[PVRCNC] Anyone use extended double zepps?

[Roberts, Will]

I use a 32' per side doublet as a 30/17/12 meter antenna, and it can also double as an extra  "utility" antenna for the contesting bands if an extra antenna is needed. It is fed with ~60' of ladder line, a 4:1 balun and ~25 of RG213 coax into a K3 with tuner. It works pretty well and most of the time I use it with 5 to 100 watts chasing band countries. I want to try to improve on this antenna by replacing the outside balun and bringing the ladder line in the shack. I'm sure the SWR on that 25' of coax is very high and is lossy. I can also eliminate the need for the balun and the K3 tuner by using an external tuner with a built-in balun. I am also wondering if changing the lengths to make it longer would help performance? It actually works worse on 12/15m. I'm attributing this to the coax loss, although it could be directivity to places I don't need it. The antenna is oriented N/S. I could easily double the length and still hang it between towers as a flat top. Thoughts??


Tnx,
Will AA4NC