[Elecraft] [OT] - PAR HF OMNI ANGLE

[stan levandowski]

Vic, I don't know how to model. It's on my bucket list.  However, my 
personal opinion is that while modeling may give a general starting 
point, all bets are off once the antenna - especially an indoor antenna 
- is actually put in place.  You've got a point about Italy not exactly 
being "west" of me.  In fact, IZ2GRG bears 55 degrees.  But this still 
bodes well for the Omni Angle in that it's omnidirectional and did a 
heck of a job on rescuing his signal from a fixed doublet looking the 
wrong way.  This just points out one more nagging constraint we 
antenna-restricted hams have to deal with:  the direction our homes 
face!

To offer one more nugget from my inventory of sometimes weird solutions 
to being antenna-restricted:  My attic doublet is always up and ready 
and connected to a 6 way antenna/transceiver coax switch.  I have two 
more coax cables running outside and usually, I put up one of my other 
"non-permanent" antennas which is always vertically polarized -- either 
a PAR EndFedZ  or a 40-6 meter EFHW also vertical.  My third antenna is 
a 53 foot random wire at 28' that terminates in a 9:1 BalunDesigns UNUN 
and it's outside and "stealth."

But the 44' doublet in the attic clearly and 
consistently outperforms everything in my arsenal except the new Omni 
Angle which has been interestingly competitive as noted. 

I have no idea how the Omni Angle would work indoors, in an attic for 
example.  Frankly it has such a small footprint and is so light and 
rapid to erect that I probably will never bother to try it there.  
However, it could easily be installed in an attic or even near the 
ceiling in a room. This is because of the easy way it assembles and 
disassembles; not a problem assembling it around and between the attic 
framing.  And at 2.5 lbs I suppose a simple plant hangar in the ceiling 
would hold it up easily. 

In closing, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have found antenna 
solutions that allow me to enjoy enjoy QRP to the fullest extent.  I 
wish everyone else the same good fortune.  And Thank God for the 
invention of collapsible fiberglass poles!  Where would we be without 
them??

73,Stan WB2LQF 

 
 
 On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 03:21 PM, Vic K2VCO wrote:
 
