[Lowfer] LF reception and other misc stuff

[Douglas D. Williams]

Wow, that was a big improvement, Todd.

Heck, I think I'll go ahead and raise the base up some this Saturday,
weather permitting.

-Doug

On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 6:17 AM, <ToddRoberts2001 at aol.com> wrote:

> I am using a Ratzlaff active whip. Biggest improvement in my reception  was
> getting it above 10 feet and away from the house and in the clear. On  VLF
> a signal reading S-7 with an S-5 noise level at 10 feet improved to  an
> S-9+ and an S-2 noise level after I raised it up to 40 feet off the ground.
>  Once I
> got above 30-35 feet high the improvement seemed to level off.
>
> Nearby trees didn't seem to affect it too adversely once I got  the
> antenna up to 40 ft above ground level. In fact it is hoisted up into a
> nearby pine tree using rope over a high tree branch. I am using RG213
> for the downlead back to the house.
>
> If it looks like a bad lightning storm I disconnect the RG213 from inside
> the
> house and coil it up on the ground away from the house. So far I have  lost
> 2 front-end Fets from nearby lightning hits but the Fets can be  replaced.
> The
> input Fet is now protected by a relay that grounds the whip when
>  unpowered.
>
> 73 - Todd WD4NGG
>
>
>
> In a message dated 9/26/2012 6:59:27 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  w4j
> bm at bellsouth.net writes:
>
> I first placed it about 20' from the house. I was using military surplus
> tent
> poles and I had it up around 25' for a while. There were woods and the
> house
> pretty much at that level and I was finding that putting it higher led  to
> better
> performance. It's interesting you word your question "signal to  noise"
> because
> the noise floor was pretty consistent, but the signals would  increase in
> strength as I increased height.
>
> Eventually I moved it so  it is roughly 50' from the house. It's up around
> 35'
> now. That put it above  nearby trees and such. There was a noticeable
> difference
> as I hoisted it up  a section at a time until I got to above the
> trees--then it
> pretty much  stayed the same. I brought it down to 35' for stability..
>
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