Background info pre March 2021


Where you live affects what antenna you can have. My previous QTH had a small back garden and virtually no from garden and was surrounded by houses all in very close proximity. My current QTH - whilst still residential is blessed by having a decent sized garden with relative privacy - although I am still unable to have any tower or similar structure. My first QTH taught me loads about antennas - what makes them effective and what must be done when using compromise solutions. Below is the plan view of my old QTH, you can see the 135ft doublet squeezed into a small space! Scroll down the page for more recent updates.


 


Below is a plan view photo that show the current garden which make the 135ft doublet wire virtually invisible. The centre is mounted on a 40ft sectional fibreglass mast going up the trunk of a birch tree and the two ends fixed to 20ft of sectional mast (now replaced by aluminium scaffold poles). Its fed with approx 50ft of 300ohm ladder line that connects to a 1:1 current balun that then feeds approx 50ft of RG213 to the shack. Still plenty of experimentation to continue with to get it better. 80M full size loop, or maybe a sloper could be next...

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 12.47.04

2014 Plan view of current QTH - doublet wires are in purple.

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 12.47.23

2014 Side view of doublet. Main support mast around 40ft, fed with 300ohm ladder line. (apple tree no longer used)


home qth

Above is the 2021 Plan view where I continue experimentation and put up a full size 80m loop which has resonance and a large Q on 80, 40, 20, 15 & 10m. I’m quite chuffed. The loop is up with an average height of 25ft and performs remarkably well, I feed it with a 4:1 balun.

Have a look at actual pictures here - QTH Matters part 2




© m0mrr 2021