On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:25:17 -0600, Jim Miller WB5OXQ in Waco wrote:
> Is a 1/2 wave wire dipole the best antenna for the band
NO! You said you have an 80 ft tower. If you can put a lot of
radials on the ground around it, I'd load the tower. That is likely
to work MUCH better than a low dipole (and a dipole at 80 ft on 160
is a LOW dipole). Radials should be at least 60 ft, longer is
better, more is better than longer. Symmetry of the radial system is
not crucial.
I have a 160 dipole at 100 ft and an 86 ft top-loaded vertical with
60 radials. I hardly ever use the dipole on 160 any more. It's a
multiband dipole that also covers 80, 40, 30, 15, 17, and 12, and I
use it to great advantage on those bands.
It's more that the difference in radiation pattern, and, I believe,
has to do with how vertically and horizontally polarized waves
propagate on 160M.
73,
Jim K9YC
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