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Re: Vetical Antennas

Posted by Curt Milton on Mar 02, 2007; 3:54pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/Vetical-Antennas-tp444325p444326.html

Mike

you already have received some excellent advice from others, so i will keep this brief.

(1) understand that mounting a vertical above the ground works best with resonant (quarter wave length radials) while on the ground it does not require resonant radials, but is more challenging as it wants as much metal as possible over the ground.  

(2) mounting something that tall (around 26 feet) onto a house is no small undertaking!  remember your house is more vital than your ham radio experience (and more costly to repair than the antenna).  some people have adequately installed such an antenna onto a house, but its a big effort to do it sufficiently well (understatement).  

(3) the TVI cure you allude to is to reduce feed line radiation.  if the feedline is closer to the TV's than your antenna, this is a greater help.  its certainly good practice to work to minimize feed-line radiation, but it is not a fix-all.  

antenna installations have lots of challenges, so don't push the envelope beyond your capabilities.  and don't rule our wire antennas, as this might get you in business quicker while working the vertical more.  

73, curt


----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Walkington <[hidden email]>
To: Elecraft-Reflector <[hidden email]>
Sent: Friday, March 2, 2007 5:55:54 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Vetical Antennas


Hi All,

I've moved to a new house and I'm trying to get a Hustler 5BTV working
really well with my K2 in my new location. I plan to install the antenna in
a ground plane configuration on a 2 storey home and feed it with coax. I was
planning to use a few quarter wave radial for each of the bands of interest.

I've had problems with TVI using this antenna before, so this time I will
use some sort of a choke to block currents on the outer surface of the coax
braid. Any suggestions on what I should use?

How should I protect myself from lightning? I initially thought about
running a lead from the base of the antenna to ground, but the length of
this would probably turn the antenna into a vertical dipole.

I was reading some doco for this antenna and read the following: Never use
an antenna tuner to tune the antenna.Use of a tuner only fools the
transmitter and does not correct a problem at the antenna.
This doesn't seem right can I use my K2's tuners?

Finally, I've been reading Moxon's HF Antennas for All Locations, and he
doesn't seem to recommend quarter wave radials for ground planes. I'm not
sure I comprehend why. Is anyone familiar with his concerns?


Mike
VK1KCK, K2 #2599

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