Observations from a West Coast USA small city lot:
It's important to understand the theory in ON4UN's books. K1ZM's book
is THE book for beginners on 160.
My dual 160/80 magnetic loop isn't supposed work with a single feed
line to the shack. It does.
My shunt fed HF tower isn't supposed to well work because I have no
place for radials. It works. (Sometimes you get lucky!)
Comparisons of antennas without consideration of geographic location
can be misleading. An inverted L and 100 watts on the USA East Coast
will certainly result in a much different experience west of the
Mississippi River. Big contest stations aren't in the Caribbean or
EA8 by accident.
To paraphrase K1ZM: "Try and have available every type of receive
antenna you have room for."
There is no substitute for trying an antenna to see how it works -
especially when the cost of the parts is minimal. After you've over
analyzed the theory and milked this reflector for information - just
try it!
Without my RX loop, I'd still be chasing #100 on Topband.
73 - Steve WB6RSE
(Now at 109 worked on Top Band. Why am I still doing this? ........ )
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