[NLRS] 6m rover antenna thoughts response to W0JT

[kf0q@arrl.net]

A few years ago N0WE gave me the idea to use a 3 element yagi on the  
rover.  The idea here is that the footprint of the antenna turned at  
90 degrees can fit nicely over a standard pickup box or in my case  
fit over the roof of my Cherokee with only a couple of feet of  
elements sticking out behind the vehicle.  Most of the standard 3  
element designs have booms in the 5 ft range any way which typically  
close to the vehicle width too.  Optimization my be nice to think  
about but I lean towards having a proven 3 element design with less  
mechanical on the road challenges for transport.  In June 1999 (I  
think it was) I brought a 4 ele 6m antenna for the rove whereas I had 
 to deploy it from vertical (transport) to horz. when I parked to  
operate.  It did work (very well) however was very clunky and was not 
 worth the trouble.  I think the small difference in dB between a 4 
or  5 ele antenna and a good working 3 ele design is not worth it - 
(more time on the air equals more qso's).  Winter roving would be 
even  worse (in my opinion) with a larger boom 6m antenna to struggle 
with.   (Slipping off the rear bumper in January in the snow 
attempting to  deploy antennas is not very fun).  
  Getting the antenna up (as high as practical) is a good idea.  For  
50Mhz I like to be a high as possible above the roof of the rover.   
For many folks however; as high as practical (and reasonable) in the  
rover may only be in the neighborhood of 4 to 8ft above the vehicle.  
 This is why some folks point out that a dipole (W0ZQ if I may) might 
 be the ticket as we factor in what I call "The Rover compromise".    
The reality here is that if the band opens it won't matter any way.   
I have worked many stations on 50Mhz with the antenna a couple of  
feet above the roof.  Good luck on the project John! 
73, 
Matt  
KF0Q