> ... snip ...
> Compared to those who do use the open wire, my coax may not
> be quite as efficient, but I am glad to make the tradeoff. I try to
> make my antennas resonant in the area where I operate
> to begin with, so I only need a tuner on parts of 80 and 160m. My
> current tuner, the Nye MBVA is very poor on 160m. It's all in what one
> wants to do, if open wire makes a person feel better, then that's what
> they should do. Personally, I seem to envision BC610's and plug-in
> coils, and can almost hear the Andrews Sisters singing in the
> background, when someone mentions "open wire feeders". This is not
> meant as a personal attack on anyone by the way, just my opinion.
> 73, Tom W0HH
I think perspective and opportunity are the issues here.
Coax run to all resonant antennas is nice if you can do it.
Some of us either lack the real estate or money to have a
system with resonant antennas on every band and with
the orientation(s) we need.
Picture this: two 160m dipoles (E-W and N-S) two 80m
and two 40m -- all coax fed ... OR two multiband dipoles
each fed with open line. There will be little performance
difference in most installations but a huge efficiency difference
in terms of space, cost and hassle.
This, of course, assumes that the station has a tower with a
beam or beams covering 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m. Or
perhaps some combination of beams and verticals for those
bands. If not you will need to add more pairs of dipoles for
the missing bands ... or merely use the open line fed dipoles
because they are capable of continuous coverage from 160-
10 meters!
I have chosen a mix. Beam(s) for 20 thru 10m, two multiband
dipoles for 160, 80, 40 and 30 (with the capacity to cover
20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m if needed), a multiband vertical for
80, 40, 30, 20, 15 and 10, and phased shortened monoband
verticals for 160.
BTW: My station is 100% solid state at the moment and is
designed to be 100% battery powered with solar charging.
I am using a Dentron MT-3000A tuner. Seems to handle
everything just fine. That works for my budget, real estate and
operating needs ... and is state-of-the-art in many ways.
It really is a matter of individual perspective and opportunity.
The only "personal" thing about it is choice! ;-)
- 73, DavidC K1YP
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