Tom,

This might be verboten,
but I think, if it were me, that i might just try a 20 meter contact or two. 
With today's foldback circuitry, you're unlikely to hurt anything and you 
might put out much more of a signal than you'd imagine. Of course, if 
there's RF getting back into your audio, that's a different story. Good 
luck. Lou WA3MIX
Lou Kolb
Voice-over Artist:
Radio/TV Ads, Video narrations
Messages On-hold:
www.loukolb.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Behler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2015 5:09 PM
Subject: Field Day Update From KB8TYJ


> Hi, all.
>
>
>
> Here's an update on my field day situation out here at the RV, based on 
> some
> things I did in the past hour or so.
>
>
>
> First, the easy part:
>
>
>
> I took a more detailed look at the Field Day rules, and I believe our 
> friend
> Steve (KW3A) is correct.  I think the best station classification for my
> current situation is 1B, with an additional "commercial" designation that 
> I
> will enter into my Field Day report if I end up submitting it to the 
> League.
> I'm not terribly interested in competing for a high score, but I think 
> this
> is the fairest and most accurate thing to do, since class B is for club or
> non-club one or two person portable.
>
>
>
> As for my Alpha Delta DXCC antenna, I'm becoming more convinced that the
> problem is with the way my antenna is configured, rather than with the
> excess coax I have on the floor under my operating position.
>
>
>
> Here's my thinking:
>
>
>
> At the suggestion of Steved (KW3A), I had my sighted XYL (who is also a
> ham), take a look at SWR readings, using the TS480's visual  meter.
>
>
>
> What we found was interesting.
>
>
>
> The SWR's are fairly good on 40 meters, with my SWR being below 2.5 to 1
> across the band, except possibly at the very bottom.  The same is true for
> 15 meters.  Obviously, the auto-tuner in the TS480 can handle all of that
> with no issues.
>
>
>
> On 10 meters, my SWR's are above 3 to 1, even though the auto-tuner tunes
> the antenna.
>
>
>
> Of course, 20 meters continues to be the issue, with the meter seeming to
> indicate that my SWR's are significantly above 3 to 1 across that band,
> which is why the tuner won't tune the antenna.
>
>
>
> I checked the amount of excess coax I have, and found it to be closer to
> about 18 feet.  I thought it was more, but my XYL and I did more careful
> measurements to give us a clearer picture.  I tried adding more coax, but
> that really didn't seem to change anything at all as far as SWR's go.
>
>
>
> So, my thinking is that my basic problem is with the way the antenna 
> itself
> is configured here.  The antenna is strung between three trees, and is up
> about 30 feet.  The problem is that the trees on which the ends are
> supported are at only about a 60-degree angle from the center.  In other
> words, the antenna is much closer to what we might think of as a folded
> dipole.  My thinking is that the tight degree angle between the center and
> the legs might have especially negative effects in terms of de-tuning the
> antenna on higher HF bands like 20 and 10 meters, for which there are
> separate shorter elements on the DXCC, below the main 40 and 15 meter
> element, which is at the top.
>
>
>
> I don't know if this makes any sense at all, but it is my current 
> thinking.
>
>
>
> So, what I'm going to do is enjoy Field Day by operating on 40 and 15
> meters, and I won't sweat the rest of this until after Field Day when I 
> can
> possibly try some other things.
>
>
>
> I hope you guys don't mind my exxplanation here;  it's just that many of 
> you
> have been so helpful, and I thought I owed you some more detail if you are
> interested.
>
>
>
> I continue to be interested in any thoughts anyone has on what I describe
> here.  Always willing to do more experimentation and troubleshooting as 
> time
> allows.
>
>
>
> Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
>
>
>