K3 - 6 M antenna, 1/2 vert or 2 ele yagi?

[Darwin, Keith]

With my new K3, I'm faced with a rig that will run 6 meters but no antenna.  I'm waffling between a couple of choices, either of which would go on my roof, at a height of about 20 feet:
 
 

* Cushcraft AR6 - 1/2 wave vertical
* Diamond 2 ele yagi

 

My K3 is a 10 watt version so I think I need forward gain more than F/B ratio.  Also, I'll not be using a rotor of any kind so I don't want a multi-element yagi since beamwidth is too narrow to just point it & forget it.

 

I'm in VT and I believe ground conductivity to be average to poor.  While the 1/2 wave vert does not use the ground around the antenna, it still depends on the fresnel zone to develop its full pattern, right?

 

What do you suggest?

 

- Keith N1AS -

- K3 711 -

_______________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: [hidden email]
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

Hi Keith,
> ...
>
> * Cushcraft AR6 - 1/2 wave vertical
> * Diamond 2 ele yagi
>
> What do you suggest?
>  

For many years I have used a set of home made antennas for 6m work. I
use a 4-element Yagi and a J-Pole that provide good performance under a
variety of conditions. The J-Pole is good for catching the local mobile
stations as well as for omni-directional band monitoring. The Yagi is
generally better for DXing when F/B and gain are needed, but the J-Pole
does quite well on the long haul stuff and is more convenient during
contests. These antennas are pictured in my QRZ.com entry, which also
shows the LPDA that I use for 10-20m work.

You may find that the half-wave vertical is a good enough starting
point. I started on 6m some 20+ years ago with a folded dipole hung
vertically from a tree branch. Worked very well.

Gus Hansen
KB0YH

_______________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: [hidden email]
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft   

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Lee J. Imber (WW2DX)]

Hi Keith and welcome to 6m, you will soon see why so many of us are  
hooked :)

If you are not going to use a rotor I would suggest a halo/ loop, this  
will give you horizontal and omni pattern. As a matter of fact stack a  
pair of them.

Cu in the next opening!

73 de Lee
WW2DX

On Apr 28, 2008, at 7:11 PM, "Darwin, Keith"  
<[hidden email]> wrote:

> With my new K3, I'm faced with a rig that will run 6 meters but no  
> antenna.  I'm waffling between a couple of choices, either of which  
> would go on my roof, at a height of about 20 feet:
>
>
>
> *    Cushcraft AR6 - 1/2 wave vertical
> *    Diamond 2 ele yagi
>
>
>
> My K3 is a 10 watt version so I think I need forward gain more than  
> F/B ratio.  Also, I'll not be using a rotor of any kind so I don't  
> want a multi-element yagi since beamwidth is too narrow to just  
> point it & forget it.
>
>
>
> I'm in VT and I believe ground conductivity to be average to poor.  
> While the 1/2 wave vert does not use the ground around the antenna,  
> it still depends on the fresnel zone to develop its full pattern,  
> right?
>
>
>
> What do you suggest?
>
>
>
> - Keith N1AS -
>
> - K3 711 -
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

_______________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: [hidden email]
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft   

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com