The AM Forum

I've read some of the posts for normal beverages. does anyone
know if they would work *on* the ground? one of the hams
out here thinks you need then at least an inch up, but another
ham accidently has his lying on the ground and reported better
results! I may be able to eek out 500', but it will cross the driveway.
also the sw side near the road, and need to aviod inquisitive
eyes. curious if it would work?

I bee know expert on dis...

But I seem to recall a discussion or article on the subject, the concensus seemed to have been that it will work on the ground, but the gain drops off like a stone... not sure if this was insulated wire on the ground, but I suspect that is so.

Never tried it myself...

Of course, if it works, it works...

I am a threat to string up a "deer catcher" this spring, I can manage about 800ft or so aimed at the Timtron coordinates, up the hill from the shack here... since some yerk bought the land to the west, can't go that way anymore, I don't think... grrrr....

                     _-_-bear

Hi Dean
I have a 600 footer on the  ground and many times that is my best signal. I use it and my Tx antenna into the MFJ noise canceller and I can null out most of the nasty noises around me. There are gain controls for each antenna and I have monitored a lot of weak ones in the clear from the antenna on the ground...........no terminations..........nothing special.
Fred

I read somewhere that the old timers used to roll out an old chunk of coax as a receiving antenna and they called it a "snake".

Mike WU2D

It will work but with reduced gain and possibly reduced directivity. So, the question is, Will the on the ground beverage 'hear' better than your current antenna? Probably no way to find out, unless you try it. Should be lower noise than your verticals, for sure.

If you want to try a smaller directional receiving antenna, check out flags, pennants and K9AY loops. I've been using the latter for the last few months to great effect. It's much quieter than the dipole on many signals (most especially longer distance stations) and has made the difference between hearing and not hearing a station, or between very rough copy and comfortable copy. If you are interested in more info, email or PM me.

    Interesting question. This leads one to ask what is the "optimal" height for a Beverage rcv antenna for medium wave?

Dave:

Suggest you do some reading on the AM BC DX forums, websites and lists. Also, the topband reflector will yield good info too. Tons of info in ON4UN's book.

From what I've seen and read, most people just put the wire up high enough to keep people and deer from snagging it.

One thing Huz didn't mention is that he could rotate the pattern with a simple interface. gfz

Yup. Put up two loops at 90 degrees and with a simple switching arrangement, you can get 4 directions. Pretty sweet. One loop gives you two directions.

All you need is a support 25-30 feet high and space around that support equal to a radius of 30 feet. These loops won't rival a beverage, but for the space, they do quite well. Eighty-five feet of wire is needed for each loop (almost any wire will do).

damn it,
   I upgraded to ms IE 7, more bugs. Couldn 't see posts I've done last few days. Just
pulled up firefox and see my old posts - sigh -
   ok on beverages on the ground. well it looks like that will be the way I have to
go. I must keep the beverage away from the verticals by a bit, but I think I can
snake in a 500'er. I am thinking of a two wire, which will be even more lossy. but
I can reverse it. Anyone tried a ground mounted 2 wire system?

LOL. Some "upgrade." Typical for M$.

YUP steve
IE 7 SUX
I used to have a K9AY dirtectional loop in Md. It was ok. The noise canceller is what helps me to hear or not hear a station. Using the AM mode sometimes has its pit falls. Nearby SSB 1 kc away, general noise from Ma Nature.
Fred

Fred said:
I don't know what the big deal is. I've had IE7 for a couple months now and it works flawlessly. It took me a little time to get used to the navigation end of it but I don't have any qualms with it.

IE7 is still messed up, I wish I had a IE 6 install to go back. I'm on
with firefox until I can go back. Ok, well I think 500' +- I can do. I've
thought about a 2 wire, so I can reverse it. I wonder how much sig-a-nel
I'd pick up with that ? - anyway, damn microsoft crap. Another bug
is I can't add new mail folders to my yahoo mail. IE7 sees the
prompt for a new folder..

[new folder]

and trips over the brackets attempting to open it - duh. firefox it
is until I back go back to IE6