[Elecraft] Strong recommendation: MFJ 18xx-series single-band whips for KX3, etc.

[GRANT YOUNGMAN]

Just a minor point. Raising the counterpoise a foot or more above ground rather than just throwing it on the ground will have the effect of reducing ground losses and getting more signal radiated.  So rather than just toss the counterpoise wire on the ground, it’s a good thing to keep it elevated — run it from where you have it connected (e.g., table top) out to a bush, a branch, to a fiberglass driveway marker stuck in the ground, whatever’s available.  I carry a piece of small para-cord so I can tie the winder that holds my radial wire off to something.  If you’re inside on a second floor, it may not matter much, but at a typical field site with lousy soil conductivity it can.

A single elevated radial will also cause a very slight distortion in the usual uniform radiation pattern with max response in the direction of the radial.  Two elevated radial wires (at about 180 deg) give you the more usual non-directional pattern.

Grant NQ5T
K3 #2091, KX3 #8342




> On Mar 25, 2016, at 10:00 AM, Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com> wrote:
> 
> Jim,
> 
> Like I implied in my posting, portable operation is often more about convenience than signal strength. 
> 
> Your estimate of around 7 dB sounds reasonable. That's about 1.5 S-units, to use the vernacular. When a band is open, this loss still allows a lot of contacts to be made.
> 
> Example: A couple of months ago my son and I were doing a bit of hiking/bird watching at Redwood Shores. While Griffin stalked hooded mergansers with his camera, I quickly set up my KX3 at a picnic table. I attached the whip with a right-angle BNC, along with the 13' counterpoise wire. 20 meter CW was very active with EU contest stations, most of them probably running a KW ("or so"). I called several of them running 5 W, and worked most of them on one call. 
> 
> I may have been down 7 dB from a full-size vertical, but I got through nonetheless. And I didn't have to frighten any birds away with my usual weight-tossing wild-west antenna deployment routine.
> 
> Sometimes size doesn't matter.
> 
> Wayne
> N6KR
> 
>