160 Meters for the Space Challenged

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I should have posted this sooner but there is still plenty of good conditions left on 160 meters. Don't think you need acres to put out a good signal on that band. Check out the article and join in on the Top Band fun.

http://www.amwindow.org/tech/htm/160smallants.htm

[Jeff W9GY]

Hi Steve, Not enuff room on my postage stamp lot for a full size 160 dipole...so, for several years, I used the 165 foot long inv vee fed with balanced line and tuner on top band.  But the efficiency was poor, and I know folks were straining to hear me even with 300 W of carrier dumped into the thing. 

Fed up with the frustration, two years ago I decided to shunt feed my 70 foot self supporting tower (top loaded with a beam).  The shunt wire is held about 21 inches away from one tower face using 5 PVC plumbving pipe stand offs.  The wire goes all the way to the top, because I didn't have the heart to burden my tower climbing friend with trying to experiment with finding the "correct" tap.  Anyway, the feed point Z is quite high and required quite a bit of tinkering to get the correct match to the 50 ohm feedline.  Lots and lots of burried short radials, some hooked into neighborhood chain link fence, water pipe, you name it.

The reward is much improved efficiency and the folks aren't having to strain to hear me now.  Lot of effort expended, especially with the radials, but it's paying off big time for me. 73 Jeff W9GY

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Great idea! I've heard a number of good signals on 160 meters out of 9-land using vertical antennas over the years. As you've shown, you can get on 160 and even have a good signal, if you are willing to do some extra work and experiment. If one antenna doesn't work, try another.

[W3FJJ]

I heard a guy with good sig using radio shack ground wire, for a dipole. Its like number
10 solid aluminum and comes coiled up. You don't uncoil it all the way but stretch it slightly
out. I bet you could fit 240' foot of it  in 120' space...

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I think it was Ray - WD2AFJ, that used a coil-loaded short-dipole with great success on 160. The coils were made from the aluminum RadShack ground wire.

[The Slab Bacon]

Stevo,
          I have one even better than that. If you remember, I have used my 60' folded dipole on 160. I was definately not the channel master, but I got back the same signal reports that I gave. You and I even pulled one of those all nighters a couple years back with it. It aint a strapper down there, but it will get you on the air. Just about anyone can come up with 60'.

                                                          The Slab Bacon

[W8IXY]

My lot is about 60' x 120', with neighbors on all sides.  What I found that works for me was to set up an inverted L as long and as straight as I could fit in.  I didn't care about the length of the wire, since I could always build a matching circuit at the feed point.  As installed now, I managed to get about 30' vertical, and the rest horizontal, with a total wire length of about 130 feet.  I attached the ground to a Looooong chain link fence.  To my amazement, it RESONATED at 1840!  It stays below 2:1 from 1800 to 2000.   So, I also tried building up a matching network for 80/75.  Thats now tunes up really nicely too, and from reports I get, is competitive with a majority of the other signals on the band in the 100 watt category.
My Conclusion:  Get as much wire up as you can, get as much of a ground under it as you can, and match the antenna at the FEED POINT.  You may be surprised.

73
Ted  W8IXY

[ve6pg]

...steve..ur ideas are great...i dont have a space problem, but have been trying to get others interested...i think too many think that they dont have enuff room, therefore give-up, before trying...i sent this link to ve3lvl, hoping bill will look into any possibilities...tnx om....

..sk..

[WA1GFZ]

Frank AHE's Antenna looks pretty good in simulation at 120 feet long. Low Z input.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

UR Welcome. That's the plan. I thought I couldn't get on 160 for a number of years. Then I tried and never regetted the effort or the things I learned.

...steve..ur ideas are great...i dont have a space problem, but have been trying to get others interested...i think too many think that they dont have enuff room, therefore give-up, before trying...i sent this link to ve3lvl, hoping bill will look into any possibilities...tnx om....

..sk..

[W3SLK]

Steve said:

I think it was Ray - WD2AFJ, that used a coil-loaded short-dipole with great success on 160. The coils were made from the aluminum RadShack ground wire.

Ray used the coil wire in a trap/inverted V configuration. The coils in conjunction with a piece of RG-8, (as a capacitor) were to act as a trap on 75. Ray did use a rather unique inverted L aerial. It was a coax vertical element and the top portion used 450 ohm ladder line. That worked very FBOM and was a great compromise aerial.

[WB2YGF]

My problem is not the size of the lot (3 acres), but the location of the house which sits on the front corner near the road and the property line.  If I were to string a 160M dipole between two trees, the feedpoint would be a long ways away. 

Currently I have a G5RV (51 ft on each leg).  The center is is hung from a mast on the chimney and one leg goes to a tree right on the property line so I can't go any longer for this particular wire.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

How long is "a long ways away"?   Remember that you can have rather long runs of coax or 160 meters and suffer minimal loss because of the low frequency. If you use open-wire or ladder line, you don't even really need to consider loss.

Go for it.

My problem is not the size of the lot (3 acres), but the location of the house which sits on the front corner near the road and the property line.  If I were to string a 160M dipole between two trees, the feedpoint would be a long ways away. 

Currently I have a G5RV (51 ft on each leg).  The center is is hung from a mast on the chimney and one leg goes to a tree right on the property line so I can't go any longer for this particular wire.

[ve6pg]

..i agree steve..my dipole centre is about 60 feet from my house...it is fed with h/brew open wire, and to relieve the  "sag", i have a thin poly rope attached to one of the spreaders, which in turn is running thru a tree, to keep the strain off of the centre insulator, etc...understand, the dipole has only 2 supports, (trees), 300ft apart..so, no centre support at the feed point...werks fer me...

..sk..

[flintstone mop]

YUP no problem here with long runs of coax.

I get great sig reports with my vertical and about 300 feet of coax. 250 watt carrier. 40 ground radials

Prolly about 2dB lost at 1885

Fred

[Jim, W5JO]

YUP no problem here with long runs of coax.

I get great sig reports with my vertical and about 300 feet of coax. 250 watt carrier. 40 ground radials

Prolly about 2dB lost at 1885

Fred

Where and when does MOP radio hang out?  I hear the guys in the mid Atlantic most of the time and maybe I could hear you or vice versa.

[W3SLK]

My first loop I had up, was nothing more than 520' of wire 'sewn' through the tree limbs. It worked quite well and my back yard was a mere postage stamp. If you can go 150' X 150' or anything equivilent, you can string up something that will adequately get you on 160M. Get the right amount of wire out there will help you establish a signal.

[ve6pg]

...steve..can you put the original drawing back on that page?...nice to have that one as well..

..tim..

..sk..

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Like this one?

[ve6pg]

...yes indeed..fb om.ur 5/9 ....qsl via the buro....

..(tnx)...

..sk..