[OKDXA] DX, on 160

[Jay Bromley]

Hi Clif and gang again,

One thing I forgot to comment on is the radials.  More smaller ones are
better than a few long ones.  Elevated ones are better than those on the
ground.  Radials on top of the soil  have less loss than ones buried.  Try
to put out 40-70 radials and cut them to 75ft.  If you have the room and
wire then by all means make then a 1/4 wave long which is around 120 feet.
The ideas is to have very low loss at the bottom of the antenna were the
current is.  So more is better here, not just one long one!  Elevated feeds
can get by with 2 to 4 radials if the ground losses are low and it also
depends on the height of the ground plane antenna

Also on your inverted L, if you are using a 1/4 you might want to try a 3/8
wave.  It will move the current up a little and the losses at the base are
not as great.  You match it with a simple series capacitor at the base.  You
could go to a 1/2, but most folks don't have the support to make the center
vertical,  so the 3/8 is a good compromise!  If I remember a 3/8 on 160m is
177 to 180 feet long.  Matching a 1/2 on 160m is no fun with high power
because you are voltage feeding!

If anyone needs the exact measurements of the radials, capacitor, or any of
the above I can e-mail them later.

Have fun and 73 de jay..