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Re: [TowerTalk] 6-meter antenna height

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] 6-meter antenna height
From: "Roger (K8RI) on TT" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2016 17:49:08 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
I should add that I've had that 7L @ 115' for over 2 full sunspot cycles.
I've probably worked close to as many or maybe more countries on six. On the peak, two cycles ago, I basically could have had WAC within 10 minuted as the whole world was audible with strong signals at one time. I missed a station in Guam because he had a stateside call, did not identify his location and was the loudest signal on the band. Later I heard him working a pileup which is when I heard mention of his location. I didn't call as I was burnt out from working that opening for hours.

That was the day I worked the Central American who had a piece of wire stuck in the coax connector with his rig on the work bench. In pileups I usually worked them on the first call and that was with just 100 W.

http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/Tower29.htm
I've often posted the link to this photo. I was working on the TH5 tribander at 100 feet, the 7L 6-meter Yagi is the first antenna above it, so there was a lot of Aluminum above and below it.

There was a ham (I've forgotten his call and name) about 20 miles NNW of me with a huge quadrature array of much longer antennas than mine. I don't remember the height, but they were high. no one in the area out talked him regardless of antenna height.

I have seen days where long openings (> 1000 miles) on 144 favored lower antennas and my co-linear vertical at 50 feet would out do my stacked 12s at 130 feet, but that was a long time ago so I don't remember the particulars, no is it in the log notes.

As forgiving up on 6-m DXCC, I've seen a number of openings in the past couple of weeks to just about all continents. Unfortunately at present I only have some wire antennas for 40 and 75 working.

I see those openings http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA and really wish I could at least get that 7L back up. As I write this post there is/are openings from the mid West and particularly New England into SA.

73

Roger (K8RI)


On 7/31/2016 Sunday 1:50 AM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
FD operation got me to thinking about this.

On HF (depending on band conditions) there is a statistically preferred height for the distance to be worked.

On VHF particularly 6-meters where long haul is Sporadic E, Tropo, occasionally F, or Aurora.

Local work is usually the higher the better. I've normally had the 7L C3i (boom just a few inches short of 30 feet) at 115 feet and excellent results for single and double hop Sporadic E as well a F and Au.

Keeping in mind that the ideal height for HF is statistically derived, where is the point (frequency) where we should typically be switching over from the way we figure HF antenna height to the higher the better? The FD station had their 6-meter antenna height calculated the same way we usually figure HF antenna height, meaning, I could about jump high enough to touch the antenna. That is, if I could still jump. They were shooting through the trees.

A typical 6-meter antenna would have a "bunch" of lobes between the horizon and vertical



--

73

Roger (K8RI)


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