You may also want to check out the SAL-12, -20 or -30 antennas from Array
Solutions. My yard is pretty small, but I was able to put up a SAL-12, and I
love it. (I do mostly 49-, 60- and 90-meter SWBC DX.) I can switch the
antenna to any one of 8 different directions, and I'm often surprised to find
that the DX is coming from a direction different from what I would expect.
Often there's a very pronounced peak in the signal when the antenna is pointed
in the right direction, and I really would not have had any copy if I couldn't
point in that direction.
The SAL-12 isn't especially good on 160, but is good from 3 MHz and higher.
The SAL-20 and -30 are reportedly very good on 160. If I recall right, the
SAL-20 is directional up to 20 meters; the SAL-30 is good up to 40 meters.
Check the Array Solutions website to confirm.
These aren't as cheap as putting up your own pennant, but above 3 MHz, the
SAL-12 aimed NE almost always outperforms my pennant pointed in the same
direction.
Regards,
Art Delibert, KB3FJO
________________________________
From: Topband <topband-bounces@contesting.com> on behalf of Wes Stewart
<wes_n7ws@triconet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2018 11:34 AM
To: Jeff Woods
Cc: topband
Subject: Re: Topband: Inverted L improvement question
Jeff, et.al.
1) Yes, I am on 1.7 acres (2 AC - easements). Some guys would love this much
land, to farmers it's just enough room for the barn. Regardless, considering I
also have a house, a tower and a vertical antenna to share it with, I don't have
room for Beverages, at least not an effective ones that point in desired
directions. The latter can be akin to those guys who say, a 3/2 wavelength
dipole has gain over a dipole, but never consider whether that gain is in a
useful direction.
2) Adding to my self-imposed challenges, I run, relatively speaking QRP, 500W,
with the whole station running on one 120 V 20A service. Pragmatically, heroic
efforts to hear another level or two lower signals might be fruitless, although
clearly, I'm not adverse to challenges, which is why I'm on the band.
3) I'm in southern Arizona, not Maine or the Florida peninsula, propagation is
different (read more difficult) here.
4) I have researched, studied and modeled many many other receive antennas,
passive and active. I doubt that there are any that I haven't looked at, at
least casually. We have very poor ground here. IMHO, ground-dependent antennas
are a no-go. Ones that require a bunch of radials are especially unattractive.
I have enough to do to get a decent radial field under the TX antenna. (See my
QRZ page) Any of these left to consideration have very broad (~100 deg) patterns
that get their benefits by rejecting signals from the rear. As stated at the
outset, that isn't my big issue. Although your experience seems to differ, I
don't believe one of these beaming to England (30 deg) is going to do much to
attenuate signals from NY (50 deg), for example.
Regards,
Wes N7WS
5) On 12/26/2018 3:31 PM, Jeff Woods wrote:
> Wes,
>
> A sure sign that your RX antennas are good enough is when DX stations that are
> Q5 copy repeatedly CQ in your face.
>
> What Mike's saying is true; trying to make a silk purse out of the sow's ear
> that is a TX vertical is a losing game. Waller Flags, K9AYs, EWEs, etc. are
> all cheap and can easily be constructed to fit a 1.7 acre lot. A short
> beverage may even feasible in that space, depending on the layout.
>
> When you speak of "QRM from the east," are you talking about being unable to
> overpower it on TX so the DX can hear you (my problem here), or are you
> speaking of RX QRM? On RX at your QTH, it doesn't appear that the proverbial
> East Coast Wall should affect you much. The azimuth to Europe from Tucson is
> ~30 degrees. That GC path runs across the upper Midwest and Ontario. Even a
> mediocre K9AY will provide adequate attenuation to signals from the US east
> coast.
>
> My NW RX antenna is centered at 42 degrees. Here in Iowa, it hears much
> better to Europe than to Boston or New York. Indeed, it's nearly useless in
> the ARRL 160 contest because of that pattern unless I'm in Province hunting
> mode.
>
> -Jeff (W0ODS)
>
>
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