[OKDXA] Vertical vs Beam

[Nelson Derks]

Here's the answer to the question:   
http://www.eham.net/articles/20850   the following is editorial content. 
:-)

Disclaimer: I have never owned a tower of any magnitude nor a Yagi aside 
from a 5 el Cushcraft on Six that does not rotate. This is not to say I 
haven't bought some of those goodies... I have, just never got 'round to 
putting them on the air. I do not want a 60' tower due to the cost of 
installation, tear-down, or the maintenance & liability. I do not want 
to ever post pics on the web of my stack of beams in shambles due to an 
ice storm. I do not want to be the guy with the really sweet tower setup 
and the broken rotor that has the whole mess locked on to Lower Slobovia 
while the DX is running into the Coaxial Islands.

I'm too cheap, lazy, and genetically deprived of the hard-core DX gene 
for any of that.

With all that said, in terms of bang for the buck and the lowest angle 
of radiation a good vertical is damed hard to beat. Yes! they tend to be 
noisier than a comparable horizontal antenna. Yes! they have no 
directivity and while some of you see that as a handicap I see it as a 
virtue since there is no need for a rotor or the need to 'swing the 
beam' from one Q to the next while surfing the bands. Plug & Play 100% 
and if you hear 'em you're good to go with the TX switch.

Remember... I'm lazy, and even though I have a half acre to work with, 
everyone has more UP than they have OUT in their yard... Even the 
latter-day 101 Ranch wanna-bees. Where's the infinity key on this 
computer when I need it...? ;)

In any case, two things to consider: Incoming wave polarity and angle of 
radiation. The polarity issue on sky-wave reflected signals will be 
whatever it wants to be from day to day and DX to DX. Meaning... There 
will be days when a vertical will outperform a comparable horizontal 
antenna and vice-versa. Angle of a dangle which you can't control. What 
you can control is the elevation angle of your signal based on the 
installed height above ground and 1/2 wave in free space is usually a 
good choice. (Feet = 492 / f in MHz) In the case of 10 Meters that's 
approximately 17.5 feet. 35 feet on 20 Meters. 70 feet on 40 Meters. 
Want to build a textbook dipole for 80? Start with two towers 
approximately 132' high and swing a wire between them.

This explains why a 35' tower with a tribander is probably the most 
popular setup for the mid-level serious DX'er and why you'll never see a 
textbook dipole on 160. As a general rule mechanical practicality 
determines the antenna choices on 40 and below while cost is the primary 
consideration for 20 and up. If you want to low-band DX you will likely 
be running a vertical and if you're really gung-ho you'll research the 
concept of phased arrays. That's what the commercial dudes run... There 
are plenty of AM BCB stations running phased verticals and even the FM 
guys know the virtues of phasing a stack of radiating elements. In the 
case of AM it's to meet FCC requirements for a directional pattern when 
a channel is shared day or night, in the case of FM it's to squash the 
doughnut and throw maximum ERP at the horizon instead of up & out toward 
Zeta Reticulae.

As an example of what a phased array can do on a (very) low band, check 
this out:

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KRMG&service=AM&status=L&hours=D

50 gallons on 740 kHz and during the day the primary ground wave 
coverage area extends from Joplin to Union City and then some. Apply the 
same concept with three verticals and switched phasing lines on 80 and a 
dude could be big signal into EU or OZ when the band has some moxie.

If I had the urge to radiate like I mean it on 40 or 80 I'd look hard at 
three or four loaded verticals at a modest height with elevated radials. 
In the case of three they'd be in a straight line with the center 
element the zero-degree "driven" element with the others phased & 
switched to match, in the case of four it would be a four-square kinda' 
thing. Yes, it's a fair amount of work to set up initially, but 
directivity would be at the flip of a switch, the elevation angle would 
be low, and recovery after an ice storm would be relatively cheap & easy 
assuming I documented the build like a good boy should. Plus... It would 
be a helluva' lot cheaper than anything horizontal installed at a 
textbook height.

For those of you with deep pockets and an aversion to cut & try 
experimentation, consider this:

http://www.zerofive-antennas.com/k9ynf.html   here's the product 
lineup:  http://www.zerofive-antennas.com/

As for best bang for the buck on 20 and up, rumor has it that a Hustler 
4BTV with elevated radials works FB. The manufacturer will tell you that 
radials are recommended but optional, the word on the street is that 4-6 
tuned radials per band can get you 10 dB (plus) in exchange for a few 
dollars and the install time.

http://www.dxengineering.com/Products.asp?ID=141&SecID=16&DeptID=8


John Geiger wrote:
> they mentioned that a 3/8 or 1/2 vertical will show comparable performance to a 2 element yagi.  Is this true?  Will such a vertical really do as good as a 2 element beam?  
>
> Also, how would a roof mounted 1/4 wave vertical compare to a 2 element tribander at a low height-like 25 feet or so?
>
>