Michael Lawson wrote:
"dxAce" wrote in message
...
HankG wrote:
"dxAce" wrote in message
...
Michael Lawson wrote:
"dxAce" wrote in message
...
-=jd=- wrote:
On Mon 29 Nov 2004 11:29:49a, dxAce
wrote in message :
Michael Lawson wrote:
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking of trying to use the
top of my split rail fence to hold a 80' wire, so I was
curious about your setup. Do you have a buried
coax leading to your shack??
Yes, both runs of coax are buried, leading into
Transi-trap
lightning protectors, then up to a two way anrenna
switch,
then to the Stridsburg multi-coupler, then to the
receivers.
dxAce
Michigan
USA
When you disconnect the coax (say, when a thunder storm is
moving in), do you just disconnect from the switch or do
you
disconnect outside?
The reason I ask is that when I had the 300' of wire, it
seemed to be a fairly decent static-charge collector. The
neon
in the static-bleeder would get a pretty decent workout
from
time to time. It got to the point I kept the coax
disconnected
outside as the norm - connecting it only when I wanted to
listen.
I can imagine with both of your wires, your transi-traps
are
worth several times their weight in gold...
I just disconnect from the switch. Never had any problems as
the
antennas
themselves are directly grounded at the feedpoint through
the
transformers.
You're using your 10:1 transformer for the grounding?
Well, yes. There is no direct connection between the antenna and
coaxial
cable.
dxAce
Michigan
USA
Ace:
Are you using a tuner on that 200 footer?
No, no tuner. On that or the 70'.
I'm using an untuned, uncoupled,
directly connected 200 ft piece of wire which I'm thinking of
upgrading. I
currently use it mostly for LW and MW up to about 2Mhz. What
frequency
range do you use it for mostly?
I use them both for everything, however my system( including the
Stridsberg
multicoupler, which was modified by Stridsberg for me), and the
transformers
themselves are optimized for SW. I can bypass the Stridsberg and go
direct to
the receiver(s), but still the transformers are wound for SW.
Other than orientation (your pic suggests 2 ants at right angles)
is there
any advantage using two longwires of different lengths?
Yes, many times I can get better reception by switching between the
two as
signals arrive from different directions. Additionally, the 200'
wire works well
on many SW frequencies arriving from a W or E direction.
BTW, how tall are your supports?
9'. They are, as I recall 4x4x12 treated wood, sunk 3' into the
ground.
I would second the need for a matching transformer,
it really does made a huge difference. I'd recommend
reading the articles by John Bryant at
http://www.dxing.info/equipment/ for more info.
Thanks for pointing out the dx'ing.info site again, I don't go there very often
and I see that there is a more recent article there entitled "A Second Look at
Fabricating Impedance Transformers for Receiving Antennas" An interesting read
as I still use the FT-50-43 toroids and they seem to recommend either the FT-82
or FT-114 in a type 75 mix.
dxAce
Michigan
USA