Wow, antennas really do matter

[Chris Kantarjiev K6DBG]

I've been making do with a really lousy doublet made of 24g zip
cord at my home QTH for the few months I've had my general. I've
made some contacts, but not gotten very far - 3W to Seattle from
Palo Alto isn't going to impress anyone on this list (though making
any contacts at all puts me in an elite portion of humanity, I
realize :-)

Leigh WA5ZNU convinced me to build a PAC-12 antenna early on, but
I never had much luck with it. It doesn't work in my back yard
at all... I brought it to our cabin a couple of times and couldn't
figure out what I was doing wrong. I could hear "OK", but no one
could hear me.

I spent some time with it and an analyzer and learned a big lesson:
that center section with the feedpoint is not symmetrical. It
matters a lot that you send the signal up into the whip, not down
into the ground. Jeez.

Last night I played with the Flying Piggies and my might KX1 sent
its signal all the way to Oklahoma City. Got 339 ... more work is
needed before I can contemplate WAS, but it's definitely encouraging!

Oink oink :-)

73 de chris K6DBG
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[Roland Whitsitt]

What's that saying?

"A good antenna can over come a bad rig.
But a good rig can't over come a bad antenna".
n5vwn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kantarjiev" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Cc: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 8:33 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Wow, antennas really do matter

> I've been making do with a really lousy doublet made of 24g zip
> cord at my home QTH for the few months I've had my general. I've
> made some contacts, but not gotten very far - 3W to Seattle from
> Palo Alto isn't going to impress anyone on this list (though making
> any contacts at all puts me in an elite portion of humanity, I
> realize :-)
>
> Leigh WA5ZNU convinced me to build a PAC-12 antenna early on, but
> I never had much luck with it. It doesn't work in my back yard
> at all... I brought it to our cabin a couple of times and couldn't
> figure out what I was doing wrong. I could hear "OK", but no one
> could hear me.
>
> I spent some time with it and an analyzer and learned a big lesson:
> that center section with the feedpoint is not symmetrical. It
> matters a lot that you send the signal up into the whip, not down
> into the ground. Jeez.
>
> Last night I played with the Flying Piggies and my might KX1 sent
> its signal all the way to Oklahoma City. Got 339 ... more work is
> needed before I can contemplate WAS, but it's definitely encouraging!
>
> Oink oink :-)
>
> 73 de chris K6DBG
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>
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[Mark, KJ7BS]

Ok, I've read about the PAC-12 antenna and I'm almost convinced to get/build
one.

It's a short vertical, right?  
What is its performance?  
It's got to be a compromise, right?
Would a larger coil diameter with wider spacing between the winds improve
performance?

Mark Saunders, KJ7BS
Glendale, AZ
=================================================================

<SNIP>

Leigh WA5ZNU convinced me to build a PAC-12 antenna early on, but
I never had much luck with it. It doesn't work in my back yard
at all... I brought it to our cabin a couple of times and couldn't
figure out what I was doing wrong. I could hear "OK", but no one
could hear me.

<SNIP>

73 de chris K6DBG
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[Rich Ardolino]

Yes....it is a compromise...all short antenna are.....but it did very
well in the HFPack antenna "shootout", a comparision test of various
portable antennas. See info on the HFPack web site :  
http://hflink.com/hfpack/index.html

Rich  k2cpe
K2 #1102

Mark Saunders, KJ7BS wrote:

>Ok, I've read about the PAC-12 antenna......
>
>What is its performance?.............
>
>  
>
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[Leigh L. Klotz Jr WA5ZNU]

The stock PAC-12 does pretty well; in the HFPack tests it was less than
1dB down from a 16' wire with a single elevated radial on 20M.
The MP1 performed similarly.  I would expect the Buddistick that
Elecraft sells to be in similar territory.  I don't think that the
loading coil is a big issue, at least on 20M.

