance!!

Sorry, I have no experience with the 6BTV, but if 160 is the sixth band I
would tell you not to expect much on that band with the K2.  The Hy-Tower
will tune 160 with a loading coil at the base.  Even with 100watts, I
received relatively poor signal reports.  Hy-Gain used to recommend no fewer
than 120 radials for use on 160 with their "other" 160-meter kit... a trap
and very long wire that attaches to the Hy-Tower at about 25 feet.  All of
the above is the long answer.

Short answer: do it right and you should have good results... not like a
beam, but more than acceptable.

Good luck... Ed, W5EJ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Hissong" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 8:31 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Verticals

> Hi guys... (and gals)
>
> First, I have to admit, I am cheating.  I am buying an already built
K2....
> so being a future K2 owner that did not build it, I hope I am still
welcome
> to the list ;-)
>
> However, I will get a K1 someday and cut my teeth on that....
>
> Anyways, on to my point... I wanted to know what kind of performance you
can
> get with a vertical.  I had a GAP Eagle and it performed miserably.
> However, I believe I may have been part of the problem.  At first, I
thought
> it was the location of the antenna.  It is about 7 or 8 feet away from a
big
> silver maple.  I did not think it would be a problem.  Also, the houses
here
> in my neck of the woods all have aluminum siding.  So, going on thinking
it
> was a location thing, I sold the antenna to a local ham.  I helped him put
> it up and he went to connect up the coax and the PL259 came off the coax
on
> the antenna.  He saw that the braid was black!  He stripped the wire and
> found that it seems there was some major heat going on in that connector.
> He mentioned that I probably had a bad solder joint.  And me using 100
watts
> on different occasions seem to have cooked it a little.  I wondered why
> people could not hear me well.  Was I wasting RF to heat?  Was it the
solder
> joint that was causing the miserable performance?
>
> Well, the ham with my old vertical is having a great time and the antenna
is
> working FB.  He likes to tell me about it every chance he gets...
>
> I am thinking of diving in again and getting a vertical.  Right now I use
a
> DXLB+ in an inverted V up in a tree (about 40 feet) and it does well (it
> lets me get on 80 and 160).  Am I going to gain anything? (Pun not
> intended).  Would the money be better spent on an accessory (or a K1)?  I
> just don't want to get a vertical again and find out it is not doing well.
> The vertical I would be interested in is the 6BTV.
>
> Thanks gang...
>
> 73 de Jason
> N8XE
>
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