take a peek on 60m.  Im hearing  a fair number of stations, mostly rag chewers, with good to outstanding signals from Nebraska, TX, MO, MN, as well as back East.  Im in Ohio.

Might be what youre looking for!

When I was 14, my  neighbor, an engineer for ATTLongLines, put up a Cushcraft triband ground plane for 20-15-10. It was designed with  four 45 degree sloping radials and resulted in great signals out 1000-2000 miles, but not so great on DX.  The sloping radials improved the match to 1:1 SWR but bumped the radiation angles up to 30-45 degrees or so.  Horizontal radials would have given better DX results but at a somewhat higher SWR ( not a big deal IMO).

Also, with any home made qtr wave  ground plane antenna, using the  radials as guys  makes a lot of sense.  I tie them to polypropylene string. That's sufficient for years of service even in high winds.  A stake in the ground with angle iron, plus some   duct tape ( you must UV shield  the duct tape with black pvc electrical tape orit will fall apart within  1 year) Cheap fiberglas fishing poles ( 20-25 ft long weighing almost nothing and costing $15 each)  fitted inside   surplus fiberglas 1.5" diameter 4 ft mast sections works nicely.  You can also use  pvc pipe but that tends to bend and looks less professional to the neighbors.

Vertical dipoles are great if you have a tall enough support....ie a tree to hang it from. No radials. just coax in the middle  pulled perpendicular away from the antenna causes least  distortion of the field, and is not easy to do.

You need vertical polarization on 2m FM and I ebt your attic will work surprisingly well. Like was said, metal roof and /or stucco with wire mesh  beneath it covered with plaster will kill an otherwise good idea.

And the long run of cheap coax will  lose as much as you gain.  Good catv coax isnt  too expensive.  A couple of properly located holes to run as short a coax line as possible will pay dividends.

Good plan. Check it out!

If your after 160 and 80,  a windom is another choice ( works at even multiples of the fundamental freq...)

And dont overlook 60m.   My 160/80 joint coax fed inverted L's work into Europe on 60m, running 100w.

Also, my  temporary 160m antenna when I first moved to the present QTH , was a qtr wave L, hung from a 20 ft tall tree, sloping back to the ground in an easterly direction, and grounded by a single ground rod.  ( no other trees on the property at the time)  One night I heard and worked a 4X4, and then an LZ1 back to back on the first call ( on 160 cw.)  A week later at my sunrise I heard a fairly loud KH6, and worked him as well.  A few weeks later, I worked a JA1.  All with 100w to that temporary antenna.

It wont be that way all the time, but it got out OK....better than you would imagine.  At least until you can  improve the antenna,  or try another option.

Great testimonial, Jim.  Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. 

How far are your  Beverages from the transmit antenna on 160?  I read concerns about too much rf into the receiver.  My  xcvr is an IC7600 with a separate receive antenna connection, but it also has   blown the rf stage THREE times  for unknown ( ICOM says estatic discharge from lightening and perhaps  precipitation static )  reasons.  This last time I had them replace the entire rf board, figuring it was a lemon.  So far ( 2 months) so good.  The last RF board failure happened 1 month after I had it repaired for the very same problem.  So Im a bit sensitive to exposing  the 7600 to  transmit RF.

I also saw some plots in ON4UNs book showing  a Beverage running 30 ft from a transmit inverted L, where plots show  a greatly diminished F/B due to interaction.  Something like 18-24dB less. 

I have two 500 ft spools of  galvanized fence wire (#17 I think) that I use for radials.  Come a nice warm spell I might  run a 500 ft wire NE-SW.

Have you had any lightning induced failures of your terminating resistor induced from  distant lightning surges?  Ive read this is an issue....and also to the rig.

Bob ( in central Ohio)

Thanks, guys.  Informative thread.  I never used a Beverage.  I always complain about QRN/M on 160-80-60 meters.

I think it's time .......

Here's a question for the group regarding "cutting ladder line and owl":

Does it have to be cut to be tested? (and Can we avoid a dozen or so short pieces going into the trash can?)

Couldnt the line be folded back on itself ( and then taped in place) to get an approximate solution, before the dikes are brought to task?

I do this all the time with my field day/contest loops: bending and twisting the wire just enough to find resonance - but not cutting it, since at the next event the height above ground, or even  using it on a different band, will require changes.  So I just untwist and lengthen/shorten the loop.

Id go with a 40m loop.  Around 135 ft in circumference.  Any shape that fits.  Vertical or tilted.  Try ladder line feed to a tuner. Convert the  ladder line to 52 ohm coax thru a 4:1 balun just outside the house and run coax into the tuner.  You get 40m and all  multiples of 7 mhz. 