At the last AmTech day (http://www.am-tech.info) I worked Japan on 20M
with 10W SSB and my K2, no problem.  It's a good quick DX antenna, with
the low angle of radiation you expect from a vertical.

Kristen K6WX has done some experiments with the PAC-12 coil, radials,
and elements and discussed it at AmTech day , and reported that raising
the high current point by putting more aluminum rod below the coil and
using 3-wire (instead of 2) and longer radials to reduce ground loss
does more for getting out than spacing the coil out.  Pacific Antenna
sells additional rods, or you can make your own with a tapping tool and
rod from the hardware store.  I imagine that Budd and Vern have similar
things going, so I think no matter what short vertical you choose,
you'll have plenty of options to experiment.

Leigh / WA5ZNU

Mark Saunders, KJ7BS wrote:

> Ok, I've read about the PAC-12 antenna and I'm almost convinced to get/build
> one.
>
> It's a short vertical, right?  
> What is its performance?  
> It's got to be a compromise, right?
> Would a larger coil diameter with wider spacing between the winds improve
> performance?
>
> Mark Saunders, KJ7BS
> Glendale, AZ
> =================================================================
>
> <SNIP>
>
> Leigh WA5ZNU convinced me to build a PAC-12 antenna early on, but
> I never had much luck with it. It doesn't work in my back yard
> at all... I brought it to our cabin a couple of times and couldn't
> figure out what I was doing wrong. I could hear "OK", but no one
> could hear me.
>
> <SNIP>
>
> 73 de chris K6DBG
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>  

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[wd0t]

Correct, in my experience, raising any practical vertical from ground
mounted even up to 10 ft off the ground and using drooping radials does it
much good.

73, 72 Todd WD0T
----- Original Message -----
From: "Leigh L. Klotz, Jr." <[hidden email]>
To: "Mark Saunders, KJ7BS" <[hidden email]>
Cc: <[hidden email]>; <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 11:00 PM
Subject: [QRP-L] Re: [Elecraft] Wow, antennas really do matter

> The stock PAC-12 does pretty well; in the HFPack tests it was less than
> 1dB down from a 16' wire with a single elevated radial on 20M.
> The MP1 performed similarly.  I would expect the Buddistick that
> Elecraft sells to be in similar territory.  I don't think that the
> loading coil is a big issue, at least on 20M.
>
> At the last AmTech day (http://www.am-tech.info) I worked Japan on 20M
> with 10W SSB and my K2, no problem.  It's a good quick DX antenna, with
> the low angle of radiation you expect from a vertical.
>
> Kristen K6WX has done some experiments with the PAC-12 coil, radials,
> and elements and discussed it at AmTech day , and reported that raising
> the high current point by putting more aluminum rod below the coil and
> using 3-wire (instead of 2) and longer radials to reduce ground loss
> does more for getting out than spacing the coil out.  Pacific Antenna
> sells additional rods, or you can make your own with a tapping tool and
> rod from the hardware store.  I imagine that Budd and Vern have similar
> things going, so I think no matter what short vertical you choose,
> you'll have plenty of options to experiment.
>
> Leigh / WA5ZNU
>
> Mark Saunders, KJ7BS wrote:
> > Ok, I've read about the PAC-12 antenna and I'm almost convinced to

get/build
> > one.
> >
> > It's a short vertical, right?
> > What is its performance?
> > It's got to be a compromise, right?
> > Would a larger coil diameter with wider spacing between the winds
improve

> > performance?
> >
> > Mark Saunders, KJ7BS
> > Glendale, AZ
> > =================================================================
> >
> > <SNIP>
> >
> > Leigh WA5ZNU convinced me to build a PAC-12 antenna early on, but
> > I never had much luck with it. It doesn't work in my back yard
> > at all... I brought it to our cabin a couple of times and couldn't
> > figure out what I was doing wrong. I could hear "OK", but no one
> > could hear me.
> >
> > <SNIP>
> >
> > 73 de chris K6DBG
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> ______________________________________________________________
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