Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA k9la@arrl.net http://k9la.us Beverages and BOGs Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA k9la@arrl.net http://k9la.us NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

160-Meter DXCC Received my 5BDXCC in 1987 when we lived in Texas Started on 160-Meter DXCC when we moved back north in 1988 160-Meter DXCC from Indiana seemed easier than 80-Meter DXCC from Texas Closer to EU in Indiana Another hop to EU from Texas Better transmit antenna in Indiana Inverted-L with elevated radials vs half-sloper in Texas Higher power – 1 kW in Indiana vs 400 W in Texas Quieter location – rural Indiana vs residential Texas NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

My Inverted-L Served Me Well Achieved DXCC on 160-Meters using the inverted-L for receive On a typical winter night with the inverted-L, my S-meter hovers around S3 (about -103 dBm) in a 500 Hz bandwidth But I was not hearing many other countries spotted by others and locals (K9UWA, KR9U, KD9SV) NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

Trials and Tribulations I tried an EWE (WA2WVL design in QST) oriented towards EU Hardly ever saw any improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) Thus it didn’t stay up long Tried short Beverages – about 250ft To the East - showed SNR improvement To the South – more noise with the Beverage! NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

Put Up the SAL-20 SAL = Shared Apex Loop 20 refers to 20ft horizontal base of each of the four triangular loops 8-directions, 40ft diameter footprint Control is thru RG-6 coax Only one line to antenna SNR improved significantly I could hear stations that weren’t there on the inverted-L See the April 2014 QST for my review NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

Tried the KD9SV RBOG The “R” stands for reversible, which means you can electronically switch it from forward to reverse 200ft length recommended for 160-Meters ENE / WSW RBOG – most of the time it gave a better SNR than the SAL-20 N9FN has NE/SW and NW/SE RBOGS Uses it on 80m, too, with external preamp Caution – RF on BOG coax in transmit May need front-end protection Caution – proximity to AM broadcast station May need high pass filter See the September/October 2015 NCJ for my review NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

Never tried . . . Pennant Flag K9AY Other variations of small receive antennas Receive 4-Square My opinion – if you’re going to put up a 4-Square, make it for transmit, too NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

RDF Receiving Directivity Factor Main lobe gain versus average gain at all angles Allows a theoretical comparison of different antennas Caution – definition assumes noise arrives from all directions around the compass But noise is directional in nature Caution – many people focus on F/B as it’s easy to measure But I believe RDF trumps F/B unless noise arrives off the back NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

RDF of Various Antennas NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA www.k7tjr.com/rx1comparison.htm

Beverage Performance NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

BOG Performance NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA

Tips for Beverages and BOGs 4ft copper ground rods appear to be adequate for my QTH (in other words, my ground parameters) Your mileage may vary Might want to try a common-mode choke on the feed line I see about 4 dB more noise with a 75 ohm resistor terminating the coax at the antenna than with a 75 ohm resistor terminating the input of the preamp in the shack Noise getting onto the coax For a BOG installation Use rake or blower to keep leaves (dry and wet) and dirt and other debris off the wire – don’t let it get buried NWIDXC Dec 2016 K9LA