[Elecraft] The "Kinda Random Antenna"

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Ha, ha!!! But all of those photons are not getting beyond "line of sight".

Most of us O.T.s (like you) have had the experience of using a 'grocery
store dummy load' (ordinary incandescent light bulb) to test our rigs and
had someone call us in return! 

Another thing to  remember is that there is no direction in which an antenna
does not radiate. The more lobes, the more nearly it is omni-directional.

73, Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Fred
Jensen
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2017 3:10 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] The "Kinda Random Antenna"

N6BT famously set up a "phased array" of 3 light bulbs in a V-beam
configuration and achieved WAC.  He called it "The Illuminator." Kurt N. 
Sterba [a regular in the old WorldRadio] is correct, the power will go
somewhere.  My home antenna is a 136' wire strung along the wood fence on
electric fence insulators.  Fed at the end, no overt counterpoise [the
outside of the coax shield handles that].  Not spec'd for 160 but the KAT3
matches it fine.  Invisible to HOA.  NVIS on 160 and 80, semi-NVIS on 40.

One thing to remember:  feeding electrically long wires results in
complicated radiation patterns.  The higher in frequency you go, the more
it's going to squirt your RF in different directions, not all of which point
at the DX.  But, mine works very well considering it's about
1.8 m off the ground.

73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 1/29/2017 10:26 AM, Barry wrote:
> Wayne,
>     I know what you are saying and agree. In very simple terms, if you 
> can load it, it will radiate. That was a position that a writer with 
> the nom de plume of Kurt N Sterba too in a book he wrote. By the 
> physical law of conservation of energy, it all has to go somewhere. 
> And, that could be heat or radiation. In his book he claims to have 
> loaded a shopping cart and talked to people.
>
>     Yes, you can do these things as long as you make good connections 
> and the tuners can handle it. All of the discussion is how to pick a 
> length that the tuner will accept. Once there, physics takes over. And 
> just to prove my point, and yours, I just worked the CQ 160 CW 
> contest. My antenna was a vertical 20 meter dipole center fed with 
> open wire. My radio is a K3s. I worked across this country, Canada, 
> and some DX with this 33' wire antenna that by all rights should have 
> been over 200'. I would have done better, but my local power company 
> added another handicap, line noise. Bottom line: Throw some wire up 
> and see if it can be loaded. If yes, go for it.
>
> 73,
> Barry
> K3NDM

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