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1-10 of 17 messages
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160 Meter Dipole
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by N9MXY on October 19, 2009
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I did a search for 160M dipole and read some threads but found nothing that directly addressed my questions.
I have room to install a 160M dipole that will be about 60' high at the ends. and over level ground passing over 1 35'maple tree about 20 feet from one of the ends.
1. Is this high enough to give me a decent angle of radiation without too much ground loss?
2. I only plan on using it for 160. Can I run ladder line to a 4:1 then maybe 30' of coax to the tuner without suffering too much loss? If I did do this would I gain anything by tuning the antenna with a coax run then installing the ladder line and balun?
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by N9MXY on October 19, 2009
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Sorry about the Multiple posts, the board kept giving me an error and saying it didn't make it....
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by WB6BYU on October 19, 2009
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Unless your feedline is very long, you probably won't
gain much by using ladder line over coax. One exception
to that might be if you wanted a low SWR across the whole
band, since the expected bandwidth of a dipole probably
will be less than 100kHz.
If you use ladder line there is no magic to the exact wire
length - you don't have to prune or adjust it at all.
anything from 200 to 300' should work about as well (though
the impedance at the tuner will change - that also depends
on the line length.)
A dipole at 60' will give you reasonable radiation for
local work out to several hundred miles. After all, it
is only up 1/8 wavelength, which is like having a 20m
dipole up 8' high. But fortunately the ionosphere
supports high angle propagation on 160m (which it doesn't
on 20m) and it should work well.
If you want better DX, drop the feedline straight down
from the center of the antenna, connect the two wires
together and feed them against a good ground radial
system. With a bit of ingenuity you could rig up a
remote switch between the two modes.
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by WB5JEO on October 19, 2009
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If you can run ladder line with reasonable convenience and use a tuner, it seems a shame to not make use of this simplest effective all-band antenna with transmitter-pleasing low SWR everywhere. The patterns on all bands will somewhat unpredictable, but they should be considered pretty unpredictable for all but very high dipoles over what it always essentially unknown ground. I can hardly think of a better all-around antenna than the long dipole at 60 feet. Just because it's not predominately a low angle radiator on many bands doesn't mean it doesn't have quite useful low-angle radiation.
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by WX7G on October 19, 2009
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Using EZNEC to compare your dipole to a common alternative - an inverted-vee up 60' with a dozen radials (GND R=15 ohms), the dipole is better above a take off angle of 20 degrees. At at DX angle of 10 degrees the inverted-L is better by 4 dB. The dipole looks quite useable.
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by N9MXY on October 19, 2009
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Thanks Guys! I was sighting a path between the trees today. For ease of launch I may just go the ladder line route since raising and lowering it will require some gyrations to keep it out of the limbs.
Now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy a bow, arrow and some fishing line or get my climbing belt on and go monkey.....
If I like 160 I'll look into the more exotic implementations like ground radials etc.
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by WA8FOZ on October 19, 2009
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"Now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy a bow, arrow and some fishing line or get my climbing belt on and go monkey..... "
IMHO, climbimg is for kids or experienced climbers. I have done it, but not now. Be safe!
I used a bow and arrow for a long time, and got quite good at it; but after I got an EZ-Hang, I set the bow aside. Easier to use, especially if you do multiple tries; and it takes less practice to become accurate. ALWAYS know where you are shooting and what may be there. Make sure there are no neighbors, kids, windows, and other things.
If you find the EZ-Hang too pricey, it would not be hard to make one. Entry-level sport slingshot, weld or othgerwise attach a rod to mount the spinning reel with hose clamps, reel with 10-lb test line(orange for visibility)- that's it.
You will have a lot of fun with that antenna - good sigs for 300-660 miles at night. sometimes more. Enjoy!
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by WA8FOZ on October 19, 2009
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"Now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy a bow, arrow and some fishing line or get my climbing belt on and go monkey..... "
IMHO, climbimg is for kids or experienced climbers. I have done it, but not now. Be safe!
I used a bow and arrow for a long time, and got quite good at it; but after I got an EZ-Hang, I set the bow aside. Easier to use, especially if you do multiple tries; and it takes less practice to become accurate. ALWAYS know where you are shooting and what may be there. Make sure there are no neighbors, kids, windows, and other things.
If you find the EZ-Hang too pricey, it would not be hard to make one. Entry-level sport slingshot, weld or othgerwise attach a rod to mount the spinning reel with hose clamps, reel with 10-lb test line(orange for visibility)- that's it.
You will have a lot of fun with that antenna - good sigs for 300-660 miles at night. sometimes more. Enjoy!
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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by WA8FOZ on October 19, 2009
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"Now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy a bow, arrow and some fishing line or get my climbing belt on and go monkey..... "
IMHO, climbimg is for kids or experienced climbers. I have done it, but not now. Be safe!
I used a bow and arrow for a long time, and got quite good at it; but after I got an EZ-Hang, I set the bow aside. Easier to use, especially if you do multiple tries; and it takes less practice to become accurate. ALWAYS know where you are shooting and what may be there. Make sure there are no neighbors, kids, windows, and other things.
If you find the EZ-Hang too pricey, it would not be hard to make one. Entry-level sport slingshot, weld or othgerwise attach a rod to mount the spinning reel with hose clamps, reel with 10-lb test line(orange for visibility)- that's it.
You will have a lot of fun with that antenna - good sigs for 300-660 miles at night. sometimes more. Enjoy!
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RE: 160 Meter Dipole
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Reply
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by WA8FOZ on October 19, 2009
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Mail this to a friend!
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"Now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy a bow, arrow and some fishing line or get my climbing belt on and go monkey..... "
IMHO, climbimg is for kids or experienced climbers. I have done it, but not now. Be safe!
I used a bow and arrow for a long time, and got quite good at it; but after I got an EZ-Hang, I set the bow aside. Easier to use, especially if you do multiple tries; and it takes less practice to become accurate. ALWAYS know where you are shooting and what may be there. Make sure there are no neighbors, kids, windows, and other things.
If you find the EZ-Hang too pricey, it would not be hard to make one. Entry-level sport slingshot, weld or othgerwise attach a rod to mount the spinning reel with hose clamps, reel with 10-lb test line(orange for visibility)- that's it.
You will have a lot of fun with that antenna - good sigs for 300-660 miles at night. sometimes more. Enjoy!
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