[OKDXA] DX, on 160

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 22:51:54 -0500

Good stuff Jay.  I use electric fence wire from Home Depot for radials.  At the end of the season I take it up and throw it away because you cannot keep it straight, ha.

160m is busy tonite with contest stations getting ready for the weekend.

Jim
> 
> From: "Jay Bromley" <[email protected]>
> Date: 2002/11/19 Tue PM 01:27:06 EST
> To: "Clifton Sikes" <[email protected]>, 
> 	<[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: [OKDXA] DX, on 160
> 
> 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..
> 
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