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Author Topic: Asked and answered many times I'm sure . . . which antenna . . . HF . . vertical  (Read 435 times)

WB6BYU

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  • Posts: 20895
    • Practical Antennas

Quote from: K1KIM

...As stated, a vertical atop the tower will be your least expensive option, but still pushing your budget. At the proposed dollars, a Yagi etc with a rotor for legal limit is out of the question.



Well, that does depend on what assumptions you make...

A large commercial multi-band yagi capable of handling
full legal limit will be pretty expensive.  But if you are
willing to buy a used one, or build your own for one or
two bands, it reduces the cost greatly.

I built a 3-element yagi for 10m and a 2-element version
for 15m using parts from old TV antennas and some stray
pieces of aluminum tubing from scrapped CB antennas.
Yes, it requires some salvage work, but neither of them
have any parts that shouldn't be able to handle full legal
limit (although I'd want to upgrade the coax).

Would they survive a hurricane?  Maybe not, but I can
take them apart and stick them in my car for portable
use, and they are relatively light.

Hex beams and the like aren't difficult to build, either,
although some designs can get rather complex.

So an important part of the discussion needs to be the
trade-offs between buying new, used, or building,
with the corresponding investments in time vs. dollars.
And along with that is the number of bands you want
the antenna to cover. 

We built a 5-element delta loop beam on a 60' boom
for 20m for use on Field Day, basically using a spool
of aluminum electric fence wire and another of baling
twine (with plenty left over).  No, it isn't the best
solution for everyone, and it isn't easy to rotate, but
it didn't cost much.  That's an example of what can
be done with some creativity.

W4PCK

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Unless I've missed it, 'twould appear this site does NOT implement LIKE.

If it did, I would be issuing a bunch.

I'm so impressed, and so thankful, such wonderful people so giving of your knowledge, and so articulate, with real-world experience and practical approaches have posted here.

You have given me much food for thought - much appreciated the various links I will follow, and more ideas for me to research.

As it is, y'all have moved me off my going in assumptions and some requirements.

I do have a 47' Rohn 25 tower (four 'standard' 10' sections topped by a 7' top section), and I do have a "complicated yard" poorly suited for any kind of radials.

THANK YOU !!!
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W4PCK

  • Posts: 9
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Y'all have been so giving and forthcoming, I owe it to you to say I have ordered one of the antennas from DX Commander.

Y'all affected my thinking - did some more research, found the ground radials are seeming less daunting than I imagined, and will take the plunge.

Having read about challenges (several of you mentioned 'no one antenna' and 'think tools in the shed') at the higher end, I also ordered the no-longer produced Alpha QUAD ONE paired-ham-sticks-make-dipoles and will try that up on my tower for 10 and 20m.

Again, MANY THANKS, and look forward to approaching being a shadow of "masters" here.
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K1FBI

  • Member
  • Posts: 1475

No room for radials but a decent height tower?  Mosley TA-33-JR WARC

Note that the smaller traps of the Mosley TA-33-JR will NOT handle a full legal limit amplifier, which the O.P. says he has, at full bore.  The TA-33 and TA-33-MW can handle about twice the power but are still limited to 600 Watts on "high duty cycle" modes like FM and FT8.

Within their limits, the Mosley antennas are excellent performers and well built.

Brian - K6BRN
FT8 was intended as a low-power mode. Why on Earth would you run full legal limit on FT8...
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N2SR

  • Member
  • Posts: 1791

Within their limits, the Mosley antennas are excellent performers and well built.

Brian - K6BRN

Agree about well built, but disagree about their "excellent performance."  You may want to find a copy of: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/crp-tribandbook, and read it.

Specifically read the section where K7LXC and N0AX tested a Mosley tribander with negative gain. 
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Elect a clown.  Expect a circus.
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