[Elecraft] RE: verticals...........

[Rich Lentz]

I have used vertical antennas for more than 25 years.  The Older Hy-Gain pre
WARC 5 band Trap and now have the Hustler 6BTV.  Have never had a problem
with either.  Only sold the Hy-gain as I moved into an area with strict
CC&Rs.  The one thing I have learned over the years or at least the
observation I have made is that due to the angle of radiation the reception
pattern is different than long wires or beams.  Each of these have a
different angle of radiation and as a result the skip zones (and the dead
area between them) for each of these are different.  So to make a comparison
that antenna X gets the signal a signal fro Europe at 10 over and the
vertical can just barely hear it is not a fair comparison.  Because on a
different band Europe may be dead for antenna X and the vertical will have
multiple signals from Europe at 10 over. You need to learn the skip
patterns, propagation, and use the gray line to advantage.  Ideally you
would want to have several antenna types for each band to increase your
coverage area and minimize the dead skip zones.

My 2 cents

73,
ke0zx