I use  loops all the time in contest operations.  Cut them for the lowest frequency you need and work all multiples above as well.  Mine have been horizontal, vertical, and tilted.  Many have laid over multiple branches and through the leaves.  Use insulated wire to be on the safe side,  a 500 ft spool of #14 electrical  pvc jacketed wire  can be had at  Home Depot.

No radials.  No ground.  Hang, feed, and  tune it with an in the shack antenna tuner. 

Good luck.

Ive found using 4 qtr wave radials for a 40m GP with the base elevated at 20 ft worked great for low angle contacts. Back in the  early 70s with a single such GP, I worked KC4USA and the others down there on a regular basis, running phone patches etc. with 150watts.

At the current QTH, with the base of the 40m GP at  heights of between 3 and 7 ft , the elevated radial performance seems more complex and less satisfying.  Im positive  more  height makes it simpler and more effective.

BTW, Im using a Christman feed per ON4UN, with RG-213, accurately cut with an AA-54 antenna analyzer.  ( At first, I used the old MFJ259, but found it wasnt very sharp at identifying the  .25 wavelength points.) 

I read somewhere that a bcst engineer walking under an elevated radial field for an am broadcast station running 10kw found rf was almost undetectable at ground level.  Amazing proof of a well tuned elevated radial system performance!

Thanks for your comments Rich.  Ive  had major power line noise issues here for a couple of years ( S9 to S9+20dB!) that peak between 1.8 and 6 mhz,   and am hoping the Beverage  rejects PLN a lot better than my 40 ft vertical  1/4 wavelength inverted L does.  So Ive been  reading up on Beverages with the thought of putting  a 500 footer in my yard.  I could go 700 feet but want to keep it 200 ft from my transmitting antenna -the inverted L. I will run mine NE  toward EU.

Recently, one of the guys in the club decided to put his own up ( for the Feb 160M CQWWSSB Test, and that's well underway.  I'm looking to learn from his efforts and apply them to my situation. 

QTH: central Ohio, in rolling farm land, so soil conductivity should be  average. 

The costs of a  Beverage  really add up so I'll start with a single wire. If it works as hoped, I can go to two wire, in my quest for DXCC on the remaining bands of 160, 60 and 6 meters.

Our club will be  adding a single wire  Beverage for the upcoming 160M SSB Contest in late Feb.

Depending on real estate limitations it will be directional to the SW or ( if we can arrande it) to the NE to better pick up Europeans.

Array Solutions   feed point transformer and termination resistor will be used.  Wire height will be  6 ft.  Either #18 galvanized steel fence wire or #14-16 copper wire will be used.  Fed by 52 ohm coax.

Any suggestions or comments on YOUR Beverage installations that proved to be most effective?

thanks

Using a pair of qtr wave  ground planes for  40M, I had all kinds of problems when I  laid radials down at ground level and then horizontally at about 4-7 ft.  Apparently phased arrays are very sensitive to radial field irregularities.

My SWR and antenna radiation patterns would change as I moved the radials.  For example, Id get HUGE signal reports  from 1000-2000 miles away,  and F/B ratios of  30-40 dB, but  much weaker reports from VK/ZL/JA/EU and ZS.  ( they were very difficult to work)   A single GP would outperform the phased array  into these long haul DX areas.

Now Ive  tried to  elevate all 8 radials at about the same level, and have cut them to  1/4 wavelength more carefully.   The PA now works much better on long haul DX than it did before.

I have not individually tuned each radial.

The long haul DX is now much easier to work, even with 100w, and I break pile ups more often than not. 

It's puzzling but that was what I evperience over several years of playing with  2 element phased arrays.

Come to think of it, I tried the 902DM memory and get the same problem...blinks. Never acquires the freq.

My 901DM from c. 1979 has the same problem. Began maybe 5 yrs ago.   It keeps blinking but no more single memory function.  I have an external vfo so dont really use  the single memory.  Still, it would be interesting to know the problem/repair needed.

Good hunting. 

Can only echo others about the durability and performance of this once top-of-the-line radio.

Bought my 901DM  in 1979 and used it  heavily in contests for decades.  Picked up the accompanying scope, patch/speaker/external vfo and antenna tuner.  It almost crushed the desk but looks IMPRESSIVE.  Works great to boot.   Then in 2001 I found an FT902DM at a hamfest, sold by an old CB dealer.  Picked it up together with the external vfo, tuner, speaker/patch, and dummy load/wattmeter.  SO both of those heavyweights are sitting on desks in the shack.

Only made two repairs in decades of operating- blown diode in the power supply, and  NOS gassy finals bought on the internet.  Very well built and heavy duty.

You'll enjoy it.

PS  I caved in and bought a new rig (IC7600) two years ago but havent had the heart to sell the 901DM/902DM stations.