Wich is the best 160m antenna ?

Hi all,

In your opinion wich is the best 160m antenna to build. Long wire's, beverage ??
I would like to hear your opinion's and if possible with a link to how to built one.

I want to make some QSO's on this band

73's
Eloy
CU3AK

 

Well a good 160m antenna depends on how much room you have on your property. If you're into DX, then you'd probably want to construct some kind of vertical and possible a couple of beverages for reception.

If it's more local contacts you want, then a good dipole or a loop is hard to beat. I have a dipole and have been able to work some DX with it, but it's rare.

There's a good book on the subject called "Antennas and Techniques for Low Band DXing" by ON4UN

ISBN 0-87259-466-1

Good Luck

 

Hi N4BBQ,

Thanks for the info. Yes I want to work DX. I have an B&W dipole, but on 160m with 100w I have no luck. I will try to input more power. But the reception is also weak.
I bielive I can extend a long wire across the house to some fields I have nearby.
73's
Eloy
CU3AK

 

Here's a good site for building your own antenna's of many kinds .
http://www.hamuniverse.com/antennas.html
Looking for the best is opening a can of worms , but that can be fun , getting more details of your space to work with will help ?
Top or a hill , bottom of a valley , how big is the field etc. ?
Kinda like the 1st post , multiple is great if you can , and the bigger the better .

 

Consider an extended double zepp if you have the room. I have had outstanding results with mine. Just Google for plans.

 

If you want to work DX on 160, I'd recommend something like inverted L. Put down a decent ground system and it will outperform a low dipole almost all the time.

If you have problems receiving weak signals then you will also need a receive antenna. The receive antenna is usually not much good for transmitting. Loops pennants, flags and beverages all have their place as receive antennas. Read W8JIs web pages for a lot of good information on RX antennas.

The majority of DX on 160 is on CW. There is some on SSB, but it will be easier to hear in the wintertime as the atmospheric noise from lightning QRN tends to be less.

 

A vertically polarized antenna with a good ground system will work much better than any horizontal antenna. An Inverted L is one of the best ways to make a good transmitting signal, so long as you have a good ground system.

For receiving, a Beverage is simple and easy and very good. If you do not have the room for a beverage, then some small loops will help. Look at K9AY and Flag antennas.

Since you cannot have much height, a dipole would be as good or better than an extended zepp or big horizontal loop. Nothing will be as good as an Inverted L or another good vertical for transmitting.

73 Tom

 

There's just about as many ways to build an antenna for 160 as there are for any other band.

Beverages are really, really long, and if you have THAT much room to run an antenna, build a Rhombic and get the transmit gain as well.

Don't bother with your B+W, you could put a kilowatt into it and it would not work much better - it's the antenna itself, just not designed for that band.

You need to survey your supports and space - I just put up a 160 meter loop because I had the room for it - but would not for a dipole.

A vertical is always possible, consider the radial field though, plus getting an effective 160 vertical requires quite a bit of vertical real estate - although if you have a tower....

A marconi-T type might work if you had suitable supports - worked against ground.

No one solution exists.

 

Actually, a 1-WL Beverage works well and is only 520' on 160m. That's possible on many residential lots.

Interestingly, you can transmit into one provided it doesn't have a preamp or a small matching transformer in line. I did this countless times (tired, overtired, not paying attention) at our contest station. Made dozens of contacts while transmitting with an unterminated (bi-directional) Beverage. Finally blew up the matching transformer, but even at a kilowatt that took a while (I made the transformers myself using 4" diameter ferrite cores and #12AWG Teflon insulated wire, not to handle power but because that's what Bill had laying around in his workshop. They finally blew up anyway, but I'll bet they would have handled 100W forever).

 

There is always room to go up.
Put up an inverted L 66 feet high of high strength alu sections ( 11 x 7 feet) and the rest wire sloping down to 20 feet to the front of the house.
The plot i live on is 100 feet by 25 feet.....
2000+ feet of radials put in, connected everything to that including the kitchen sink.

Problem of living in the city, even on the edge of the city is noise, for that you need a different recieve antenna, K9AY loop, EWE antenna if you don't have a lot of space.

Now is antena time, as soon the winter comes the fun starts.

Good luck.