K2 - KAT2 Tuner and Alpha Delta DX-EE Dipole

[Lu Romero - W4LT]

Hi Stan:

Do you already have the Alpha Delta?

I had a DX-DD for years, then purchased a DX-LB.  Both
worked well, and were EXTREMELY robust.  These things are
built to survive a nuclear attack.  Consequenty, they are
heavy.  The wires kink and no ammount of stretching seems to
make them unkink.  The 160 coils are even heavier!  I have a
small tower, and was always afraid that these antennas would
pull it down!

The KAT3 worked fine with both of them, even enabling
operation everywhere on 160.  My MFJ998 would not tune more
than 60kHz of 160 on the DX-LB, but 80 and 40 worked fine on
both of the tuners.

I have since removed both of these antennas, given up on
160m from within my small city lot and now have a "Carolina
Windom 80LP" which I traded the DX-LB for.

This very light, very easy to send aloft antenna works
surprisingly well.  It is an off-center fed dipole that has
a 22 foot RG8X coax transition piece.  The coax radiates in
the vertical plane.  This coax it then attached to a choke
to which you attach your coaxial feedline.  I feed mine with
100ft of RG8X, 30feet of which is in a coil at my antenna
interface panel to act like a choke.  The ends of the 134
foot long wires are folded down and weighted with fishing
line sinkers to make it fit in the 100ft of horizontal space
I have available.  This doesnt seem to bother it, and may be
helpful in a "bobtail curtain" sort of way (although I dont
believe in RF VooDoo!)  Its somewhat expensive for a chunk
of wire (like all of these manufactured dipoles are), but I
continue to be amazed at how well it works for me.  And it
has stayed up through lots of wind and weather.

Supposedly designed for low heights (mine is at 38 feet at
the highest point) it has the advantage over the Alpha Delta
of being useable on 80 through 10 meters INCLUDING the WARC
bands.  The KAT3 or the MFJ998 has never had a problem
anywhere with this antenna.

The other advantage for me is that this model (the 80LP) is
built with smaller parts than the "normal" Carolina Windoms.
 Its really light and the uninsulated wire is nearly
invisible, so it makes my wife much happier than the crooked
#12 solid grey on the Alpha Deltas.

The key to this antenna apears to be keeping the "vertical
radiation" feeder coax as vertical as possible and away from
metal.  I tried to slope the radiating coax feeder away, and
it didnt work very well.  Mine is 15 feet away from my
tower, the nearest metal, and drops down above my pool
patio.  I then run the RG8X coax from the shack in a conduit
along a sidewalk, exit the conduit and go about 6 feet up to
the choke unit.  My tribander is 2 feet directly above its
highest point (not the feedpoint, BTW), and this does not
seem to bother either antenna, although I bet there is some
interaction.

You do the best that you can with the space that youre
given!

-lu-W4LT-
K3 # 3192

---------------

From: stan levandowski <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Sun, September 19, 2010 8:49:48 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] K2 - KAT2 Tuner and Alpha Delta DX-EE
Dipole

I would like to correspond with a K2/KAT2 owner who is
actually using an
Alpha-Delta DX-EE dipole.? This is a rather pricey
"limited-space"
antenna and would like to hear directly from some "real
world" users.
My guess is that there won't be too many of you out there
but I thought
I'd ask anyway.

My fundamental question: Does the KAT2 get along with the
DX-EE on all
bands?

73,

Stan Levandowski WB2LQF
HF QRP CW -- Doing more with less for over 50 years!
QCWA #35038? OOTC #4558? NAQCC #4740? SKCC #6488? FISTS
#14992

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html