Hans Hammarquist said:
Hi Fellow Towertalkers,
I'm considering putting "up" a Beverage antenna
I just competed in the CW CW 160 Contest last week with a new pair of KD9SV
reversible beverages, and they worked very well. The S/N increase is
remarkable compared to my 235' OCF transmit antenna I used to use. It is a
rare day in winter when the noise floor on 160 is less than S6-9 here with
signals coming in around S9-S9+20 or so. On the Beverages with the preamp
enabled to get the same signal strength the noise floor is S1 or so, an
increase in S/N of ~30dB!
I highly recommend the KD9SV system, it is a fraction of the price of some
other reversible Beverage systems, and uses surplus WD-1A military field comm
wire. This wire is almost invisible strung at 8-10 feet and is VERY
inexpensive on eBay. Compare it to the cost and huge size/visibility of 450
ohm window line used by other systems, or even the THHN recommended by those
who assemble their own.
As a bonus, I find this system offers excellent performance to 20M, although
with less of an advantage in directivity and gain as the frequency increases.
Last year I barely heard any EU in the CQ 160 contest, this year I think I
heard most of them...but as I was competing in the LP class at 150W, had
trouble working many...I'll have to save my pennies to get a amp...
Gary, KD9SV is a nice guy and will answer emails as well, highly recommended!
Howie - WA4PSC
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