Sunday, May 26, 2019

A top loaded vertical over salt water

Can't achieve much height but want something good for bands like 1.8, 3.5 or 7 MHz? If so there's much to be said for a top loaded vertical. Especially if you can position it over salt water and have a metal railing that you can use as a counterpoise.

Such verticals can really pull in the DX. Band noise even sounds different on them. The video describes a very simple vertical than can be loaded up to operate on several bands. It's main disadvantage is you need two rather than one pole. But they don't need to be very tall and they can be light as the antenna doesn't weigh much.

The other thing you'll need is a ground tuning unit and RF current meter. The one in the video is as crude as can be but there's ones on the web that are more elegant. They're a simple afternoon project and are recommended for the portable antenna experimenter. 

The antenna I tried is just 10 metres across the top and 5 metres tall. Yet it does quite well on 3.5 MHz. Watch the video below for further information. 


PS: Want to get more from amateur radio? This book can help. Available in electronic and paperback form, exploring the facets suggested will keep you entertained for hours. Find out more at vk3ye . com or search the title on Amazon. 


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