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Re: Topband: BOG height

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: BOG height
From: K4SAV <RadioXX@charter.net>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2019 13:28:24 -0500
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
On 8/1/2019 12:36 PM, Mark K3MSB wrote:
I’ve used BOGs and RBOGs at 200 feet length laying on the ground.     The
BOG worked great,  the RBOG worked good, but not as good as the BOG.
I agree with K3MSB's conclusions about BOGs. I have also done a lot of experimenting with reversible BOGs and single direction BOGs. Gain of the RBOG will be less than that of the single direction BOG. Impedance of the ground rod translates into loss for the RBOG but it is only part of the termination resistance for the single direction BOG. The RBOG will also not have the same gain in both directions if you build it like most people do. There is a way to fix this problem and that is to use 2 reflection transformers and feed it in the in middle. The whole length of the wire will be used in both directions and the gain will be the same in both directions. The worst feature of the RBOG at my house is that critters like to chew on the wires. A single wire is a lot easier to repair than RG-6.

A BOG is a good antenna but I'm not sure exactly what its RDF number is. NEC doesn't do well for BOGs. I can calculate an RDF of over 11 for a 366 ft BOG using NEC but I'm sure that is NOT correct. When comparing it to another receiving antenna that has an RDF of 11.1, I estimate the BOG is between 9.5 and 10.

A BOG is a pretty simple antenna but there are ways to screw it up. The gain is low so you have to be very careful about suppressing common mode currents. And don't aim it at your house and don't run it close to the house.

Jerry, K4SAV
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