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Re: [TowerTalk] antenna choices for K4XS

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antenna choices for K4XS
From: Ward Silver <hwardsil@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2015 09:44:19 -0500
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
I spent the weekend putting in about a mile of radial wire in rocky soil, so I have missed most of the fun here on the reflector, apparently...

Anyway, some of the poor performance by the Mosley PRO antennas in our comparison tests was probably efficiency-related. I have to caution, though, that the lack of a feed line choke balun (as directed by the manual - part of our test protocol was to do/not-do what the manual said to do/not-do) likely enabled coupling to the feed line shield. This can distort the pattern tremendously, spraying RF all over and causing an apparent lack of gain at low-angles, which is what we measured. Without a full 3D measurement, I can't say for sure. It did not happen with the other antennas for which a choke balun was specified and installed (a bead balun or the manufacturer's own design).

The Mosley designs generally underperform for gain *somewhat* based on equivalent boom lengths. The designs are decades old, so that is hardly surprising. In the right location and height, they hold their own as K4RO demonstrates on a regular basis. They are also quite sturdy (heavy) if ice or wind is an issue to be considered. But they're not dummy loads.

73, Ward N0AX

On 4/13/2015 9:15 AM, towertalk-request@contesting.com wrote:
The difference between Mosley and the other antennas is entirely
in antenna efficiency - not directivity.

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