[Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower

Tue Jul 12 10:00:15 EDT 2016

 > There are newer designs for small beams that are better than the
 > venerable TA-33.

Force 12 XR-5 or JK Antennas Navassa 5 both cover 20, 17, 15, 12 and
10 meters.  Both are available with a 6 meter (XR-6 or 6M add-on)
option.  Although the antennas have two active elements er band, they
they have boom lengths equal or less than the TA-33/TA-33jr and the
full size elements mean they are much more efficient than the Mosley
antennas.

The Force 12 or Navassa provide full performance on up to six bands
in a package the size and weight of the TA-33 (or TA33JR-WARC).

73,

    ... Joe, W4TV

On 7/12/2016 9:12 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP wrote:
> Hello Terry,
>
> In my opinion, there will be no problem. I can imagine that if the tower
> is right at the house and if there is a strip of metal flashing along
> the peak of the roof it might detune the director slightly when the
> antenna is pointed east. Maybe. But I can't believe it will cause you
> any trouble. Anyway, with the tilt base you will have to install it some
> distance from the house.
>
> Remember the tilt base and the rotor plus mast will add to the height of
> the tower. US Towers also makes a 55-footer. It's a lot more expensive,
> though.
>
> I don't recommend the TA33-JR. Because of the short boom length it will
> have a narrow bandwidth on 20m. If you operate both CW and SSB you may
> find that you need to use a tuner. Your old ATB-34 is slightly bigger,
> but has a wider bandwidth.
>
> There are newer designs for small beams that are better than the
> venerable TA-33.
>
> Also if you can find one that works on 18 MHz too, that will be a plus.
> In the next few years, 10 and 15m will be dead much of the time.
>
> 73,
> Vic, 4X6GP
> Rehovot, Israel
> Formerly K2VCO
> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/
>
> On 12 Jul 2016 04:21, Terry Brown wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I am the owner if a K2, KX3, PX3, and KXPA100.  I have been a ham since
>> 1982, and love my Elecraft gear.  I have a question for the group.  I am
>> moving from my current QTH in Corvallis, OR  after 30 years.  Currently I
>> have a Rohn 25 based tower that is about 35 feet above my flat roof.
>> On the
>> tower is a tri-band Cushcraft ATB-34 and 2m/440 comet antennas.  The beam
>> and tower  date from the time I became a ham.
>>
>> I am building a new home in an established neighborhood in West Salem,
>> Oregon.  The CCRs have expired, so I am not restricted from a tower
>> setup.
>> My new QTH is high in the west hills of Salem.   The view to the east is
>> amazing as the ground slopes away.  To the west, the terrain has a slight
>> rise.  I am 68 yrs. old.   I don't want to have to climb a tower
>> again.  My
>> home will be two stories with the garage level under it.  The peak of my
>> roof will be about 34 ft. above grade.  My new tower location will be
>> about
>> 32 feet from grade to the peak of the roof.  The roofline will run N-S
>> with
>> the tower on the west side of the house.  \
>>
>> I have decided to purchase a new smaller lightweight crankup tower and a
>> smaller  tribander such as the Mosley TA-33 JR-N or NW.  I have seen
>> the US
>> Towers MA-40,  a 20-41ft. crankup as one type.  It comes with a tilt over
>> base add-on which would allow me to service the antenna from the ground.
>> This particular two section tower can crank down to 20 ft., thus not
>> being
>> visible from the street east of the house.  It's max height is 41 ft.
>> which
>> would put the antenna only 9-10 ft. above the roofline when
>> transmitting to
>> the East.  I want to put a winch on the tower so I don't have to
>> physically
>> crank it up by hand as I get older.  With this background I have two
>> questions:
>>
>> 1.    Will the yagi attached to the tower with only 9-10 ft. height above
>> the roofline (41 ft. tower)  be an effective radiator and receive
>> antenna on
>> 20-15-10 meter bands to the East?  Being on the West Coast, this will
>> be the
>> direction of most of my mainland US contacts.   To the N-W-S, the antenna
>> will be 41 ft. above the ground, so no problem.
>>
>> 2.    I am not committed to any particular crankup tower.  The US
>> Tower is
>> just the one I have seen on the internet.  I would be interested in any
>> lighterweight fold over crank up tower up to 50 ft.   I think a tubular
>> constructed type tower would be my preference due to weight of
>> installation.
>> A triangular designed crankup may be ok, too.
>>
>> I know I can have a larger tower and antenna, but I want my setup to be
>> neighbor friendly.  I am not a contester, and will never operate over 100
>> watts.  It is nice to be able to work a station if I can hear it.  I also
>> want the advantage of a horizontally polarized antenna with gain.  I have
>> been spoiled with that setup over the years.
>>
>> Just as an aside, my other antenna is a horizontal loop about 250 ft. in
>> length that I use for all the other bands.  It is up about 30 ft.
>> suspended
>> from the trees in my current QTH.  I feed it with 450 ohm ladder into
>> a 4:1
>> balun to coax.  At my new QTH, we will plant two contained planters
>> with 20
>> or 30 ft. bamboo on the SW and NW corners of my property where I can
>> put a
>> vertical pipe for two supports, then use the peak of my roof on the N
>> and S
>> side at 34 Ft. for my NE and SE contact points for my other two
>> corners for
>> my horizontal loop.  I will feed it with the same 450 ohm ladder from
>> the NE
>> corner.   I really like my horizontal loop because it is so quiet being
>> horizontally polarized.  My current one works great so I want the same
>> thing
>> for my new QTH.
>>
>> I look forward to getting some great input from this group.  I have been
>> amazed at the level of quality information I have seen on this group.
>>
>> Thanks in advance to you all.
>> 73's,
>> Terry Brown, N7TB
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