Kevin,
Here's my understanding of the inverted L (and I hope others will help
me understand it better by critiquing my conmments).
The inverted L is a 1/4 wave (130' approximately) Marconi antenna fed
against ground. It requires the same good ground system that a
vertical requires to work well. In fact, the inverted L is a poor
man's 160M vertical; it is usually a wire antenna that looks like an
upside down L. That is, there is a vertical part that goes as high as
your support (a tower, tree, or whatever). Most effective inverted L's
have at least a 40' vertical section (the more the better). Most of
the radiation from an inverted L (or 130' vertical for that matter)
occurs in the lower third (lower 45') of the antenna so an inverted L
will have predominantly vertical polarization which is what you want
for working DX. Again, the ground system plays a critical role in its
effectiveness.
73, Doug W2CRS
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/topband.html
Submissions: topband@contesting.com
Administrative requests: topband-REQUEST@contesting.com
Sponsored by Akorn Access, Inc & KM9P
|