I hear you on the cancellation idea, Steve.

The more I think about it, this may be my biggest problem.

Again, I don't know if this explains why I seem to have greater issues on
the higher bands like 20 and 10 meters, but it might make sense.

Sure wish I knew more about this stuff.

But, as we all know, this is one of the beauties of what we do;  always
something more to learn and try to understand.

And,  I appreciate the patience of everyone on here, as I try to think out
loud about what's going on here.

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ


-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Steve Forst
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2015 5:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Field Day Update From KB8TYJ

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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>