OT: Origin of the quad antenna

[Ken G Kopp]

> The quad came about at SWBC station HCJB in Quito.  Due to the high
> elevation their antenna was plagued with corona on the ends.  The solution
> was to join these ends together, forming the square (4-sided) antenna we
> now know as the "quad".
>

    73 !

     K0PP

>
______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

[Ken G Kopp]

In Bill Orr's book, there is a particularly vivid description of the
corona. The part of the description that I particularly enjoyed was this,

"...the elements of the doomed beam glowed with the heat of the arc and
turned incandescent at the tips. Large molten chunks of aluminum dropped to
the ground as the inexorable fire slowly consumed the antenna."

It would have less of a problem, had the antenna been at sea level.

There's a freely viewable copy at All About Cubical Quad Antennas : William
I. Orr : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
<https://archive.org/details/AllAboutCubicalQuadAntennas/page/n7>

All About Cubical Quad Antennas : William I. Orr : Free Download, Borrow...

All About Cubical Quad AntennasThe Famous Handbook on Quad Theory, Design,
Construction and Operation
<https://archive.org/details/AllAboutCubicalQuadAntennas/page/n7>

On Thursday, December 6, 2018, 1:00:41 PM EST, Ken G Kopp <
[hidden email]> wrote:


> The quad came about at SWBC station HCJB in Quito.  Due to the high
> elevation their antenna was plagued with corona on the ends.  The solution
> was to join these ends together, forming the square (4-sided) antenna we
> now know as the "quad".
>

    73 !

    K0PP
______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

[k6dgw]

Hmmm ... Dad let me put a 40 W 10 m AM rig in the family car, Gonset RX
converter up front, TX in trunk, PE103 dynamotor under hood next to
battery, SS whip on rear bumper mount.  On a date at the drive-in movie,
she asked how it worked. I pressed PTT and gave a test transmission.  I
was unaware that the corona ball had been knocked off and the whip was
very pointy at the end leading to a fairly impressive electrical
display.  The management arrived and asked [well ... told] us to leave.

73,
Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 12/6/2018 10:27 AM, Ken G Kopp wrote:

> In Bill Orr's book, there is a particularly vivid description of the
> corona. The part of the description that I particularly enjoyed was this,
>
> "...the elements of the doomed beam glowed with the heat of the arc and
> turned incandescent at the tips. Large molten chunks of aluminum dropped to
> the ground as the inexorable fire slowly consumed the antenna."
>
> It would have less of a problem, had the antenna been at sea level.
>
>

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

[NK7Z]

That's a pretty cool description of the antenna melting down...  :)

73s and thanks,
Dave (NK7Z/NNR0DC)
https://www.nk7z.net
ARRL Technical Specialist
ARRL Volunteer Examiner
ARRL OOC for Oregon

On 12/6/18 10:27 AM, Ken G Kopp wrote:
> In Bill Orr's book, there is a particularly vivid description of the
> corona. The part of the description that I particularly enjoyed was this,
>
> "...the elements of the doomed beam glowed with the heat of the arc and
> turned incandescent at the tips. Large molten chunks of aluminum dropped to
> the ground as the inexorable fire slowly consumed the antenna."
______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]