 > Stan,
>
> Interesting. I did a quick EZNEC plot of the pattern of a 44' doublet 
> (close to a full wavelength) at 30' on 18.07 MHz and didn't see any 
> deep undefineds in the horizontal pattern. But in the direction of 
> Italy from NY it is down about 5 dB from the maximum gain in the E-W 
> direction. I recently modeled the 'cobweb' antenna, which is a 
> 'square' dipole similar to the Omni-angle configuration; it had a 
> maximum gain of about 2 dB less than a dipole and would be down an 
> additional 1.4 db in the direction of Italy.
>
> So my guess is that about only 1.6 dB of the difference between the 
> dipole and the Omni-angle antenna came from the patterns. The rest 
> could be attributed to the location of the doublet in the attic and 
> the dropped ends (I didn't model this, but I suspect it has an 
> effect).
>
> On 9/26/2013 11:46 AM, stan levandowski wrote:
>> Hi Vic.  My 44' doublet is in my attic, arranged as a flat top for 
>> 24' and then drooping
>> straight down at both ends.  The antenna is almost exactly 30' above 
>> the earth.  It is fed
>> with 14' of 450  ohm ladder line straight down through a slit in my 
>> ceiling and into a
>> linen closet where it meets up with an SG237 autocoupler.  This keeps 
>> the autocoupler out
>> of the winter cold and summer heat of the attic.  From there I have a 
>> run of nice "clean"
>> 50 ohm coax to my second story "shack"  This attic doublet 
>> arrangement is nearly 4 years
>> old and has served me exceedingly well on 40 through 10 meters, 
>> inclusive.  I only run 5
>> watts CW at all times simply because I love QRP and I love CW and 
>> it's my "thing."   The
>> frequency agility of the doublet/autocoupler combination has been 
>> wonderful because those
>> of us in restrictive environments usually don't have room for more 
>> than one, possibly two
>> "good" antennas.  I have a very RF friendly attic in terms of no foil 
>> insulation, no HVAC,
>> only PVC plumbing stacks, etc.  Of course, there is some attenuation 
>> but at HF I believe
>> (from what I've been able to research)   that this attenuation is 
>> frequently overstated
>> and often considered to be far worse than what it really is.  In my 
>> experience, the
>> "worst" penalties that follow an attic (or any indoor) installation - 
>> RF exposure
>> notwithstanding - are skewed radiation pattern and "house noise."
>> i
>> By comparison, the Omni Angle when this video was made was at 27' - 
>> 3' lower than the
>> doublet's flat top section.  That was 15' above the lower deck + 12' 
>> up on the Jackite.
>> The Omni Angle was "facing" E-W in the sense that the "front" wire 
>> portion was pointing in
>> that direction; the attic doublet was pointing in the same E-W 
>> direction. Of course, we
>> can all agree, I'm sure, that this information doesn't help all that 
>> much in comparing
>> these two antennas because the drooped attic doublet had some 
>> vertical component and most
>> assuredly some skew in its pattern + as another Lister pointed out, 
>> on 17M there are lobes
>> on the doublet.
>>
>> But here's what I think is important to know:  For those of us (and 
>> we're probably an
>> increasing number in today's world) who can't enjoy "antenna freedom" 
>> this Omni Angle
>> represents another option and a darn good one from my experience of 
>> the last 3 weeks.  In
>> my case, it fits the footprint of my deck.  I can put it up on my 31' 
>> jackite to about the
>> 25' + 15' for the upper deck gives me 40' of height, clear of my roof 
>> line, and away from
>> the attic "house noise."
>>
>> My attic doublet is my overall favorite antenna and out of the 
>> weather and is always ready
>> for me.  It's earned me DXCC at the QRP level, QRP WAC, and I've 
>> worked all states too.
>> It's gotten me to Japan from NY on 5 watts more than once.  But this 
>> Omni Angle also got
>> me to Tokyo on 5 watts just last week.  So, based on my experience, 
>> the Omni Angle is a
>> competitive antenna for a restrictive home QTH, for portable work 
>> and, in my case, for
>> "stationary mobile" where I drive to a scenic rest stop, drop a 
>> fiberglass pole into my
>> hombrew mount on my VW Bug, hoist an antenna that's significantly 
>> better than a Hamstick,
>> and enjoy ham radio.
>>
>> Hope this helps to answer your questions, Vic, as well as those of 
>> other Listers with
>> antenna restrictions.
>>
>> 73, Stan WB2LQF
>>
>>
>>
>>   On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 12:33 PM, Vic K2VCO wrote:
>>
>>> How high was the 44' doublet?
>>>
>>> How was it oriented compared to the Omni Angle antenna?
>>>
>>> Is the doublet in inverted V or horizontal configuration?
>>>
>>> I am finding this interesting because I am soon moving to an 
>>> antenna-restricted location.
>>>
>>> On 9/26/2013 6:57 AM, stan levandowski wrote:
>>>>   About 3 weeks ago, I learned about a new "miracle antenna" -  I 
>>>> usually dismiss such
>>>> nonsense because there *is* no miracle antenna.  However, the 
>>>> person who informed me is a
>>>> trusted, capable, educated ham and DXpeditioner who is not easily 
>>>> impressed.
>>>>
>>>> I still don't believe in "miracles" but this 2.5 lb, 7 by 4 foot, 
>>>> easy up/easy down, no
>>>> tools required, easy-to-tune $99 new product by Dale Parfitt 
>>>> [designer of the PAR End
>>>> FedZ series] offers a realistic alternative to those with severe 
>>>> antenna restrictions,
>>>> attic installations, SOTA needs, and so on.  It is easily mounted 
>>>> on a Jackite or similar
>>>> fiberglass pole. Just put it on and slide it down until it's a good 
>>>> friction fit.
>>>>
>>>> The antenna is resonant for a single band ( choose: 20, 17, 15, 12, 
>>>> 10 or 6) and
>>>> additional matchboxes can be purchased for around $25 each.
>>>>
>>>> I bought the 17 meter version and in two weeks of non-scientific, 
>>>> casual A/B testing
>>>> against my 44' doublet, the Omni Angle has been equal or better on 
>>>> receive the majority of
>>>> times and about the same on transmit.  On receive it seems notaby 
>>>> less noisy than my
>>>> doublet.  It is horizontally polarized.
>>>>
>>>> I don't want to create an antenna controversy here on proper 
>>>> antenna testing techniques --
>>>> I seem to have a flair for doing  that -- ;)
>>>>
>>>> But I do want to pass along info on this new product which might be 
>>>> very useful to those
>>>> of us who have to live with antenna restrictions or who need 
>>>> options for effective
>>>> portable operations.
>>>>
>>>> Here is a short Youtube video I cobbled together to demonstrate my 
>>>> 17 meter PAR Omni
>>>> Angle.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGTq4zVAW_w
>>>>
>>>> 73, Stan WB2LQF
>
> -- 
> Vic, K2VCO
> Fresno CA
> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/
>