Check out my new 1/4 wave "L" for top-band, with 1:1 choke and static discharge resistor network. Matt KB9YOJ
Nice video Matt,a project for 160 I have been putting off. I am curious about the noise with an inverted L. Hope to catch you on 160 to hear how well it works.
Mike- Thanks for watching. It was a fun one for sure. I didn't show the potato cannon but 80psi shoots spuds over the tops of my 70' trees! As far as noise is concerned, your results will vary depending on where you live. I am in a smaller town, but with the hustle and bustle of a city. For the sake of 160M RX comparison, my ZS6BKW which is not resonant reads S3-S5 noise floor, but when I go to the vertical L it jumps to S8. Many people like to use a separate RX antenna which is my plan down the road. Along with 60 more radials...... Matt KB9YOJ
I have a full size 160 dipole which has noise around S5 to S7 now,and I am looking for better of course.
I would try a RX antenna if you would like to reduce noise. Many have success with loops on the ground in combination with a high quality low-noise pre-amp. When 160 is in good shape in the evening, I have fun riding the RF gain to take out some of the noise. It works pretty well on my TS-570. The inverted L will give you better low angle radiation than the dipole, depending how efficient you can make it. Some mount their 160 dipole antennas in a inverted V, or a lazy V(V with one end close to the ground, and the other 60' up, but the radiation is still in the middle of the antenna). Then you don't have to play with matching networks or radials. You'll get high efficiency and vertical radiation patterns. But, if you don't have the real estate to do large antennas then the L makes sense. It's cheap and effective. Elevated radials are more efficient then ground radials, but are more critical to cut to resonance. Having 4 elevated is like having 64 on the ground for comparison. Good luck with the noise issue. I have some funky noise around here on 160 that I haven't had time to search out. Until I do I just deal with it. Matt KB9YOJ
Very nice. I am using magnetic loops for receive, so the noise is not a concern. For now I have no plans to exceed 100 Watts. I am even looking for a good quality 100W linear amplifier, which may not make sense to some as it is for a 100 Watt rig . I love stuff like this, thanks for posing! On a side note, I also have a fence like that, running out of 2 by 4s to prop it up.
