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[WA7OPV]

I have a ZeroFive 80-10 Ground plane antenna going in this spring.  I installed an 8' pole as instructed in concrete before the winter prevented yard work.  I also have a full wave 80 meter wire loop I would like to install horizontally above the ground.

Am I crazy to think that I could put the loop around the perimeter of my yard with the vertical inside the loop?  The only other place it could go is surrounding my house with the vertical in the adjacent yard but outside the loop.  Both locations are problematic I know. 

I would appreciate any thoughts.

-david BTW
WA7OPV

[KE6SLS]

Hi David,

Yes, it will work fine.  The antennas WILL have some interaction and you will have to tweak things at tune up time.  Other wise, I think you're onto something pretty wonderful. 

It would be nice if you could separate them more, but in the real world, we get what we get

I'm in a small town lot.  I folded a 210' doublet.  Installed a 40m dipole.  Tossed up a hex beam in between the wire antennas.  Then there's my UHF repeater.  The APRS node, packet bbs, my high gain 2m/70cm vertical.  Finally last year, I added a triband 6m/2m/70cm vertical.  This summer I plan to revisit the LOG and possibly cophase two of them.

None of my systems are perfect, they just work and provide me a lifetime of enjoyment.

Build your vertical and post back!

73
Jaye

[K4GTE]

Not crazy at all, great idea. Maybe not ideal, but we work with what we have. Enjoy your ZeroFive vertical, I love mine. Report back on your results !

[VR2AX]

The loop is a 80/40 sky warmer and the vertical a low angle radiator so should be compatible. Maybe also scope for dual TX/RX antennas.

[N5CM]

I have a horizontal loop, 350 feet, up 60 feet. I have an elevated 80m wire vertical/elevated 160m wire inverted-L suspended from tall pines in my backyard.  These verticals share a feed point. The "fan vertical" is about in the middle of my loop.  As far as I can tell, the loop and the verticals get along well with each other.

[WA7OPV]

Thanks for the encouragement.  My biggest problem with be just how to support the four corners of the loop and how high I can afford to put it. 

I think I will get the vertical up first and use it for a while, then later try the loop to see if I can see any noticeable changes.

-david BTW

[WB6BYU]

Don’t get too worried about the exact shape
of the loop, or getting it all the same height.
If you can only get it up 12’ by nailing some
8’ pieces of 1x2 to the fence posts, give it
a try.  Some of mine have been rather
irregular in all 3 dimensions, but have still
worked well.

Some other tips:

Don’t put your supports exactly at the corners
of the loop.  Instead, allow at least several feet
of rope between the loop wire and the support. 
Then run that rope through a screw eye or pulley
and tie it off (with some extra) where you can
reach it from the ground.  That makes it much
easier to adjust the tension and shape with
multiple supports.

Sometimes I find it is easier to tie the rope
around the wire, rather than to the wire, so
that the rope can slide along the wire. 
Especially with irregular shapes, that makes
it easier to adjust the amount of wire in
each leg, and accommodate changes to supports.
The plastic egg insulators sold for electric
fences work well for this.

[WA7OPV]

Thanks for the advice.  Yes my yard is not square so it will be closer to rectangular.  I long ago gave up on a delta loop or square for that matter.  I will definitely look at the recommendations you made.

-david BTW

[KL7CW]

In theory this should work fine, unless the loop is very close to the vertical, (like a very few feet).  A handicapped friend from Alaska moved to Seattle a few decades ago. Often I would stop in Seattle when traveling.  I installed a loop around his house under the soffits.  It got him on the air, not great, and RX RFI was significant.  On another trip I expanded the loop so some of it went to a shed, tree, chimney, etc.  Further away from the house, less RFI and seemed to work better.  On future trips much of the loop was away from the house, some parts even 30 to perhaps 50 feet up in the trees.  Overall length must have been at least 200 or 300 feet, and very irregular in shape and elevation.  It was good enough for him to have a blast working local, regional, and even some DX on many of the bands from 80 to 10 meters (SSB mostly).  I am sure the pattern looked like a clover or flower with nulls and peaks, especially on the higher bands. I know this is a very subjective evaluation, but he had fun up until he died.  One reason the loop was expanded and raised over the years, was he had neighbors, and we were careful to do work when they were not home.  At one time his antenna tuner had trouble on one band, perhaps 12 or 17 meters, I simply changed the loop length by perhaps 2 feet (), and all bands would tune OK.  After your antennas are installed, investigate the possibility that the loop may be a better RX antenna on some bands and the vertical a better TX antenna on that band, since sometimes verticals are noisier on RX.  This was NOT an ideal antenna but he had fun on the air for a decade or two.           Rick KL7CW  Palmer, Alaska