N4KG Antenna Farm Plan
TOWER 1 - 35 to 40 ft. with tribander or 5 band HF Yagi
(10,12,15,17, 20M)
Everyone is tired of hearing me extoll the virtues of LOW
antennas,
but it is TRUE, that when the sun is up, LOW antennas often beat
out bigger and higher antennas on the high bands. IMHO,
everybody
should have a low antenna that rotates to cover all 5 high bands.
35 to 40 ft high antennas will cover ALL of the higher angles
that
are supported during daytime MUF peaks. (Look at the TH11,
Force 12 - 5BA, or BIG tribander (C31XR, TH7, X9, Butternut ?
plus WARC antenna).
TOWER 2 - 160 ft of Rohn 45 or 55 guyed at 40, 80, 120, 160 ft.
The low bands benefit from HIGH antennas, especially when the
MUF is low. An 80M dipole at 150 to 200 ft is a KILLER antenna.
BIG 40M beams are a BIG pain to install, maintain, and rotate.
Small STACKED 2L40's at 160 / 80 ft give BIG performance with
less investment. The top antenna could be a combined 2L80/2L40
or simply mount an 80M rotary dipole above (or in the middle of)
the 2L40. A pair of 80M inverted vee's at right angles is a low
cost
effective alternative which enables instant direction change
assuming
you have the room to tie off the ends (or friendly neighbors).
Tribanders (or 5 banders) at 40 and 120 ft. The second lobe
from
a 120 ft high band antenna falls in the middle of the vertical
pattern
of the 40 ft antenna, giving useful high angle coverage as well
as
low angle coverage, but there IS a gap in coverage which the low
antenna will fill nicely. WARC band antennas can be mounted
10 ft above most tribanders.
Ring Rotors or side-mounted swinging-gate arrangements are a
plus.
TOWERS 3, 4, 5, etc.
If you still want MORE, then you can start putting up single band
stacks. GOOD 2 antenna stacks can be installed nicely on R25
towers.
4 or 5L10's at 40 / 60 ft
3 or 4L15's at 40 / 70 ft
3 or 4L20's at 40 / 90 ft.
2L40 at 80 to 100 ft. (Best height for afternoon / evening
and
after sunrise operation on 40M)
The top antennas would rotate and the bottom antennas could
be fixed on Europe. Get an Upper / Lower / Both switchbox.
An 80M 4 - square makes a nice addition. Top loaded 40 ft verticals are
nearly as effective as full size and much easier to manage.
A 160M shunt fed vertical can be made using a 90 ft tower top loaded
with a Yagi. Other possibilities include an inverted vee or
vertically polarized Delta Loop supported by the 160 ft tower.
de Tom N4KG
Gee, this makes me want to start looking for 10 acres of cleared
land
and start over! (Well, maybe I'll sit and think about it again.
:-)
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