Tom,

If you get the legs of the antenna to close together there will be 
problems.  They talk about   cancellation between the 2 sides of the 
antenna, and who wants to get canceled?

Depending on who's book you read, minimum angle between the legs would 
be 90 degrees or 100, or 120 degrees.

Don't know what the  options are.    Even if you could widen the angle 
by moving  just one leg, it might  work better than it does now.

73, Steve KW3A

On 6/26/2015 5:09 PM, Tom Behler wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>